“Deliverance” (the 1972 thriller with Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight) was filmed mainly in the rugged forest and river country of northeast Georgia and nearby South Carolina.

Main filming locations

  • Rabun County, Georgia – Most outdoor and river scenes were shot here in the Appalachian foothills of northeastern Georgia.
  • Chattooga River (Georgia–South Carolina border) – This wild river doubled as the fictional Cahulawassee River, providing the iconic canoeing and white‑water sequences.
  • Tallulah Gorge, Georgia – Used for the dramatic later‑river and cliff‑climbing scenes near Tallulah Falls.
  • Clayton and other Rabun County areas, Georgia – Town and surrounding shots were done in and around Clayton in Rabun County.
  • Salem and Lake Jocassee, South Carolina – Some sequences, including the lake seen at the end, were filmed around Salem and on Lake Jocassee across the state line.

Quick FAQ style recap

  • State most associated with filming? Georgia, especially Rabun County and the Chattooga River area.
  • Real river used? Yes, largely the Chattooga River, now famous with film and rafting fans.
  • Cliff‑climb location? Tallulah Gorge in Georgia, where Jon Voight’s character scales the rock face.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.