“The Great Outdoors” (1988) was filmed in California, mainly around Bass Lake, even though the story is set in a Wisconsin lakeside resort town.

Main filming location

Most of the movie was shot in and around Bass Lake, a small resort community in the Sierra National Forest in Madera County, California. In the film, this area stands in for the fictional Lake Potowotominimac in Wisconsin.

Specific places used

  • Ducey’s Bass Lake Lodge (on Bass Lake) was used as the on-screen Perk’s Pine Lodge resort and bar.
  • Additional Bass Lake area spots, including local shops and the lakeshore, appear in various exterior scenes.

Studio and ranch work

  • The family’s lakeside cabin, the Loon’s Nest, was actually a set built on the Universal Studios backlot in Universal City, California.
  • The go‑kart and golf sequence was filmed at Paramount Ranch in Agoura, California, which supplied the track and surrounding wooded scenery.

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