During our road trip south along the East Coast, Kevin and I stopped at what soon became our favorite beach town, Wrightsville Beach. While here, we spent time with friends, checked out the neighboring coastal towns, and explored downtown Wilmington. In addition, we also enjoyed a self-made tour of the most memorable One Tree Hill locations that every fan can and should visit.
About One Tree Hill
For those who need a ‘refresher,’ One Tree Hill was an American drama that first aired on September 23, 2003. This WB series was about two half brothers, Lucas and Nathan Scott, who competed for a spot on the Tree Hill High basketball team. Though Lucas and Nathan were half brothers, until high school, they led very separate lives and essentially hated each other. The series continued for nine seasons while showcasing the brother’s rivalry, romances, complex family dynamics, and struggles to figure out where and how they fit into each other’s lives.
Now enough about the show let’s get into the most memorable One Tree Hill locations every fan can visit!
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13 Most Memorable "One Tree Hill" Filming Locations
The Rivercourt
USS Battleship Park, 1 Battleship Road, Wilmington, NC 28401
Located in Battleship Park next to Battleship North Carolina is the iconic site of The Rivercourt. The Rivercourt was where Lucas Scott and his friends Marvin McFadden (Mouth), Antwon Tanner (Skills), Jimmy Edwards, and more frequently hung out and played basketball. Here Lucas and his friends were able to escape the jocks and other pressures of high school and just enjoy each other’s company!
Though The Rivercourt was dismantled after filming and production of One Tree Hill was completed, the site and the views of Wilmington from that side of the river should still appear very familiar to fans.
Karen & Lucas Scott's Home
1829 Wrightsville Avenue, Wilmington, NC 28403
Not far from downtown Wilmington is Karen and Lucas Scott’s home. During the first few seasons of One Tree Hill, Karen and Lucas lived here together until she ultimately gave the house to Lucas in season five.
Karen's Cafe & Clothes Over Bros
Corner of Grace St. and N Front St., Wilmington, NC 28401
Located in downtown Wilmington is the site for Karen’s Cafe. Karen’s Cafe was a popular filming location during the first four seasons of One Tree Hill. This cafe is where Haley worked part-time, where Haley and Lucas built their rooftop mini-golf course, the home of Haley and Lucas’s time capsule, and where Deb and Karen’s relationship really blossomed.
In season five, Karen’s Cafe was turned into ‘Clothes over Bros,’ Brooke’s high-end fashion line, until season eight when Brooke and Haley restored the building back to its former glory, Karen’s Cafe.
Much like The Rivercourt, Karen’s Cafe is one of the filming locations that was continuously used throughout the series! So you won’t want to miss it!
Tric & Red Bedroom Records
1121 South Front Street, Wilmington, NC 28401
Now it wouldn’t be a One Tree Hill tour without visiting Tric, would it? I mean a nightclub that hosted live bands for high school students, how cool was that?
In season two of One Tree Hill, Lucas finds a spacious building where he hosts a party for Nathan and Haley to celebrate their marriage. Once the party is over Karen sees the potential of the space and decides to open her own nightclub, Tric. Throughout the series, Tric hosts high-profile talent such as The Wreckers, Fall Out Boy, Jimmy Eat World, Nada Surf, Jack’s Mannequin, and more!
Though Tric continues to thrive, Lucas, Peyton, Brooke, Haley, and Nathan stop attending the nightclub as often until season five. In season five, Peyton pursues her dream of owning her own record label when she opens Red Bedroom Records in the back room of Tric!
Haley's Childhood Home
1811 Chestnut Street, Wilmington, NC 28405
Located to the left of Peyton Sawyer’s house you will find the James home. This is where Haley lived with her parents before moving in with Nathan in season two. Though the outside of this house is rarely seen throughout the series, it is included in the scene where Haley and Nathan share their first kiss!
Naley Table
Along The Riverwalk in downtown Wilmington
Much like The Rivercourt, Naley Table is high up on the most memorable One Tree Hill locations every fan can visit tour! I mean this is where Haley and Nathan’s relationship started and where Nathan gave Haley the bracelet out of the Cracker Jack box and said “don’t say I never gave you anything.”
When Kevin and I visited, the riverwalk had some serious construction going on but luckily after a few minutes, we finally found it! And being there was every bit as cool as I thought it would be!
The Scott's House
1621 Country Club Rd, Wilmington, NC 28403
This house is beautiful and honestly, it still looks exactly like it did in 2003 when it made its One Tree Hill debut.
The Scott’s House is Nathan’s childhood home where he learned to play basketball, Lucas and Peyton kissed for the first time, Nathan and Brooke’s sex tape was released, and so much more! Though this home is not as memorable as The Rivercourt or Tric it was definitely the setting for some of the show’s most dramatic scenes!
Although The Dixie Grill is not an original One Tree Hill filming location it was still awesome to see it in person.
The Dixie Grill served as the diner where Sam, Brooke’s foster child, hung out with her boyfriend Jack Daniels. Later in the season, this is also where Sam spent time with Julian Baker, Brookes’s boyfriend turned husband by the end of the series.
For those wanting to experience The Dixie Grill first hand, Kevin and I heard amazing things about their food!
Tree Hill High
610 N. Front St, Wilmington, NC 28401
As I said earlier, One Tree Hill was a WB series about five high school teenagers growing up in Tree Hill, NC. That being said your One Tree Hill tour has to include Tree Hill High, right! The filming location for Tree Hill High is located in downtown Wilmington at Cape Fear Community College, specifically the CFCC Joe and Barbara Schwartz Center!
For fans, Tree Hill High holds so many good and bad memories. Take winning the state championship and the school shooting for example both are scenes that I will always remember!
The Beach
Johnnie Mercer Fishing Pier, Wrightsville Beach, NC
Though the beach was not featured on One Tree Hill that much, it was featured nonetheless. Wrightsville Beach and Johnnie Mercer Fishing Pier were locations used for Brooke and Lucas’s iconic picture kissing on the beach and the beach party in the third season.
The Bridge
6th Street Bridge, N. 6th St & Hanover St
This was one of our last stops on the most memorable One Tree Hill locations every fan can visit tour and I was very sad to see that it was under construction.
Prior to pulling up, I was already envisioning my jumping, “I’ve made it to the One Tree Hill bridge” pose that I was planning on taking. So it was a huge bummer that I couldn’t actually get on it. That being said I was happy to see that they were repairing it rather than removing it.
For those confused about the importance of the bridge, it is the bridge in the opening credits that Lucas is dribbling his basketball across while Gavin DeGraw sings ‘I don’t wanna be’ in the background!
Brooke Davis's Home
2314 Tattersalls Drive, Wilmington, NC 28403
And this is the reason every girl in the early 2000s wanted to be “the girl behind the red door.” Located close to Nathan’s home, Brooke Davis grew up in this beautiful two-story white brick home with THE red door. Though she moved a lot during the series, this home will forever be burned in all of our memories!
Luckily for us enjoying the most memorable One Tree Hill locations every fan can visit tour, the brick is still beautifully white and the front door is still painted that Rosey shade of red!
Peyton Saywer's Home
1901 Chestnut Street, Wilmington, NC 28405
Finally to conclude this tour Kevin and I are taking you to Peyton Sawyer’s house! In my opinion, if you decide not to see any other characters’ home that’s fine, but Peyton’s house is a must! So many pivotal moments in the series happened in or outside of her home. For example, this is where Peyton was attacked and held hostage with Brooke on Prom night by Ian, where Peyton and Ellie were able to spend time together before her death, where Brooke and Peyton lived together, and where Peyton and Lucas enjoyed that huge food fight!
Disclosure: We do not own the rights to any of the One Tree Hill photos found in this post. Photos were found on Google.com and were originally posted by the sites located below each photo.
What to Bring!
That's All
And there you have it! Those are the most memorable One Tree Hill locations that every fan can visit in Wilmington, NC. Of course, there are additional locations including Black Cat Shoppe, Edge of Urge, Blue Post Billards, and more but the locations above are spots we believe everyone will remember from the series!
We hope this post got you excited and helped you plan for your own One Tree Hill walking tour!
As always, Happy & Safe Travels!
Looking for other things to do along the east coast? Check out our posts on the five most beautiful towns along Maine’s coast, things to do in Atlantic City in the winter, and the greatest spots to eat and drink in the Keys.
Thanks for all the awesome info! I’ll be doing the road trip to visit those places. I was wondering If you had a list of the locations in order from near to far so I’m not driving back and fourth from place to place. I’d like to go in order Not sure if that made sense.
Hey Jen!
Unfortunately, I don’t. But I recommend putting the locations into Google Maps and saving them as a new list altogether. That way you can see all of the spots on the map at one time and you can plan your tour according to that so your not driving back and forth! Have a wonderful trip!
That made LOTS of sense…I am doing the same thing and I want to be able to schedule everything in order!!! Lol
My daughter and I go every year for the past 5-6 years. The furthest point on this site would be the beach which is about 20-25 min from town. All the others are with 10 min of each other. The most iconic spots we found on our very first trip were 2 spots…1- the bridge where Nathan and Haley wrecked and 2- where Peyton broke down and Lucas had to tow her. That one was hard to find but we did! Iconic! And a good drive (about 50 min away)