Where Was Wilderness Filmed? The Vacation Thriller’s Filming Locations Explained
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Table of Contents
Summary
- The miniseries Wilderness features a British couple on a vacation in the United States that will change their lives, with filming locations spanning across North America.
- The Fairmont Banff Springs Resort in Alberta, Canada served as Liv and Will’s hotel in Yosemite National Park, providing a scenic backdrop for the series.
- Other Canadian locations, such as Kananaskis and Whistler, were also used to depict Yosemite National Park scenes.
Amazon Prime Video released a new high-stakes thriller drama miniseries called Wilderness, which depicts a couple with newfound trust issues as they go on a vacation that will undoubtedly change their lives. As a result, the cast and crew of the television show traveled to multiple different places to capture the British newlyweds’ adventure throughout the United States. However, the filming locations for the series were not limited to one country.
The cast of Wilderness includes Jenna Coleman and Oliver Jackson-Cohen as Liv and Will Taylor, the aforementioned British couple who recently married and moved to New York to start their new lives together. The thriller miniseries also stars Ashley Benson as Cara Parker, Morgana Van Peebles as Ash, Claire Rushbrook as Caryl, Talia Balsam as Bonnie, Eric Balfour as Garth, Marsha Stephanie Blake as Detective Rawlings, and Jonathan Keltz as Detective Wiseman. Since Wilderness is a miniseries, the project only contains six episodes, but the cast and crew made the most of their limited time by taking advantage of various locations in North America.
Fairmont Banff Springs Resort, Alberta, Canada
One of the main locations used in the Amazon Prime Video series was the Fairmont Banff Springs Resort in Banff, Alberta, Canada, according to Ready Steady Cut. The hotel provided one of the more scenic backdrops for Wilderness, as it is situated in Banff National Park, meaning that it is surrounded by gorgeous valleys and the Rocky Mountain range. The Fairmont Banff Springs Resort also sits at an altitude of 4,639 ft above sea level, so it overlooks the valley.
The cast and crew of Wilderness were lucky enough to shoot a handful of scenes at the Fairmont Banff Springs Resort in Canada, despite the show never taking place in the Great White North. Jenna Coleman and Oliver Jackson-Cohen’s characters travel across the United States, and one of the primary locations they visit is Yosemite National Park in California. So the picturesque resort doubles as Liv and Will’s hotel in Yosemite in the Amazon Prime Video television show.
Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada
The production team of Wilderness settled on utilizing numerous locations in Canada for the Yosemite National Park scenes in the Amazon Prime Video miniseries, including Kananaskis Country in Alberta. The area features vast mountain ranges that could easily pass as the views in the popular national park in California. As a result, the camera crew captured numerous exterior shots of Kananaskis so that the post-production team could add establishing shots of “Yosemite” in the Wilderness episode where Jenna Coleman and Oliver Jackson-Cohen’s characters visit the California national park.
Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
The Wilderness cast and crew did not limit themselves to the province of Alberta in Canada — they also traveled to British Columbia to film a variety of scenes for the thriller miniseries. In particular, the production team used the Whistler Olympic Park and the Cal Cheak trail in the Canadian town for some of the Yosemite National Park hiking sequences, which featured Jenna Coleman, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Ashley Benson, and Eric Balfour.
Additionally, according to Country & Town House, the scene where Coleman and Benson’s characters, Liv and Cara, are talking on a hanging bridge over a gushing river was filmed in another location in Whistler. Unfortunately, some uncontrollable factors, like the water sounds and weather, made it difficult to capture the moment. However, as one can see by watching Wilderness on Amazon Prime Video, the scene turned out great, despite its hardships.
Vancouver and Squamish In British Columbia, Canada
The last location that the Wilderness production crew used to shoot the Yosemite National Park sequences were the cities of Vancouver and Squamish in British Columbia, Canada. Vancouver is one of the most popular destinations for film and television show productions, so it is not surprising that the Amazon Prime Video series took advantage of the city’s versatility during principal photography. Some New York scenes were filmed in Vancouver, but Locations Manager Michael Farias also told Good to Know that the team used the city “to showcase the beauty of the West Coast.”
As for Squamish, the white water rafting scenes were filmed in the beautiful municipality, which is just north of Vancouver. Squamish was another town that the cast and crew used while shooting the Yosemite National Park sequences for the television show. However, it seems as though the white water rafting ride scenes were the only ones captures in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada.
Arizona, United States
Although the Wilderness cast and crew could not film the Yosemite National Park episode in California itself and had to travel to Canada for those scenes, they could shoot other sequences that took place in the United States in the actual locations. One of Liv and Will Taylor’s destinations during their vacation in the Amazon Prime Video miniseries was Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, and the show actually ventured to the state to capture these scenes. Of course, it would be difficult to replicate such a distinguished landmark, so they had no other choice but to venture to the Grand Canyon at a spot not open to the public for these shots.
Las Vegas, United States
Jenna Coleman and Oliver Jackson-Cohen’s characters also ventured to Las Vegas, Nevada, in Wilderness, which is another location that could never be recreated somewhere else in the world. The Las Vegas strip is quite unique and can be spotted in the fourth episode of the thriller television show. Sin City was the perfect location to represent the high-stakes drama in Liv and Will Taylor’s relationship as it heads for a downwards spiral. Las Vegas is the last stop on Liv and Will’s road trip before they head back home to New York in the Amazon Prime Video miniseries.
New York, United States
Although a big part of Wilderness is the trip that Liv and Will take that changes the course of their relationship forever, the couple does have a home base in New York City, and that is the final location of the thriller television show. Liv and Will’s apartment was staged for the miniseries, but exterior scenes meant to take place in the city were captured in the Big Apple and Vancouver for Wilderness on Amazon Prime Video.
Sources: Ready Steady Cut, Country & Town House, Good to Know
