Where Was Lost Filmed? Every Major Location Explained

"Lost" is one of the biggest and most important TV shows of the 2000s. It forever changed the way we think about network TV, helping bring about an era of serialization, high-concept genre shows, and mystery box storytelling. Before we all got glued to social media discussing the latest "Severance" theory or sharing our shock at the latest big "House of the Dragon" death, it was "Lost" that had the whole world obsessing over theories, ships, and twists. By the time it ended, "Lost" went out with one of the most discussed and analyzed finales in modern TV history (a finale that still holds up and was pretty great, actually).

This is a show with a big legacy. Michael Giacchino's score remains the best TV soundtrack, its characters are memorable and the cast diverse, marking a genuinely good stride for representation on TV. Yet the legacy of "Lost" is also problematic, with that same diverse cast also being, in some cases, reduced to racist stereotypes and playing second fiddle to the four white leads, or the main female character at times seemingly only existing to be involved in a love triangle.

Looking back at "Lost" in the era of lavish TV productions with hundreds of millions spent each season, it's amazing how good the show still looks. The pilot episode of "Lost" remains one of the best in the history of the medium, and each episode after that is a testament to the excellent production staff of the show, and also its location scouts.

As much mystery, intrigue, and seemingly supernatural events happened on the series, arguably its biggest magic trick was making one location look like anywhere on the planet. With the vast majority of "Lost" being filmed on one island, it is surprisingly easy for fans to visit all the major locations of their favorite scenes from the show — I made the trip in 2024, and it was incredible.

Whether you want to make the pilgrimage to the island and walk the same path as the survivors of Oceanic 815, or want to know how shockingly few times the crew filmed outside of Hawaii, check out the biggest filming locations for "Lost" below.

Production for "Lost" took place almost entirely on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. This makes sense for scenes taking place on the Island, with the vast jungles, mountains, and beaches making for a perfect location to set a mysterious yet beautiful magical island. What is more surprising, however, is that basically every scene not set on the Island was also filmed on Oahu, with the city of Honolulu used as a stand-in for everywhere from South Korea and Nigeria to Iraq and Paris.

Just like the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is a big love letter to the natural beauty of New Zealand, "Lost" is a massive ad for the Oahu tourism board and a love letter to the mix of cultural influences on the island. In the span of a couple of hours, you can go from the location of the main survivor's camp at Papa'iloa Beach on the North Shore of Oahu, then drive to the location of the Sydney Airport (in reality the Hawaii Convention Center) and the site of Sun (Yunjin Kim) and Jin's (Daniel Dae Kim) wedding in Korea (Byodo-In Temple), and finally head to the small Nigerian village where Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) grew up (the site of the former Waialua Sugar Mill).

Though a lot of the markers and sets are no longer there — it's been 15 years since the finale, after all — there are still quite a lot of places that look just like they did on the show. If you ever make your way to Oahu, here are some of the biggest locations to keep an eye out for in addition to the ones mentioned above.

• Camp Erdman: This YMCA summer camp for kids is located on the North Shore of Oahu and is the filming location for the Dharma Camp where The Others resided. Even if the cabins have been repainted from the show's yellow to the current blue, it's still a recognizable and easily accessible location.
• Kualoa Ranch: This single location crosses off many items on lists of movie and TV filming locations, as this massive ranch is also the location of scenes from "Jurassic Park" and many other titles. In "Lost," the ranch's vast lands contain the site for The Tempest station, Hurley's (Jorge Garcia) golf course, the area where Hurley drove a van, and more.
• Sacred Hearts Academy: The chapel of this Catholic school serves as the location of Eloise's church, also known as the Lamp Post Station. Most significantly, the inside of the church can be seen in the final episode of the show where Christian Shephard's funeral is being held and where the characters reunite in the flash-sideways to move on.

"Lost" only shot outside of Hawaii a couple of times, most significantly in season 4 for the scene where Sun confronts Charles Widmore (Alan Dale) in London and when Ben (Michael Emerson) also confronted Charles. Those scenes were filmed on location in London only because Alan Dale was performing the musical "Spamalot" and couldn't make the trip to Hawaii to film there.

Additionally, several scenes from the season 3 finale were shot in Los Angeles, including the scene where Jack contemplates suicide, which was shot right by the E. 6th St. Bridge in downtown L.A. before the bridge was demolished. Additionally, hospital scenes in that episode were filmed at the set used by "Grey's Anatomy." The iconic "We have to go back" scene, though meant to be LAX, was actually still shot in Hawaii, with green screen used to simulate LAX to keep the secrecy of the scene.