Almost Nobody Knows That Part Of The Iconic Movie Back To The Future III Was Filmed In This Quiet Southern California Town
By Natasha Kayes|Updated on April 15, 2024(Originally published March 28, 2023)
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Natasha Kayes
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I was born and raised in sunny Southern California and will never tire of the West Coast, although I spent several years living in Southeast Asia, about as far from California as you can get. Wherever I am in the world, I love straying from the beaten path, experiencing local life, and discovering hidden gems - camera in hand. The beach is my happy place and when I am not there (or writing), you will usually find me baking, watching movies, and cuddling my pugs. I have traveled around the country and around the world, and it never, ever gets old. Being able to combine my passion for travel and my love of writing is nothing short of a dream.
One of the most iconic movie franchises of the 1980s is the Back to the Future trilogy. Part comedy, part love story, part science fiction, the first of the three films was the highest-grossing movie of 1985. It became an almost immediate cult classic and worldwide phenomenon with two sequels. The final sequence of the third film took place at a railroad crossing in the quiet Southern California beach town of Port Hueneme. As popular as Back to the Future became, very few people know parts of this movie were filmed in Port Hueneme, California.
In the final scenes of the final film in the Back to the Future trilogy, the time-traveling DeLorean - along with two different trains - runs on a portion of railroad tracks located about 500 feet from the beach on the Southern California coast.
If you ever come across a trivia question that asks, "Where was Back To The Future 3 filmed," you've got the answer.
Fun fact: A total of seven DeLoreans were actually used in filming the Back to the Future trilogy. This specific car was used in the filming of Part III.
Although Californians may be familiar with Port Hueneme, Back To The Future really helped put this town on the map.
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In the film “Back to the Future III,” the DeLorean - stuck in the Old West with no gas - is pushed by a train toward a partially built bridge over Eastwood Ravine. The train crashes in the ravine (filmed using a large model) but the car, having successfully reached 88 miles per hour, makes it over the now-finished bridge and continues down the track near Hilldale.
The tracks in the scene are found in the SoCal beach town of Port Hueneme. The bridge in the background is fake - either a prop or computer graphics. There is no such bridge or ravine in Port Hueneme. In fact, the location where they seem to be in the film is actually a port along the Pacific.
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It is a little funny to see that the movie’s real estate sign for Hilldale advertises single-family homes but the community behind the sign is clearly condos or apartments. It is unlikely that anyone noticed while watching this scene.
Aside from the fake bridge over Eastwood Revine and the signs near the tracks, the tracks look the same now and are easily recognizable if you happen to live in or frequent the little beach town.
As the DeLorean slowly makes its way through the railroad crossing, the bells and lights activate, the gates come down, and passengers in cars wait impatiently for it to pass.
In the distance, you can see the flags and palm trees at Port Hueneme Beach.
The freight train (actually two linked trains) that destroys the DeLorean on the east section of the tracks, right after it brings Marty safely back to the future, was a real train that belonged to the Ventura County Railway.
The trains were eventually purchased and used by the Fillmore and Western Railroad. The crash on the tracks was real, but the DeLorean was a shell car that was created for the scene. In the next scene, a steam engine from the past appears on the tracks, only to lift off and fly away as you catch one last look at the railroad.
Looking east, the trees have grown over the tracks, but otherwise, not much has changed on this section of the railroad where the DeLorean was destroyed.
This is also the section of tracks where the futuristic flying steam engine appears in the last scene of the movie.
You can watch the movie’s train crash scene in this video:
If you’ve wondered, “Where was Back To The Future 3 filmed,” you now have the answer to an interesting piece of trivia. Few people, though, know where Port Hueneme is, but almost everyone has seen part of this town in the film. Did you know that Back to the Future was in Port Hueneme? What’s your favorite Back to the Future film? I’m partial to the original because, well, sometimes nothing beats the first time we meet a character.
