You might be thinking: hang on a sec, Gem, is Practical Magic a horror movie? And you know what? Fair. This spooky season favourite might be a little light on gruey entrails and pant-browning jolts for hardened horror hounds, but everyone’s gotta tip their toe in the plasma pool sometime. It’s a nudge in the right direction for those with fledgling interests in all-things creepy. Plus, I like it.
This delightful gateway horror hit theaters back in 1998. Despite its release at the height of Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman’s combined star power– it received a critical drubbing. That mattered not to its mounting fandom who adore it to this day. It’s a firm fixture on Halloween season watchlists.
A large part of its continued appeal lies in the setting of Maria’s Island. No such place exists outside of the world created by author Alice Hoffman, who penned the book the movie is based on, but several Washington small-towns stood in.
Why Washington Was Chosen for Practical Magic
Hoffman’s novel takes place in New England, yet the wintry climate knocked Massachusetts out of the running and location scouts sought another more temperate locale. Los Angeles was at the time in the midst of 1997-1998 El Nino weather blitz, ruling out the normally agreeable California.
Scouts settled upon San Juan Island and Whidbey Island. Both stand in for the town of Maria’s Island and it’s easy to see why— they each offer a similar cosy aesthetic to the depicted in the original story a New England town of historic significance.
Key Locations
1. Coupeville, Washington (Maria’s Island)
Conjure (ahem) a scene from the movie in your mind’s eye and you might picture the charming waterfront of Maria’s Island. It’s quaint, it’s gentile, it’s… matching. The real magic here is a hearty sprinkling of Hollywood fairydust, because, in reality?
The quaint downtown area of Coupeville used in the movie stretches for roughly two blocks.
Glimpses of storefronts can be spotted in the background of several sequences, starting with the Vail Wine Shop at 22 Front Street. This winery stands in for the Maria’s Island Post Office, introducing us to the small town as Sally (Sandra Bullock) and her aunts (Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest) stop to pick up mail. I tried to replicate the same shot that follows the three witches as they stroll along the street but the amount of cars and pedestrians made it a tad tricky! (More on this later)
Close to the wine shop is the Island Trail on Front St that Sally runs down when she’s overcome with romance for her future husband. Movie magic being what it is, this piece of scrub appears to be a path from the Owens’ homestead down to the town – but in actuality the house stood on an entirely different island.
This short trail runs alongside the Island County Historical Museum, 908 NW Alexander St. You can also spot it in the scene after Sally refuses Gary Hallet (Aidan Quinn)’s advances and returns home. In that brief sequence we also see the boardwalk in the background. If you do walk the trail it’s only very short and leads to public tennis courts which while a lovely addition to Coupeville, is far less impressive than the majestic Owen’s abode.
The Penn Cove Gallery, 9 Front St NW, now sits on the once-empty lot that production used for the Maria’s Island Farmer’s Market. That is of course where Sally’s husband Michael works before he perishes.
To ensure the waterfront fit the bill, production gave the entire stretch of Front St a renovation, freshening storefronts with white paint as well as adding a few extra touches that remain to this day. One of those is the picket fence that stretches between the town pub Catch and Fry, in real life Toby’s Tavern, 8 Front St NW, and Sally’s shop Verbena Botanicals, now Molka Xete Mexican Kitchen, 4 Front St NW.
Hallet and Sally have a heated conversation in front of this fence with northern Whidbey in the background.
How to Get There
Look, I’m not a parking lot fetishist but as part of a travel duo we do get overly excited when we find a free parking lot. The Coupeville Public Library sits beside one of those – oh and they had plenty of clean public bathrooms, too, SCORE – walked toward Front St, and were pleasantly surprised to find all of the main locations spotted downtown are within viewing distance.
Traveler’s Tip: If capturing photos of the exact spots from the movie is what you’re hoping for, visit during the week or on the weekend during the off-season (i.e. when it’s pouring rain and yucky).
2. 15 San Juan County Park Rd., Washington (Owens Family House)
One of the biggest kickers in all of filming location history is that the beautiful Owens family house? Doesn’t exist. That’s right, that gorgeous Victorian mansion sat on the cliffs of San Juan County Park overlooking the beautiful Haro Strait was a facade. A beautiful facade but one nevertheless.
That gorgeous Victorian mansion — that caught the eye of Barbra Streisand at next who was interested in purchasing — was designed by production designer Robin Standefer. Eight months were spent curating a collection of ideas that would unite to form their cosy homestead. But why?
Producer Denise DiNovi: “The house is tailored to the action in the film,” explains Di Novi in a press release. “I don’t think we could ever have found a house that could have matched our needs.”
And by now you should know the drill: while the exterior of the abode features heavily in the final product, they didn’t flesh out the inside. Interiors were constructed on a Los Angeles sound stage with the exception of portions of the greenhouse and kitchen.
As well as the house and gardens, the Halloween celebration scene from the finale was also shot across here. Over 150 local extras appeared in the final Halloween scene but alas only the cast were on wires.
All in all, the movie brought in $1.5 – $2 million to the San Juan Island community including $80k to the San Juan County Park district. Score!
How to Get There
Once on San Juan Island, the spot the house was located on is pretty easy to find in San Juan County Park. Head to the picnic area overlooking the bluff.
3. HF Sinclair Puget Sound Refinery, 8505 S Texas Rd, Anacortes, WA (Sally and Gilly kill Jimmy)
Ah yes—while it’s not a gruey demise, it’s nevertheless a cathartic one! The sequence when Sally and Gillian kill Jimmy (Goran Visnjic) was lensed against the backdrop of the HollyFrontier Oil Refinery in Anacortes which at the time of shooting was owned by Shell.
How to Get There
The site is on Fidalgo Island shortly before you return to the mainland. While it’s not the most picturesque of locales, completionists can stop outside the main gates to snap a pic.
Map of Locations
8505 South Texas Road, Anacortes, Washington 98221
15 San Juan Park Road, Friday Harbor, Washington 98250
9 Northwest Front Street, Coupeville, Washington 98239
4 Northwest Front Street, Coupeville, Washington 98239
22 Northwest Front Street, Coupeville, Washington 98239
Island County Historical Museum, 908 NW Alexander St, Coupeville, Washington 98239
Make It A Day Trip
If you wanna pack in Coupeville *and* San Juan Island this might take longer than one day if you’re wanting to take things at a leisurely pace. Luckily, because there’s a ferry stop involved that allows for a sidebar to hit up the Anacortes spot at March’s Point. If you happen to snap a good pic, please let us know in the comments!
Here’s my suggestions for a two-day trip to the main locations based on our visit inc. some fun stops:
1. Arrive at Whidbey Island, grab a coffee at Sunshine Drip, then drive to Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve. We parked near the quaint and peaceful Sunnyside Cemetery. Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner filmed several scenes from War of the Roses out here.
Follow the path out toward the cliffs, and take in a few historical structures before a clifftop walk. After being in the car, it felt good to soak up some fresh air.
2. From the Cemetery drive to Downtown Coupeville. Park at the Coupeville Library, 788 NW Alexander St which puts you within walking distance of the main throng of locations.
3. While you’re about, hit up Kapaw’s Iskreme for ice cream – we did and subsequently came up with our own song about the establishment. That is, of course, optional.
4. On the way back to the car, we hit up Gordon’s Fusion for a burger and I highly recommend it. We were able to snag a table outside so our pup Ripley could join.
5. Find a place to stop for the night if you want to take things steady. As we stayed at an Airbnb cabin at Greenbank we hit up the Greenbank Farm Wine Shop for a sampling of local grape juice before hitting the hay. This place is also dog-friendly.
6. The next day, drive north and stop at Deception Pass State Park in Oak Harbor. Two bridges connect Whidbey to Fidalgo Island that take you across the pass, although it feels like one. The first is the cantilever bridge with the impressive structures below. We parked up and walked underneath– Glenna is far less of a wimp than I am and she ventured across the two-lane bridge itself. To snap photos of the bridge, we drove out to Cornet Bay Marina.
Once on Fidalgo, head up to March’s Point to check out the refinery location, then onto the Anacortes ferry terminal. Catch a boat to Friday Harbour and drive up to San Juan County State Park.
Travel Tips for Visiting Practical Magic Locations
Best Time To Visit
If you want to capture that snug, cosy feeling of autumn, visit between September and November and beat the crowds by visiting Coupeville during the week.
Hidden Gems To Check Out
- Deception Pass County Park
- Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve
Nearby Filming Locations To Explore
- The Ring – Deception Pass on Whidbey, Pass Lake on Fidalgo Island
- War of the Roses – Coupeville on Whidbey
Not every location we visit boasts picturesque surroundings, yet the weekend we spent visiting Coupeville made up for it. While we opted to stay overnight, as mentioned, you could easily make separate day trips.
If you’ve checked out Practical Magic filming locations in Washington let us know how you got along in the comments below and share your photos in our Facebook group.
