You can have the summer of your life too with the help of this comprehensive guide to the Along for the Ride filming locations.
In Along for the Ride, In Colby, North Carolina, Auden (Emma Pasarow) discovers the ideal setting for a summer getaway and fresh start. Everyone in the small beachside town knows each other, and her stepmother’s new baby lives with her estranged father there. During Auden’s summer in Colby, he makes friends, learns about himself, and develops a passion for bike rides and onion rings.
However, Colby doesn’t actually exist. Along for the Ride book author Sarah Dessen has said that Colby is based on the town of She spent her childhood summers in Emerald Isle, North Carolina, which she now visits. The film was also shot in a number of coastal towns in North Carolina, staying true to the places she remembered from her youth.
1. Kiffney-Brown Prep
Every year, on the Saturday following graduation, the recently graduated seniors climb the school’s bell tower, party there, ring the bell for an hour, and then, as their senior prank, cover it in toilet paper. Auden thinks the prank is “actually kind of beautiful.” In reality, this isn’t a school at all; it’s the New Hanover County Courthouse, a few blocks from the Cape Fear River and the action-packed center of Wilmington. Address: New Hanover County Courthouse, 316 Princess St., Wilmington
2. Russell’s Gas & Gro and the “Welcome to Colby” Sign
the preferred location to purchase your gas, extra-large coffees, and preferred snacks. Although the “Welcome to Colby” sign was only temporary, you can still get your snack fix from the real-life store, Russell’s Quik Stop. Address: Russell’s Quik Stop, 2101 Wrightsville Ave., Wilmington
3. Colby Shops
Auden wanders the streets of Colby for the first time, window shopping alongside visitors and locals. At the shops at the Carolina Beach Boardwalk, which served as a stand-in for the stores along the Colby Boardwalk, you can indulge in a spot of window shopping as well. Address: Carolina Beach Boardwalk, 1 Carolina Beach Ave. N, Carolina Beach
4. Clementine’s Boutique
In addition to being a soon-to-be mother, Auden’s warm and loving stepmother also runs the adorable shop Clementine’s, where Esther, Maggie, and Leah frequently go shopping and participate in nightly dance breaks. While in the store’s office, Auden does accounting. You can visit Clementine’s, but you won’t find any adorable sunglasses to match your most recent summer attire. As the shop is actually a real estate office, you will instead receive assistance in finding your ideal beachfront property. Address: Nest Realty, 112 Cape Fear Blvd., Carolina Beach
5. Beach Beans
Beach Beans is the go-to spot for morning coffee in Colby if you need to get your caffeine fix before your late-night activities. You can still get your java fix here even though the real-world location doesn’t go by that name. Address: North End Cafe To-Go, 901 Carolina Beach Ave. N, Carolina Beach.
6. Colby Coin Laundry/Clyde’s Pie Shop
In Colby Coin Laundry, a laundromat where you can wash your shirts, listen to records, and get a slice of homemade pie and some delectable coffee from the secret dessert shop in the back, the night owls seek refuge while the rest of Colby sleeps. However, since Clyde’s Pie isn’t real, you’ll have to go somewhere else to get your pie. This establishment is a real laundromat in Carolina Beach. Address: Melissa’s Coin Laundry, 702 Lake Park Blvd. S, Carolina Beach
7. Auden and Eli’s Mini Golf Quest
At the beginning of their quest, Eli takes Auden to a tacky mini golf course because no beachside community would be complete without one. At the actual mini golf course, Jungle Rapids Family Fun Park, you can also make a hole-in-one. Address: Jungle Rapids Family Fun Park, 5320 Oleander Dr., Wilmington
8. Captain’s Wharf Restaurant
If you enjoy eating seafood and getting a taste of the local cuisine, have lunch at Captain’s Wharf Restaurant like Auden and her father did—awkward family conversations excluded. Address: Carolina Smokehouse, 9 Pavilion Ave., Carolina Beach
9. Bike Shop
In the Bike Shop, where he’s constantly tinkering with something, is the only place to find Eli when he’s not out on his late-night bike rides. In reality, the Bike Shop is a location where you can rent kayaks, beach chairs, umbrellas, and, yes, bikes as well. Address: Pleasure Island Rentals, 2 North Lake Park Blvd., Carolina Beach
10. the Tip
The Tip is the standard beach hangout in every beach town. The Tip is where Colby’s hippest locals congregate, whether they’re unwinding after work or catching up with friends to discuss the latest gossip.
Where Was Along for the Ride Filmed?
Along for the Ride was filmed primarily in Carolina Beach, Wilmington, Kure Beach, and Oak Island are all in North Carolina. Local news reported that Along for the Ride was filming at the Carolina Beach Boardwalk in the spring of 2021, and later that year, the movie was filming the scene where Auden and Eli play mini-golf at Jungle Rapids, a mini-golf course in Wilmington.
The Carolina Beach Boardwalk, the Kure Beach Pier, the Snows Cut Bridge, Thalian Hall, and the New Hanover County Courthouse are all actual locations in Pleasure Island and Wilmington, North Carolina, according to a Star News report. There are also quite a few scenes on Carolina Beach and Kure Beach, which were also often filming locations for the teen dramas One Tree Hill and Dawson’s Creek.
So, while it wasn’t filmed on Emerald Isle, the Along for the Ride movie nevertheless captured that authentic By shooting on location, North Carolina’s coast. And it’s obvious how much Dessen valued the opportunity to film in her home state. (A large portion of Dessen’s life has been spent in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.) In a 2021 blog post announcing the film, Dessen wrote, “I am SO HAPPY to let you all know that Along for the Ride is going to be a Deep breath, a Netflix movie is coming, and it will be shot here in North Carolina. I’m stunned and overjoyed.”
Along for the Ride Filming Locations
Given that the story is set in a seaside community and that the author, Sarah Dessen, is from North Carolina (NC), it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the film’s production took place in NC, specifically in Carolina Beach, Wilmington, Kure Beach, and Oak Island.
Beginning in Carolina Beach, a stunning beach community in New Hanover County, NC, filming took place from April to June 2021. They reportedly shot on the boardwalk there, according to a local news source at the time.
According to Port City Daily, specific locations used in the movie include the Havana’s Restaurant, Melissa’s Coin Laundry, Pleasure Island Rentals, Carolina Smokehouse, Carolina Beach Scuba, North End Java Stop, and two homes on Carolina Beach Road and Carolina Beach Avenue. Some of these locations, such as the neighborhood laundromat/pie shop and the well-known in-universe diner The Last Chance, were used to represent specific locations in the film.
Netflix Life spoke with one of the film’s stars, Kate Bosworth, about her experience in Wilmington and she even gave a shoutout to Sophia Bush, who spent many years in the area filming her hit teen drama One Tree Hill.
Is Defriese University Real?
You’ll hear the name Defriese University mentioned several times throughout Along for the Ride because it is Dream school for Auden Fans of Sarah Dessen’s novels know the university is a fictional creation featured in several of her novels, including Along for the Ride and What Happened to Goodbye. According to readers, Duke University, a renowned private university in North Carolina, served as inspiration.
