Tag: movie lakes

Lake Activities: What Should You Do Today?

Posted on Camille Smith

From reading on the dock to water skiing, an endless amount of activities are at your fingertips when you own a lake home. Especially as summer is approaching, your options grow exponentially. With countless possibilities, choosing a lake activity can be overwhelming. To simplify the process, we’ve created this decision flowchart. Start at the top, answer each question, and discover what exciting feat you’re in for today!

Download Flowchart

Indoor Activities

If your result was in a turquoise box, get ready for a cozy, laid back day indoors. Greet the day with a slow yoga flow on your screened porch. By afternoon, maybe you’ll scour the pantry for ingredients to start a new recipe. Baking projects like homemade bread are more popular than ever, so now is the perfect time to get creative in the kitchen. Even if you’re in short supply of cookbooks at your lake house, popular apps like New York Times Cooking and Yummly have hundreds of recipes.

Similarly, there’s no shortage of DIY projects at your disposal. Examine each room of your lake home and ask yourself what’s missing. Maybe a cute chalkboard, decor made of driftwood, or an outdoor fire pit. You can create any of these pieces on your own, so why not get started today? If you’re not feeling creative and need to use the day to recharge, try one of The Atlantic’s recommended quarantine reads for the summer. Or sink into the sofa watching a lake-themed movie. 

Outdoor Activities

If your result settled on a lime green box, you’re spending the day outdoors! The lake waters are getting warmer these days, so why not take advantage? Whether you’re practicing competitive swimming strokes, water skiing, or canoeing with a fishing rod in hand, enjoying the water in your backyard never gets old. If you’d prefer more green space than blue today, try exploring one of the hiking trails near your property. If you own a mountain bike, grab your helmet and start pedaling. Otherwise, bring a walking stick and go at your own pace. While you’re there, count how many different species of birds you can spot. Check out this bird identification guide to brush up on your ornithology skills. While most of these are solo activities, if you’re feeling social, you can turn the day into a small social gathering — once quarantine ends, of course. Your backyard is the perfect setting for a summer picnic. Bring a set of speakers, a blanket, and enjoy the view with your crew. 

The Day’s What You Make It

We hope this flowchart helps you determine what activity you’d most enjoy at your lake house today. However, this decision-making tool is certainly not prescriptive. Ultimately, your perfect day at the lake is whatever you want it to be. Whether you decide to squeeze in every activity on this list, pick just one, or none at all, what’s most important is that you enjoy your lake retreat on this summer day. From our lake home to yours — have fun!

Lake Movies You Must See

Posted on Staff

Article co-written by LakeHomes.com intern Sarah Wright

Ah, remember when times were simpler? Sometimes we all wish life were a little bit more like the movies.

Step into the silver screen this summer with these lake-centric blockbuster movie hits and their real-life filming locations.

Dirty Dancing (1987)

Starring: Jennifer Gray and Patrick Swayze

On Location: Mountain Lake, VA, and Lake Lure, NC

In the summer of 1963, Baby (Jennifer Gray) and her family arrive at Kellerman’s resort for what is sure to be an uneventful vacation. But when she meets Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), the resort’s smooth-talking dance instructor, her summer takes an unexpected turn.

dirty dancing movie poster, lake movie filmed in NC and VA

From ill-fated dance lessons with Johnny to forbidden love, Baby transitions from an awkward and clumsy girl to a confident and graceful lady.

With Jennifer Gray’s empowering performance, audiences watch as Baby finds herself in the summer of ‘63 and learns that “nobody puts Baby in the corner.”

Our first lake of the silver screen, North Carolina’s Lake Lure, played host to several scenes in this ’80s classic, including the famous final dance scene and all shots of the resort’s staff cabins.

Each year, the lake hosts a  Dirty Dancing Festival to raise awareness and support for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the Chamber of Hickory Nut Gorge. The event includes a screening of the movie, a lake lift competition, and the “Kellerman’s Resort” talent show.

Mountain Lake in Virginia was also featured in the film, with it’s Mountain Lake Lodge serving as the fictitious Kellerman’s Resort. The venue is still open today and regularly hosts Dirty Dancing-themed weekends, complete with dance lessons and a movie-inspired scavenger hunt.

However, one thing visitors won’t experience at the lodge is the lake, which has since dried up.

Lake Effects (2012)

Starring: Scottie Thompson, Jane Seymour, and Madeline Zima

On Location: Smith Mountain Lake, VA

Lake Effects movie poster, filmed on movie lake Smith Mountain Lake, VA

After moving to Los Angeles in pursuit of her dream to become a big-time attorney, Sara vowed never to return to her home on Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia.

But following the death of her father, she is left with no choice but to go home and settle his estate.

Through her emotional journey and reconnection with her sister (Madeline Zima) and their mother Vivian (Jane Seymour), Sara is reminded of the love her family has for her, and that there’s really no place like home.

With idyllic scenes of Smith Mountain Lake throughout the movie, this Hallmark original will have you dreaming of days along the water’s edge.

Other flicks also filmed on this movie lake include What About Bob and Medic Zero.

Nell (1994)

Starring: Jodie Foster, Liam Neeson, and Natasha Richardson

On Location: Fontana Lake, North Carolina

When her mother dies, Nell (Jodie Foster) is left to raise herself, alone in an isolated cabin on Fontana Lake. Years later, Dr. Jerome Lovell (Liam Neeson) discovers Nell hiding in the rafters of her secret home.

Nell Movie Poster, filmed on movie lake Fontana Lake, C=Nc

He quickly discovers Nell communicates using a language known only to her and has never experienced life outside the North Carolina mountains.

Through this captivating story, Dr. Lovell and psychologist Dr. Paula Olsen (Natasha Richardson)  take Nell on a whirlwind journey from an isolated feral child, to a woman of the modern world.

The movie was filmed on location at the real Fontana Lake, located on the southern border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.

Here park visitors can enjoy hiking trails with amazing views of mountains, rivers, and waterfalls.

A Month By the Lake (1995)

Starring: Vanessa Redgrave, Edward Fox, and Uma Thurman

On Location: Lake Como, Lombardia, Italy

Her family vacation spot for 16 years, Lake Como has been the site of countless happy memories for Miss Bentley (Vanessa Redgrave), that is until her father dies.

When she returns to Lake Como to mourn and heal, it seems to Miss Bentley that the only people who speak her language are beautiful Miss Beaumont (Uma Thurman) — a recent finishing school dropout who is only there to have some fun — and handsome bachelor Major Wilshaw (Edward Fox).

A complicated love triangle soon forms between the three, crafting a clever romantic comedy best enjoyed by the lakeside.

Filmed across the pond on the real-life Lake Como, “A Month by the Lake” joins “Casino Royale,” “Ocean’s Twelve,” and “Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones” as movies made on this popular movie lake.

Grab the popping corn and snuggle in to enjoy scenes from these great movie lakes!

4 Famous Movie Lakes and Their Actual Location

Posted on Staff

When it comes to lakes in movies, most people automatically think of the horror genre.

That may be somewhat justified as there seems to be so many scary films that take place on the water, but there are also plenty of other movie lakes involving comedies, dramas, and romance.

That said, let’s start the list off with the most obvious (as related to LakeHomes.com) movie of them all:

The Lake House (2006)

the lake house from the lake house movie sandra bullock

This 2006 romance starred Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, but the real star of the movie was the lake home. The home was built specifically for the movie on Maple Lake, IL, just outside of Chicago.

It was actually constructed on the shoreline, then the ground underneath it was dug out allowing the lake to flood beneath the house for it’s over the water aesthetic.

Maple Lake is actually a forest preserve, and as such there are no homes on its shorelines. Because of this, after the filming of the movie had wrapped, the house was destroyed and the area cleaned up so that no trace of the structure remained.

Friday the 13th (1980)

friday the 13th original lake house movie 1980
Photo courtesy of Brett McBean.

The original horror movie, and one of the very first slasher flicks, was released in 1980 and takes place on the fictional Crystal Lake.

The lake scenes took place on Sand Pond, the lake retreat for the real-life Boy Scout Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco in New Jersey.

The camp is still in operation, and Sand Pond is still enjoyed by campers each summer!

What About Bob (1991)

What about bob lake house 1991

This 1991 comedy stars Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss in what is supposed to be a relaxing vacation getaway to Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.

While Lake Winnipesaukee is an actual lake in New Hampshire, the movie was actually filmed on Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia.

This was because the film was set during the summer months, but when filming began the leaves in New Hampshire had already begun to turn to their fall colors.

Grownups (2010)

Grownups 2010 movie lake house
Photo courtesy of Good Morning Gloucester.

This 2010 buddy comedy starred basically the entire cast of Saturday Night Live from the early 90’s, headed up by Adam Sandler.

In it, a group of friends reunite in their hometown and rent out a lake cottage for the week.

Filming for this comedy took place on Chebacco Lake, a 209-acre reservoir that is considered a “Great Pond,” meaning that it is owned by the state of Massachusetts but is open to the public for recreational use.

While the movie was universally panned, I’m sure the cast didn’t mind spending a summer on this gorgeous New England lake!

For more Hollywood lakes, check out our second article, “Top 5 Movies Set on the Lake.”

Or are you dreaming of creating memories in your own lake home? Check out some properties here!