The Big Picture
- Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco in New Jersey is the real-life Camp Crystal Lake from the Friday the 13th franchise, where over 80% of the first film was shot.
- The camp offers tours in the fall, spring, and summer, allowing fans to see filming locations and participate in special events. Tickets cost around $149 and include activities like archery and canoeing.
- Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco is a functioning Boy Scout camp that operates year-round, but outside visitors are only allowed during scheduled tours. Horror fans can immerse themselves in the nostalgia of the franchise, but no one is allowed to wear the infamous hockey mask.
For a horror fan, summer camp is full of machetes, hockey masks, spilled blood, and mommy issues. Camp Crystal Lake is one of the most iconic and well-known locations in the horror universe, containing the likes of Jason Voorhees, Mrs. Voorhees, and plenty of murdered camp counselors. But is the notorious Camp Crystal Lake from the Friday the 13th franchise real, or is it just another movie set?
Camp Crystal Lake is where the franchise all started. Mrs. Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) took revenge on the campers in the 1980s film because her dearly beloved son, Jason, drowned in the lake while the camp counselors were partaking in some explicit activities. At the end of the film, we finally see Jason (Ari Lehman) emerge from his watery tomb and attack the canoe that the final girl Alice thought she was safe in. From here, Jason takes over his mother’s revenge attack, and all unsuspecting teenage counselors getting naked and doing drugs are in his machete path. Not every movie in the franchise takes place at Camp Crystal Lake, but it’s where it all began. With a history like that, who would want to stay there?! The answer to that question is horror fans, duh.
Where Is the Real Camp Crystal Lake?
The actual location of the film is a camp, but it goes by the name Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco in Hardwick, New Jersey. According to the Camp Crystal Lake Tours website, tours occur in the fall around spooky season and again during the spring and summer. The website also boasts a waitlist, so this is a hot commodity that costs around $149 per ticket. Over 80% of Friday the 13th Part I was filmed at Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco, so it’s likely that you’ll get to see the bathrooms, cabins, and even the lake where Voorhees cemented his name as a classic slasher. There are daytime tours but also nighttime tours for the bold super fan and sometimes the tours feature special events. In the past, they have hosted reunion tours with some of the stars and brains behind Friday the 13th, like Adrienne King, Tom Savini, Ari Lehman, and Jeannine Taylor. The tours include visiting the filming locations, flashlight tour sessions, archery and canoeing, movie artifact experiences, and exclusive souvenirs and apparel. Sadly, no one is allowed to run around in the infamous hockey mask.
One attendee chronicled his time at the camp for Smithsonian Magazine. He mentions how the tour begins in the dining hall, which is the site of the opening flashback scene in Friday the 13th. He also mentions that there is a replica Jeep that Mrs. Voorhees drove in the rain to the camp. A lot of the cabin scenes have been filled with props or moved around slightly, but tour guides and special guests point out iconic scenes like Jack’s (Kevin Bacon) iconic throat death. After leaving the tour, the guests are provided with a fan-made map that shows other filming locations after leaving Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco to check out.
Is Camp Crystal Lake from ‘Friday the 13th’ a Functioning Summer Camp?
Yes, Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco is a functioning, all-year-round camp. That’s probably why no one is allowed to wear the mask while touring the grounds. Talk about fear and trauma! The real camp is a Boy Scout camp that consists of more than 380 acres in the Kittatinny Mountain region and was opened in 1927. It is the oldest operating camp in New Jersey. No-Be-Bo-Sco stands for North Bergen Boy Scouts, and they are at full capacity all summer, making this camp a true destination for Boy Scouts. They do not allow outside visitors outside the scheduled tours from the Camp Crystal Lake website.
Jason Voorhees super fans, what do you say? It looks like a bucket list experience full of horror nostalgia. There may not be any jump scares or haunted house-like haunts, but the atmosphere there might be eerie enough to make you look over your shoulder a few times. Just make sure you get out before you hear ki-ki-ki, ma-ma-ma, or you might not make it out alive!
