Top 6 'Veronica Mars' Filming Locations
CHannel your inner private eye at these san diego locations
BY: V. Rhodes
Veronica Mars (2004-2019), Television Show, Warner Bros. Television.
Top 6 Filming Locations for Veronica Mars
including Mars investigations and The Neptune Grand
Veronica Mars (2004-2019) was a sleeper hit for me. I watched the whole series and movie just before the final 2019 season dropped, and oh man, I’m glad I did! You’re looking at a Marshmallow, through and through!
For those of you who are new: Veronica Mars is a teen noir series. Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) is a smart and tenacious student at Neptune High. She works part time with her dad, Keith Mars (Enrico Colantoni) at his private-eye office, Mars Investigations. Season 1 opens with the murder of Veronica’s best friend, Lily Kane (Amanda Seyfried). The rest of the show has Veronica trying to solve this big overall murder mystery, but each episode has smaller mystery archs.
The majority of the Veronica Mars shoots were done in and around San Diego, posing as the fictional town of Neptune, California. Let’s use our super sleuthing skills and see what we can find.
#1
mars investigations
Cabrillo Academy of the Sword
3339 Adams Ave, San Diego, CA 92116
Ever dreamed of being a private-eye? Us too man. Watching this as an adult made me wonder how Veronica had so much time! Veronica is 17 solving crimes and changing lives. I’m 27, ordering takeout the 4th day in a row. But you can come to this filming location and pretend to be part of the Mars Investigation team!
Although the interior shots were all done at a sound stage. The exterior is easily recognized at this Normal Heights locations. Between the popular Lestat’s Coffee House and the vintage store, there is an archway leading up to Cabrillo Academy of the Sword. That archway is the entrance to Mars Investigations!
Image Credit: Google Street View
#2
Veronica’s Home
The Inn at Sunset Cliffs
1370 Sunset Cliff Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92107
Point Loma is a beautiful neighbourhood of San Diego! If you can, I would absolutely recommend a trip out here. Not just for the filming locations, but in general. The main lookout at the Sunset Cliffs has become famous for the best sunsets in San Diego.
The Inn at Sunset Cliffs was the filing location for Veronica and Keith’s housing complex. Even though in the show the Mars’ aren't supposed to be well off, in real life their house is right by the beach!
Image Credit: Inn at Sunset Cliffs
Image Credit: Inn at Sunset Cliffs
#3
Neptune High
Oceanside High School
1 Pirates Cove Way, Oceanside, CA 92054
Neptune High is the fictional school that Veronica and her friends attend. The exterior shots are all filmed at Oceanside High School in Oceanside, California. This school is usually gated off from the public, but you can get a good view of it from the highway.
Fun Fact: The fictional Neptune High team name is the Pirates, and the real life Oceanside High School has the same team name and is located on Pirate Cove Way!
#4
The Boardwalk
Image Credit: Google Maps
Belmont Park
3146 Mission Blvd, San Diego, CA 92109
If your show is set in California, you're going to have shots of beaches and boardwalks! Many of the boardwalk scenes for seasons one and two were filmed along Belmont Park, Mission Beach. You can easily pick out the famous Giant Dipper Roller Coaster in the background of some shots!
Balmont Park is a historic amusement park that opened July 4th, 1925. Yes, that crazy coaster is almost 100 years old! But don’t worry, after being shut down in the 1970’s, the whole area got restored and the Giant Dipper got a complete refurbishment and re-opened in 1990. Although we didn’t have a chance to do any of the rides, we did go on a long bike ride around this area! Mission Beach is beautiful, and there's a lot of fun boardwalk paths to explore!
#5
The BEACH
Dog Beach
San Diego, CA 92109
Dog Beach in San Diego, is a 100% off leash dog park. There are so many happy dogs running up and down this beach, swimming in the ocean and enjoying that off-leash life. Although Veronica Mars appears to have been filmed at a bunch of beaches across San Diego (like La Jolla Shores beach), keen-eyed fans have noted this Dog Beach in particular as a filming location.
Dog Beach, San Diego
#6
The Neptune Grand
Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter
401 K St, San Diego, CA 92101
The infamous Neptune Grand is the site for a lot of big moments in Veronica Mars. This is a lux hotel catered to the upper class of Neptune. Wealthy characters are often checking in and out or even living at the Grand. Some characters like Jake Kane (Kyle Secor) and Lianne Reynolds (Corinne Bohrer) use their stay here as an alibi when under investigation for Lily Kane’s (Amanda Seyfried) murder.
The exterior shots of the Neptune Grand are actually at the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter. I’ve seen it posted that the interior suite could have been a studio set, but I don’t have specific confirmation. If someone (*cough*cough* the Hilton *cough*) would like to comp me a luxy vacation stay for research, I wouldn’t say no.
In season two, Duncan Kane (Teddy Dunn) moves into a suite at the Grand. And in S02E06, when his best friend Logan Echols’s (Jason Dohring) house burns down, Logan moves into this suite with Duncan. In S02E20, this suite is also where Duncan hosts the ‘anti-prom’ party. After Duncan moves away, he keeps the suite for Logan to use, so the Grand is still a location throughout season three.
Image Credit: Go San Diego
* MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD *
S02E22 “Not Pictured”
The season two finale is often regarded as the best episode of the entire Veronica Mars series, and honestly I still get chills thinking about it. Two major deaths occur at the Neptune Grand! In teen dramties, character fake-out deaths don’t usually mean anything. But Veronica Mars isn't playing. Veronica Mars is a teen noir. In Veronica Mars, if you’re dead, you’re dead! There’s no Bart-Bass-Gossip-Girl style death, where you get killed off in season two, then return to life in season six.
01 Veronica's confrontation with Cassidy “Beaver” Casablancas (Kyle Gallner), leads to Beaver jumping off the roof of the Grand and falling to his death. So many emotions hit you all at once!
02 But if one death isn’t enough, two will really get you! After Arron Echols (Harry Hamlin) is acquitted of the muder of Lily Kane, Duncan hires the head of his father’s security team to take out him out! Bye-Bye Arron, you deserved this ending!
PIN IT!
Image Credit
All Veronica Mars (2004-2019) images were screen-grabbed directly from the DVD box set “Veronica Mars: The Complete Series”. All rights reserved to Rod Thomas Productions and Warner Bros. Television. All photos were taken by the author unless otherwise noted below.
References
Bordages, Anais. “The Definitive Ranking of all ‘Veronica Mars’ Episodes.” Buzzfeed, 10 March, 2014.
Christina. “Mars Investigations from ‘Veronica Mars’.” Live The Movies, 13 March.
Christina. “Veronica and Keith’s Apartment complex from ‘Veronica Mars’.” Live The Movies, 10 March.