Filming locations in North Carolina

Visiting North Carolina: a set-jetting guide. The Blue Ridge mountains around Asheville turn out to be two films at once. Their waterfalls and forests are the arena of The Hunger Games, and a frozen-in-time mill village nearby is its District 12, while a single mountain lake to the south is where Dirty Dancing staged its most famous moment. You can build a leafy, watery road trip out of all three, with Asheville as the easy base in between.

Start in DuPont State Forest, the wooded arena where Katniss survives the Games. It is a free state forest laced with marked trails to a string of big waterfalls, and Triple Falls, the one that turns up in the arena scenes, is the headline hike. Bring sturdy shoes and expect company on summer weekends, when the cascades draw crowds. Nearby Brevard makes a pleasant lunch stop on the way in or out.

For District 12, drive out to Henry River Mill Village, the abandoned cotton-mill hamlet that became Katniss's run-down home. It is private property run as a managed visitor site, so check the tour schedule before you go rather than turning up cold. The guides point out Katniss's house and the Mellark bakery among the weathered company buildings. It sits just off Interstate 40, an easy detour between Asheville and Charlotte.

South of all this lies Lake Lure, the mountain lake where Johnny and Baby rehearse the famous lift waist-deep in the water in Dirty Dancing. The public beach charges a seasonal fee, and boat tours on the water point out the spots from the film, with Chimney Rock State Park towering above. Asheville is the natural base for the whole loop, leafy, well-fed and within reach of every one of these screen corners.