Hotels on Screen: Salish Lodge in Twin Peaks

You might think that being featured in a macabre TV murder mystery would be a dubious advertisement for a hotel, but Salish Lodge in Washington State proves the opposite. The hotel, known as The Great Northern Hotel in Twin Peaks became an international fixture after the series aired in 1990. The fascination for viewers began in the cult murder mystery’s dreamlike opening credits, when we see the stately historic inn with its solid wooden beams, ample porches and homey gables rising above the Snoqualmie Falls and pine-fringed mountain lake, one of the most majestic sights in the Pacific Northwest. Its central role continues in every episode, as the main character—the deadpan FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (played by Kyle MacLachlan)—moves into the fictional Room 315 and uses it as a base. “We’re very grateful for being featured,” says a representative. “It’s created a solid source of business.”  

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The setting seems so perfect that it’s a surprise to learn that David Lynch (who directed several of the key episodes) and his co-creator, screenwriter Mark Frost, had imagined the hamlet of Twin Peaks long before they had even heard of Snoqualmie, let alone the hotel. After writing the pilot episode in 1988—which begins when the body of murdered teenage homecoming queen Laura Palmer washes up on another misty mountain lake wrapped in plastic—the pair went on a scouting trip around Washington State and called into the logging town on a casual recommendation from a friend. They were shocked to find the place they’d imagined already existed.  

“There was a little diner right across from the railroad station,” Frost recalled to Entertainment Weekly in 1990. “There was the sawmill right in town. There was what looked like, in our minds, the Great Northern Hotel on the hill overlooking the town perched next to a waterfall. It was a really weird moment of synchronicity.” The dark winter weather was also deeply atmospheric, giving its mountains, lakes and forests a haunted air. 

Salish Lodge & Spa

6501 Railroad Ave SE, Snoqualmie, WA, 98065

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In fact, the Lodge had been a popular Pacific Northwest destination long before Twin Peaks was conceived. (It ran for two seasons in 1990-1, and then was reprised in 2017 on Showtime.) The property started life in 1916 as an eight-room trapper’s cabin, and became beloved for its Farm Breakfast, given to fortify horseback travelers crossing the nearby pass; the meal was so enormous that diners who finished it were soon given a special certificate.

After expanding into the Snoqualmie Falls Lodge, it lured generations of American road trippers to the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, where they could stay in rooms overlooking the dramatic 268-foot falls, named after the local Native American people. A refurbishment in 1988 gave the Lodge—which was then renamed the Salish— luxurious touches like jacuzzis, spa facilities and a scenic fine dining restaurant. (In 2019, the luxurious 86-room Lodge and surrounding land was purchased by the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, who remain the current owners.)  

Today, the Salish attracts a continual stream of ‘Peaks Freaks’ as staff affectionately call the show’s fans, even though only its exteriors were filmed for the series. (The interiors were shot in Washington’s Kiana Lodge, a private event venue.) The Salish offers a Great Northern Escape package, and its gift store sells replicas of the key to the (nonexistent) Room 315 alongside ‘souvenirs’ to its fictional TV identity like cherry pie filling (Agent Cooper’s favorite), log pillows (in homage to the show’s Log Lady, a beloved character known for carrying a small log that she claimed had mystical powers), and coffee mugs emblazoned with one of Cooper’s regular home-spun declarations: “A damn fine cup of coffee!” Visit the Attic Bar, and you can enjoy a special Dale Cooper cocktail, a mix of local gin, honey from the hotel’s own apiary, and Luxardo Lychee, all served in a coupe with a lemon twist. 

The Lodge also sells a map to the Twin Peaks filming sites in the hamlet of Snoqualmie and the moody, picturesque surrounding area. (They include the Packard Sawmill, the Sheriff’s Station, the Double R Diner, the Roadhouse, the lakeside Giant Log where Laura’s body was found, and the bridge where Laura’s friend Ronette wanders after being attacked in episode one.) And the township has happily embraced its role, celebrating an annual Twin Peaks festival, and erecting a replica of the famous sign used in the opening credits—Welcome to Twin Peaks, Population 51,201—even though Snoqualmie’s real population is less than a third that figure.

Locals admit that the TV series is almost as central now as Big Foot in Pacific Northwest’s international image. As Agent Cooper himself declares, sounding like a wide-eyed PR agent for the area’s scenic wonders: “I’ve never seen so many trees in my life. They’re really something.”

Perhaps the Salish Lodge’s highest endorsement was that David Lynch stayed there himself in 2016 while shooting the rebooted Showtime series in the area, in one of the suites overlooking the iconic waterfall. Staff can’t talk about his foibles, but he—and his imaginary world—remain very popular in the area. “We’re all big David Lynch fans around here,” says the hotel’s representative.

Tony Perrottet

Writer

Tony Perrottet is a contributing writer for Smithsonian magazine, a regular contributor to the New York Times and WSJ Magazine, and the author of six books including ¡Cuba Libre!: Che, Fidel and the Improbable Revolution that Changed World History (Penguin Random House)