Fans of The Walking Dead and Stranger Things know the shows were filmed in and around the Atlanta, Georgia area. Despite a combined 16 seasons between them filming in similar locations, the shows only share one filming location: the quarry.
More specifically, Stranger Things and The Walking Dead filmed crucial scenes at the Bellwood Quarry in Atlanta, Georgia.
I was watching the first season of Stranger Things again before Stranger Things 5 comes out on Wednesday, Nov. 26, and I saw the quarry and knew it looked familiar. A simple search revealed that both shows used the quarry at different times.
For Walking Dead fans, the quarry is memorable for a lot of reasons. In the series, the group uses the quarry to camp out. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) eventually reunites with Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), Carl (Chandler Riggs), and Shane (Jon Bernthal), along with the rest of the group at the quarry before they move on in season 1. It's also where Shane beats up Ed, Carol's husband.
The quarry was such an epic part of The Walking Dead! I can still remember watching those first few episodes and seeing the group take shelter. It was a great place to hide from the walkers while civilization collapsed, but for obvious reasons, they group could not stay there.
The quarry is an iconic location in Stranger Things season 1
In Stranger Things, the Sattler Quarry, which is what the Bellwood Quarry is called in the show, is equally inconic and probably even more important to the overall story than it was in The Walking Dead.
Most will remember the quarry as the place where the police find the "body" of Will Byers. Remember, it's not actually Will's body, but it's where Dr. Brenner and the people at Hawkins National Lab try to pull a fast one on Joyce and Hopper and to get them to stop looking for Will.
Dustin, Mike, Lucas, and Eleven watch them pull Will's body out of the quarry, and Mike freaks out at Eleven, but eventually, Eleven reveals that Will is actually alive by finding him, telepathically, in the Upside Down.
Later, Mike, Dustin, and Eleven return to the quarry. The bullies, including Troy, make Mike jump off the cliff, which would surely kill him, but Eleven arrives just in time, breaks Troy's arm, and saves Mike's life with her powers.
It's an epic scene! It's one of the most memorable moments of Stranger Things season 1, and it further bounds Mike, Eleven, and Dustin. She's willing to put her life on the line and use her powers to save them. She's, for real, their superhero!
You can actually go visit the quarry from The Walking Dead and Stranger Things, as well! And, there are actually two quarries in The Walking Dead. This is not the same quarry as the huge scene from The Walking Dead season 6.