(*Update: The walls around “Alexandria” in Senoia have come down as the show has concluded filming!)
On a recent road trip, I needed a half way point to stop for the night on a longer than usual journey. Atlanta was the biggest city that jumped out as I quickly glanced at google maps. Then, I remembered that one of my favorite TV shows, The Walking Dead was filmed in nearby Senoia – 50 miles south of the metro area. I quickly found a place to crash for the night in this tiny town of about 3,000 residents and set out to see first hand if I could find “Alexandria”.
It didn’t take long at all to find the filming location of “Woodbury” – from earlier seasons where Rick and the gang battled with The Governor.
Essentially, this is the Main street of Senoia and has all sorts of really cool shops and dining options. The shaved ice stand was a particular hit the day I stopped by, with folks lined up to the sidewalk. You’ll find a store with lots of Walking Dead merchandise – though truth be told, it was all pretty much overpriced junk. I wanted to buy a few things for family members and friends that watch the show – and couldn’t bring myself to purchase a single thing.
Not knowing what to expect – this street was such a huge surprise. I imagine many people show up expecting to take a photo and hop back in the car – and instead stick around for the whole day.
After walking up and down the street – my next goal was to find where “Alexandria” was located. I stopped first to ask a stranger to take a picture for me which they kindly did. After retrieving my camera I noticed some train tracks and a subdivision just a few yards away. I figured that finding the filming location of the most popular TV show in America wouldn’t be too tough – but I had no idea it would be this easy.
Turns out “Alexandria” is literally a stones throw from “Woodbury”. I’m talking about a 20 second walk from one location to the other!
And there it was – a subdivision surrounded by ugly, giant, metal walls – just like you see them on the show. The interesting thing is – the entire subdivision is surrounded by those metal walls. It’s crazy!
There are rent a cop security guards posted at two different locations to remind tourists to stay away from private property. While walking by a road blockade – this young girl hopped out of her air conditioned car and screamed at me, even though I wasn’t going down the street. She hollered again when I posed for a photo standing on the curb outside the wall where a huge empty field is located. I guess she has to yell a certain amount of times a day to get paid. Generally speaking, the onlookers seemed to be curious but respectful.
Which brings me to the biggest question of all – do people actually live inside those walls? The answer is apparently YES! How all of that works out during filming is beyond me but what a giant pain in the ass if you’re a local resident. I suppose it would be kind of cool for awhile but can you even imagine knuckleheads like me aimlessly walking near your subdivision every single day taking photos? Yeah, no thanks.
However, residents may be used to being in the spotlight – films like Sweet Home Alabama, Driving Miss Daisy and Fried Green Tomatoes have also been filmed here according to the city’s website.
Either way, if you’re a fan of the show – it’s neat to see the wall and the set of “Woodbury”. There are actual tours you can pay for where they walk you around – though you can see plenty on your own without forking over the big bucks to tour guides. There are plenty of online resources with physical addresses of former filming locations that you can use as a guide. Many are actually in Atlanta which I had zero interest in searching for – since driving through ATL is a nightmare. I’ll leave that to you diehard fans!
As you drive around town, you’ll also spot places where almost any of the scenes could have been filmed that involved walking on railroad tracks or paved roads with country surroundings.
Plan to spend a good chunk of time on Senoia’s main street though! It’s an awesome small town and maybe you’ll run into one of the stars of Walking Dead while you’re there! Filming on season 7 is rumored to be underway!