An Indiana electric lineman finds his quiet and ordinary daily life turned upside down after a close encounter with a UFO, spurring him to an obsessed cross-country quest for answers as a momentous event approaches.
Climbing Trail, Crook County, Wyoming, 82714, United States of America
Scene: (Devil's Rock)
Utility Road, San Bernardino County, California, United States of America
Scene: (desert, opening sequence - sandstorm, Cotopaxi ship stranding in the middle of the Gobi Desert, Mongolia)
1613, Carlisle Drive East, Carlisle, Parkview Estates, Mobile County Commission District 1, Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama, 36618, United States of America
Scene: (exteriors: Roy Neary's home)
Burbank Village Walk, 201, East Angeleno Avenue, Burbank, Los Angeles County, California, 91502, United States of America
200, Hoyle Avenue, Bay Minette, Baldwin County, Alabama, 36507, United States of America
Scene: (Evacuation)
Lower Dauphin Street Historic District, South Royal Street, Downtown, Mobile County Commission District 1, Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama, 36602, United States of America
Scene: (indoor sets: Landing Site - cars follow spacecraft at road bend - Roy Neary's home interiors)
Hangar 5, 2730, Cargo Drive, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, 46241, United States of America
181, East Azan Street, Mobile County Commission District 1, Prichard, Mobile County, Alabama, 36610, United States of America
Scene: (Freeway exit onto Route 40 East to Harper Valley)
Alabama
California
Spielberg’s awe-struck vision of first contact builds to a rendezvous at a real, unmistakable landmark: Devils Tower in Wyoming, the strange volcanic monolith that Richard Dreyfuss’s character sculpts obsessively from mashed potato. The mothership itself was built inside a colossal hangar in Alabama.
Where was Close Encounters of the Third Kind filmed?
Close Encounters was filmed at Devils Tower in Wyoming, in a vast hangar in Mobile, Alabama, in the California and Mojave deserts, and in India.
Every Close Encounters location, explained
1
Devils Tower – the rendezvous
The climactic meeting point is the real Devils Tower in Wyoming, America’s first national monument.
2
The mothership set – Mobile, Alabama
The enormous landing-site set, where the mothership descends, was built inside a giant former airship hangar in Mobile, Alabama.
3
The deserts
The opening’s lost squadron and other scenes used the California and Mojave deserts.
4
India – the chanting crowd
The scene of a crowd chanting the five-note motif was filmed in Maharashtra, India.
Planning a visit
Devils Tower in Wyoming is a genuine natural wonder and national monument, open to visitors – the film’s most iconic and accessible real location.
Close Encounters Fun Facts
1
Devils Tower is real The rendezvous point is the actual Devils Tower in Wyoming, the first US national monument.
2
The mothership set was vast The landing site was built inside a giant former airship hangar in Mobile, Alabama.
3
Mashed-potato mountain Richard Dreyfuss’s character famously sculpts Devils Tower from his mashed potatoes.
4
The five-note motif The film’s iconic five-tone musical greeting became instantly recognisable.
5
Spielberg's passion project The director followed Jaws with this deeply personal vision of first contact.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the mountain in Close Encounters?
Devils Tower, a real volcanic monolith and national monument in Wyoming.
Where was the mothership scene filmed?
Inside a giant former airship hangar in Mobile, Alabama.
Can you visit Devils Tower?
Yes – it’s a national monument in Wyoming, open to visitors.
