Don’t end up in the wrong state looking for Groundhog Phil!
This is where you can find ‘Groundhog Day’ filming locations
By Erik Nachtrieb (SetJetters CEO & CoFounder)
Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume looks after Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog. Photo by Barry Reeger, AP
Groundhog Day is celebrated February 2nd at “Gobbler’s Knob” just outside of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, USA.
It is also where the groundhog “Punxsutawney Phil” resides with his mate or wife Phyliss the groundhog.
The town folk and tourists have always celebrated Phil and his ability to (sort of) predict the continuation of the winter season, since 1887. He’s 40% correct at this point.
His full name; Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary, is brought out at sunrise to see if he has a shadow. If he sees his own shadow it’s six more weeks of winter. Well, 40% of the time.
This has been going on for thousands of years in Europe and first started with the Germans and a mystic badger who marked the seasonal divide between winter and spring.
Pagan art by Wendy Andrews
In America, up until the 1960s, the groundhog used to be cooked and made into a feast after his wintery prediction. (We’re curious if groundhog tastes any good, drop us a comment if you know!) Now he’s more of a pet that gets replaced every 6 years… about the lifespan of a Groundhog.
But for all the celebration in Punxsutawney, the movie “Groundhog Day” wasn’t filmed in Punxsutawney, which leads to a fair bit of disappointment when people can’t find the inn Bill Murray stayed in.
Fortunately, the inn is a real, you’ll just have to go to Woodstock, Illinois USA, where the movie was shot. You’ll find lots of Groundhog Day scenes all over town and you can book a stay for a night (for few over and over again) at the Cherry Tree Inn.
Bill Murray in Groundhog Day (1993) at the Cherry Tree Inn - Image property of Columbia Pictures.
Woodstock has a huge festival in it’s own right around the movie “Groundhog Day” and a groundhog on February 2nd.
They have 27 scenes from the film you can visit in town and take a ShotSync photo at and a film scene location badge you can collect like Pokemon go for film scenes. The exact location of all of the scenes can be found on the SetJetters mobile app, film location map.
This year (2023) Phil saw his shadow extending the winter season, and the filming locations are there to enjoy year round.
SetJetters is the app that puts film locations in the palm of your hand.
Download for free on Android or Apple stores, and we look forward to seeing your photos from your favorite movie locations.
