Standing before a quaint Victorian house overlooking the Columbia River, a man spontaneously lifted his shirt and began to shimmy, to the delight of onlookers. “You’ve got to do it!” a woman cheered from across the street. “My family would be disappointed if I didn’t!” he called back, proudly continuing his playful dance.
The man, Matthew Craugh, 32, from Carson City, Nev., was doing the Truffle Shuffle, re-enacting a scene from the 1985 adventure-comedy film “The Goonies,” in which Chunk, played by Jeff Cohen, does a humiliating dance at the request of his friend Mouth (Corey Feldman).
Decades of devoted fans, much like Mr. Craugh, have made pilgrimages to Astoria, Oregon, the charming small town where “The Goonies” was set and predominantly filmed. For the 40th anniversary of its release, an estimated 10,000 people gathered in Astoria over one June weekend this year.
Astoria, in turn, has warmly embraced the film’s fans, recognizing the movie’s enduring popularity and aiming to boost the local economy through tourism. Many of the original film sites are still standing, and the town, nestled on a peninsula near the mouth of the Columbia River, also offers visitors a rich history, a vibrant dining scene, and easy access to stunning state parks and beaches.
“Iowa has the ‘Field of Dreams’ and it’s an incredible place to go, but it’s just a field,” remarked Mike Schulte, a lifelong “Goonies” enthusiast who has visited Astoria three times, including for his movie review podcast, “The Confused Breakfast,” which he co-hosts.
“There were five of us out there basically on a ‘Goonies’ adventure for a couple of days, like finding hidden treasure and finding film locations,” Mr. Schulte shared. “It really ingrained itself as a top core memory of my life.”
Perfect Place for a Shipwreck
The plot of “The Goonies,” directed by Richard Donner and starring rising talents like Martha Plimpton, Sean Astin, and Corey Feldman, revolves around a thrilling treasure hunt. A group of teenagers, facing the foreclosure of their Astoria neighborhood, affectionately known as the Goon Docks, embark on a quest for pirate treasure, all while being pursued by the bumbling criminal Fratelli family.
As I drove across the four-mile Astoria-Megler Bridge towards town, memories flooded back of watching the film as a child and hearing countless references from my Gen X siblings. I wondered how the movie, and four decades of economic shifts, had transformed this once-gritty logging town. Would it truly embody the film’s famous catchphrase, “Goonies never say die”?
My pilgrimage involved three key stops: First, a visit to the Oregon Film Museum, which hosts “Goonies” exhibitions. Next, I’d explore the Goon Docks to see the house where Mikey and his brother, Brand (Josh Brolin), lived. Finally, I planned to conclude my trip 25 miles south, in Ecola State Park, the location of the Fratellis’ hideout and where the Goonies discovered the pirate ship using a doubloon. (Curiously, the climactic scene of the ship sailing out of the cave was filmed in California.)
Astoria is an ideal setting for a tale of pirate treasure. Strong currents, shifting sandbars, and turbulent weather have resulted in over 2,000 recorded shipwrecks in the region, earning it the moniker “Graveyard of the Pacific,” and its rugged coastline could easily conceal any number of secrets.
In a telephone interview, Mr. Feldman, also known as Mouth, concurred. “Where else can you do it? Where you’re going to be off the coast of a fishing town and you’re going to have these great rock formations, where there is this possibility that some ship went into an open cave at some point,” he pondered.
‘OK to Be a Chunk’
At the Oregon Film Museum (admission $6) – which famously served as the jail in “The Goonies’” opening scene – visitors can pose in the cell where Jake Fratelli (Robert Davi) made his escape, and marvel at the gadget-laden outfit worn by Data (Ke Huy Quan). A replica of the Fratellis’ bullet-hole-ridden Jeep Cherokee sits outside.
One section features index cards inviting visitors to share their feelings with prompts like, “I love ‘The Goonies’ because…” and “Tell the Goonies why you’re here.” Over the years, the board has filled with heartfelt stories of cancer survival and cherished memories of lost loved ones. A veteran even wrote about finding comfort in watching “The Goonies” before patrols in Afghanistan.
“I have hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands, of notes,” said Mac Burns, the museum’s director, in a phone interview, sharing examples like: “‘We’re here celebrating a birthday.’ ‘We’re here celebrating an anniversary.’ ‘This movie taught me it was OK to be a Chunk.’”
Nearby, at the bowling alley where Chunk, distracted by a police chase, infamously smashed a pizza and a milkshake against a window, visitors can re-enact the scene, complete with provided Chunk-like Hawaiian shirts. The bowling alley is still a thriving business, with lanes mostly filled during my Wednesday afternoon visit.
A few blocks from the Goonies House, I stopped at the Astoria Coffee Company, which feels like a “Goonies”-themed general store, packed with books, T-shirts, games, prop replicas, and other souvenirs.
The Goonies House, built in 1896 and purchased by an entrepreneur in 2023, now features an outdoor Rube Goldberg-like machine that, just like in the film, can open the gate (though this version uses a mechanical chicken instead of a live one). It consistently attracts a steady stream of visitors – and Truffle Shufflers – as the new owner has meticulously restored the entire property to its movie-era appearance, right down to the attic where the Goonies discovered their treasure map.
In the movie, the working-class neighborhood around the house faced the threat of development, mirroring the real Astoria of the 1980s when fishing and logging jobs were disappearing.
“The town was a little depressed,” Mr. Burns recalled. “In 1900, you might send a group of 40 or 50 guys into the woods to chop down some trees if you’re a logger. And now you have to send five or six guys because of mechanization.”
Today, Astoria boasts more bustling breweries than a weekend visitor could possibly sample, many serving local oysters, rich chowders, and delicious fried seafood. Even businesses not directly linked to “The Goonies” lean into the pirate theme with their merchandise. One tiki bar, Dead Man’s Isle, offers a drink called Mutant Skull, which comes in a mug shaped like a warped cranium.
A Rock and an Old Coin
During their treasure quest, the Goonies use a doubloon with holes to align with a giant rock, positioning the pirate ship on an ancient map. That prominent landmark, Haystack Rock, stands just offshore about 25 miles southwest of town in Cannon Beach, clearly visible from a viewpoint at Ecola State Park. A sign there commemorates the scene and the former location of the fictional abandoned restaurant that served as the Fratellis’ lair.
While the original set is long gone, a scenic hiking trail through an oceanside forest provides a close-up view of the breathtaking landscape featured in the film.
After purchasing some of the reddest roadside strawberries I had ever seen, I walked further south along Cannon Beach to get an even better view of Haystack Rock. It loomed much larger than I had ever imagined while watching the movie.
With fog hanging low over the water, it almost felt as if a pirate ship laden with treasure could be lurking somewhere among these rocks. The conditions were perfect. Now, if only I had a doubloon and a treasure map.
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