20 Star Wars locations you can visit in real life

Redwood National and State Parks, USA

Endor: home to the Ewoks and therefore, our hearts.

If ever there was a place that looked perfect for glamping, or having a digital detox with an outdoor shower and picturesque views, Endor was it. (Of course, we wouldn’t actually glamp there; far from just being fictional, we refuse to gentrify the Ewoks’ habitat.)

The closest one can possibly get to Endor, however, is California’s Redwood National and State Parks which became the forest moon in Return of the Jedi. It is the place that no doubt unites Parks and Recreation’s Ben Wyatt and Leslie Knope the most.

Leia’s speeder bike chase and the Ewok ambush were both shot here. As Roadtrippers points out, the crew had to hook rigs in order to swing the cameras through the trees — no CGI here (unlike the prequels).

Handily, Roadtrippers also points out that there is also a road which runs through the park, called The Redwood Highway RT-101. Unlike some of the locations here, the park is highly used to visitors and there are hotels and visitor centers along the road, making it super easy for super fans to live like the Ewoks.

Around 45 percent of the remaining protected old-growth redwoods in California live in this National Park, according to the National Park Service website, with the trees having an average age of between 500-700 years old. What a joy then, to be able to camp and hike among them. And whilst you might not see any Ewoks, you might be lucky enough to see a Roosevelt Elk roaming the woods.

All this beauty, among a forest of redwood trees. Is it any wonder the Ewoks protected their homes with such fervor?