Season 2 The Last Of Us

Episode 3: The Path

Episode summary

[WARNING—This page contains spoilers for The Last of Us Season 2]

In The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 3, Ellie looks for a way to deal with Joel’s absence while Jackson mourns their dead and starts to rebuild. Filming travels down the coast with key shots taken in Stanley Park and Downtown Vancouver.

In response to Joel’s death, Ellie [Bella Ramsey] puts up emotional walls, hiding her grief even from Tommy and Dina. Tensions start to rise when Dina [Isabela Merced] reveals she knows who killed Joel and that they belong to a militia group called the Washington Liberation Front (W.L.F.) in Seattle. Ellie, with renewed anger, now channels her grief into action and plans to follow Abby to Seattle intent on revenge.

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Despite an impassioned speech, Ellie’s plan to follow Abby is rejected by the Jackson council. Not so easily dissuaded, Ellie and Dina leave Jackson under the cover of night and begin their long journey toward Seattle. They encounter a new group called the Seraphites, all dead, while traveling through a forested path, filmed in Stanley Park. Disturbed by the gruesome scene, Dina throws up, but the pair still expects the W.L.F. force to be small and easily infiltrated. The final sequence of the episode, showing armoured vehicles and a large squad of W.L.F. soldiers in Seattle, proves that they could not be more wrong.

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Stanley Park

HBO – The Last of Us, S2E3

The forested trail where we see a new unnamed group walking, using whistles to communicate, was actually filmed in Stanley Park, arguably Vancouver’s most iconic location. This 1,000-acre urban rainforest borders downtown and is known for its lush trails, dramatic seawall views, and dense canopy of old-growth trees—an ideal backdrop for the rugged Pacific Northwest wilderness portrayed in this episode.

In a few shots you can see the Stanley Park trail markers dressed with fake directions to the Arboretum and Seattle Trail. You can absolutely visit this filming location, and while we aren’t sure exactly which trail these scenes were filmed on, with a little bit of exploring you should be able to walk in Ellie and Dina’s footsteps. And while you're there, make time for a few Stanley Park classics: visit the famous Brockton Point Totem Poles, birdwatch at Lost Lagoon, stop in at the Prospect Point Lookout, or hit one of the park’s beaches to soak up Vancouver’s summer rays.

Downtown Vancouver

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The final sequence of the episode, where we see W.L.F. soldiers marching through the streets of Seattle accompanied by armoured vehicles and tanks, was filmed on the 1000 block of W. Hastings Street in Downtown Vancouver near the Oceanic Plaza building. This often-filmed street in Vancouver’s financial district is located on the edge of downtown, where the city’s business core meets the scenic Coal Harbour waterfront.

You might recognize these blocks from other productions like Arrow, The Flash, Fringe, or iZombie. It’s an area known for its glassy skyscrapers, bustling professionals, and incredible mountain-and-ocean views just steps away. A few blocks west, you’ll hit the seawall—a popular path that winds past marinas, public art, and some of Vancouver’s most scenic patios.

University of British Columbia

HBO – The Last of Us, S2E3

Some of the trails and the overgrown roads that Ellie and Dina travel through on horseback after encountering the massacre in the forest were filmed at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Positioned on a forested peninsula overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the campus offers a rare blend of arts, culture, nature, and coastline that feels a world apart from the city. A unique blend of nature and urbanscape, UBC is right at home in the world of The Last of Us.

UBC is well-loved by filmmakers—fans will recognize it from shows like Riverdale, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The X-Files, and The Adam Project. For a perfect day, start at the Museum of Anthropology, where you’ll find one of the world’s finest collections of Indigenous art and artifacts. Then, wander through the UBC Botanical Garden, a lush, living library of plants from around the globe and don’t miss the Greenheart TreeWalk, a suspended canopy bridge adventure through the treetops.