10 Real World Star Trek Locations You Can Visit
3. The Vasquez Rocks
The Vasquez Rocks has only appeared as itself in two episodes of the entire franchise. That was Raffi's earthly hideaway in Picard's Maps and Legends and The End is the Beginning. Every other time, it was alien planet this, Gorn rubber suit that. And let's not forget Kris and Seán's legendary visit there!
Properly called the 'Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park,' this desert spot situated just north of Los Angeles is no doubt Star Trek's most famous filming location. From its first use for fisticuffs with Finnegan in The Original Series episode Shore Leave, Vasquez Rocks has appeared throughout Trek in one form or another (we count) a total of 14 times.
Most memorable as the Kirk-Gorn battleground in Arena, Vasquez was also used in The Alternative Factor and Friday's Child. It has played Vulcan or Ni'Var three times in Star Trek IV, Star Trek (2009) and Disco's All Is Possible, as well as the (holographic) Xyrillian homeworld in Enterprise's Unexpected. Vasquez was twice a planet in Voyager's Initiations and Gravity, made an appearance in Star Trek: Into Darkness, and rocked up in The Next Generation's Who Watches The Watchers.
Despite the area's use in countless other TV shows and films, the Star Trek connection has stuck for its most prominent protrusion, admiringly nicknamed 'Kirk's Rock'. As The Los Angeles Times pointed out, Vasquez might well provide the perfect alien aesthetic, but there is a more down-to-Earth reason for its popularity on screen. Vasquez is just within Hollywood's "Thirty Mile Zone," meaning union actors and crew don't have to be paid any extra to film there.