Dexter: Miami and the Long Beach Filming Locations

In the pilot, Dexter's first scene is a night cruise through Miami, filmed on location along Ocean Drive in South Beach. His target is a local pastor, Mike Donovan, and the street returns when Dexter strolls past with an ice cream on his way to meet Rita. The show is set in Miami, but this is one of the few places where the cameras really were there. Ocean Drive is a public street, so you can walk the same stretch.

Location precision: The pilot was filmed along Ocean Drive; the pin marks the street, not one spot.

Visitor guidance: Ocean Drive is an open public street in Miami Beach.

Dexter keeps a boat, the Slice of Life, and the show uses Miami water locations to put him on it, including Biscayne Bay and Virginia Key. The island also stands in for flashbacks of eight-year-old Dexter talking with Harry about his urges. Out at sea, the Gulf Stream is where Dexter disposes of his victims. Virginia Key is a barrier island in Biscayne Bay, reached by the Rickenbacker Causeway.

Location precision: The show used several water locations around Biscayne Bay; the pin marks Virginia Key.

Visitor guidance: Reach the island by the Rickenbacker Causeway; Virginia Key Beach Park is on it.

Miami is mostly played by southern California. The house used for Rita's home is in the Los Altos neighborhood of eastern Long Beach, and the show used six different homes there in season one alone, among them Dexter's childhood home and the Dade City house he inherits. Los Altos is an ordinary residential area, so the sets are just houses on real streets.

Location precision: The show used several homes across the neighborhood; the pin marks Los Altos, not one address.

In season six, the year of the Doomsday Killer, the show shot at or featured historic buildings in Long Beach, among them the Villa Riviera. The 16-story Châteauesque tower on Ocean Boulevard was completed in 1928 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is now condominiums, so you can admire it from the street.

Visitor guidance: View it from Ocean Boulevard; it is a private residential building.

Many of season six's locations are on the campus of California State University, Long Beach, including the McIntosh Humanities Building and the Beach Auditorium in the Student Union. They fit the season's story: the Doomsday Killers are a professor, James Gellar, and his student, Travis Marshall, who plan killings based on the Book of Revelation. The 322-acre campus is open to visitors.

Visitor guidance: A public university campus; check visitor and parking rules on the campus site.

The finale's airport scene takes place at Ontario International Airport, in Ontario, California, about 38 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. It is a fitting last stop: the series is set in Miami, but most of its exteriors were shot around Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Visitor guidance: A working commercial airport with normal passenger access.