Stars Hollow - Location

Location

Stars Hollow was inspired by and is loosely based on the actual village of Washington Depot, Connecticut (located in the middle of the western half of the state, about 45 minutes from both Hartford and New Haven) which writer Amy Sherman-Palladino once traveled through. Sherman-Palladino later said, "Now, I've never been there in winter, when you're snowed in and you can't go anywhere, and you and your husband want to kill each other because you can't go to a movie. But at the time I was there, it was beautiful, it was magical, and it was feeling of warmth and small-town camaraderie. . . . There was a longing for that in my own life, and I thought – that's something that I would really love to put out there."

There are many clues given during the course of the show as to its location in Connecticut, but unfortunately no one town fits them all. Hartford is supposed to be within 30 minutes, New Haven is allegedly 22.8 miles (36.7 km) away and Woodbridge, Connecticut is 20 miles (32 km) away. Stars Hollow is mentioned not being in Litchfield County, negating all towns within. Towns mentioned as being close include Woodbury, Litchfield, Beacon Falls (generally in the central southwest of the state), Groton, Naugatuck and New London (in the southeast). However, towns in eastern Connecticut are unlikely as they are farther from Woodbridge and Hartford. The most likely candidate would be Meriden as it is 22.8 miles (36.7 km) from New Haven, around 20 miles (32 km) away from Woodbridge, and only 30 minutes away from Hartford. This information cannot be reconciled any better.

In the liner notes for the show's soundtrack, Music from Gilmore Girls, a postcard sent by Lane from South Korea is pictured, and is addressed to Rory's home address of 37 Maple Street in Stars Hollow. The town's ZIP code is shown as 06492, the same as the real city of Wallingford. That city does not have a Maple Street, however they do have a Maple Avenue.

Washington Depot, the village Amy Sherman-Palladino mentioned as inspiring Stars Hollow, also uses a town meeting-style government and was founded in 1779. The homes and buildings in the town all match the style of that in Stars Hollow and the archetype New England town. In real life Woodbury is very close to Washington Depot. Plenty of other Connecticut towns have village greens, gazebos or small quaint shops and give a feel much like Stars Hollow to a visitor.

Rory began attending Chilton at the start of the series. Chilton is a prep school that seems to be located in Hartford (in season 2, episode 5 Lane mentions a record store called Record Breaker, Inc. on 2453 Berlin Turnpike, "ten minutes from your school", which narrows it down to Newington, CT). It is based on Wallingford's Choate Rosemary Hall. Stars Hollow also is on a Connecticut Transit route, as Rory commutes to and from the school using a bus from Stars Hollow's town square. However, there is no Connecticut Transit route that would take Rory directly to Hartford in a reasonable time via bus.

Greg Morago of the Hartford Courant writes, "Unlike the Hartford depicted on Judging Amy, the Stars Hollow of The Gilmore Girls rings true. The town's antiques shops, small businesses, schools, government and infrastructure look the part. But where Sherman-Palladino has truly excelled, despite her Clueless origins, is in her drawing of colorful Connecticut characters. The populace of Stars Hollow, from the town busybody to the town troubadour, is familiar to any Nutmegger who ever attended a town meeting."

During Season 1 Episode 2, when Rory is on her way to her first day at school they drive past the Gelston House, (located in East Haddam, CT) a restaurant next to the Goodspeed Opera House and East Haddam Bridge.

During Season 7 when Lorelei's Jeep breaks down they mention being within feasible walking distance of Naugatuck; later on, Luke takes Lorelai car shopping to a dealer that is noted to be located in Watertown. Taylor Doose mentions that Woodbridge is on the other side of the railroad tracks during the Pickle Spill in Season 7 and frequently speaks of Woodbridge as a "sister" town.