 After 25 months of pre @-@ production , filming began on August 24 , 1992 , on the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi . While Costa Rica was considered as a location given it is the story 's setting , Spielberg 's concerns on infrastructure and accessibility made him choose a place where he had already worked before . The three @-@ week shoot involved various daytime exteriors for Isla Nublar 's forests . On September 11 , Hurricane Iniki passed directly over Kauaʻi , which caused the crew to lose a day of shooting . Several of the storm scenes from the movie are actual footage shot during the hurricane . The scheduled shoot of the Gallimimus chase was moved to Kualoa Ranch on the island of Oahu and one of the beginning scenes had to be created by digitally animating a still shot of scenery . The opening scene was shot in Haiku , on the island of Maui , with additional scenes being filmed on the " forbidden island " of Niihau . Samuel L. Jackson was to film a lengthy death scene in which his character would be chased and killed by velociraptors , but the set was destroyed by Hurricane Iniki . By mid @-@ September , the crew moved back to California , to shoot the raptors in the kitchen at Stage 24 of the Universal studio lot . Given the kitchen set was filled with reflective surfaces , cinematographer Dean Cundey had to carefully plan the illumination while also using black cloths to hide the light reflections . The crew also shot on Stage 23 for the scenes involving the power supply , before going on location to Red Rock Canyon for the Montana dig scenes . The crew returned to Universal to shoot Grant 's rescue of Tim , using a fifty @-@ foot prop with hydraulic wheels for the car fall , and the Brachiosaurus encounter . The crew filmed scenes for the Park 's labs and control room , which used animations for the computers lent from Silicon Graphics and Apple . While Crichton 's book features Toyota cars in Jurassic Park , Spielberg got a deal with the Ford Motor Company , who provided seven Ford Explorers . The Explorers were modified by ILM 's crew and veteran customizer George Barris to create the illusion that they were autonomous cars by hiding the driver in the car 's trunk . Barris also customized the Jeep Wranglers featured in the production . 
