A. A brook or stream in the snowy woods. (Dexter, actually refers to it as a "creek".)
Q.
Where is it supposed to be on the show?
A. Within walking distance of Roaring Forks Summer Camp, in or near the small town of Iron Lake, New York.
Q.
When did we see it on the show?
A. In Episode 8, of Season 9, "Unfair Game".
Dexter has
been abducted by Elrick, Kurt Caldwell's henchman.
After causing the truck to crash
and escaping, Dexter finds himself the prey in that unfair game, as he
is stalked through the winter woods by Elrick, who is armed with a
high-powered rifle.
Injured in the crash, and shot in the leg, Dexter is trailing blood on the snow as he tries to escape.
He eventually reaches a small brook running through the forest).
With Elrick close behind
him, he decides to try an old trick and, after stopping at the brook's
edge, he backtracks, being careful to place each foot in the same
footprints he left In the snow when he arrived.
Since the footprints appear
to stop at the brook, Dexter hopes that Elrick will be fooled into
thinking that he waded into the stream, and go off in the wrong
direction, while Dexter is actually hiding nearby.
But Elrick doesn't fall for the old trick.
Dexter tries a different
strategy. Deliberately leaving a blood trail for Elrick to follow, he
heads to the empty Roaring Forks summer camp, and take shelter in a
large cabin.
Q.
What is it actually in real life?
A. A brook.
Q. Where can I find it in real life?
A. In the real world, this small stream is known as Trout Brook, and you can find it running through the Trout Brook Recreation Area in Holden, Massachusetts.
(The sign at the entrance road, at 320 Manning Street, actually reads "Trout Brook Reservation".)
Holden is a town of about 20,000 people, located 40 miles east of Boston.
It's only about five miles northwest of the highway where they filmed the kidnapping/driving/crash scenes
with Elrick & Dexter. But that would've been a rather long chase though the
woods
to reach this brook, especially with a bullet in Dex's leg. And a
straight line between the two points would have taken them through
a populated area of West Boylston.
Here is a Google StreetView of the at entrance road to the Trout Brook Recreation Area:
Q. How the heck did you figure out where it was?
A. This was one location that I completely missed, simply because the Massachusetts press never mentioned it.
Fortunately, a fan, Heather Greene, let me know about it. She sent the URL to a page with the minutes of a meeting of the Holden Recreation Committee, in which the details of this shoot were described :
"Trout Brook is being rented for a Showtime hit show, Dexter. The scene
will take place in a forest near a stream. Dexter will run down the hill in the snow then goes into
the stream to hide his footprints. Denise has met several times with the location manager and
technical groups and they believe Trout Brook is the ideal location. They'll begin setting up
Thursday, February 11 and the filming will take place Tuesday, February 16 and Wednesday,
February 17. The pool parking lot may be used for vehicles and trailers for wardrobe, make-up,
etc. The Recreation Department will receive a donation of $12,000 - $14,000. Trout Brook will
be closed off to visitors while filming is taking place, but it will be available other days."
So all I had to do then was map the area and see images of it online. Thanks Heather!