A majority of the film was shot in 1985, but to capitalize on a narration of the story, the scenes involving Sean Astin narrating the film were shot in 1987.
The film is dedicated to its director of photography, John Alcott, who previously worked on several Stanley Kubrick projects.
The working title of this film was called "Rites of Summer".
When the guys are swinging around the rock, Vic makes a point to tell George and Mitch to put the sling on, but he neglects to tell Chris this. Chris is the only one who swings across without wearing the sling.
When the boys first leave Vic behind, they stop for the night with no tents and curl up because they're cold. Although Alan is carrying a perfectly good sleeping bag, he uses it as a pillow instead of using it to keep warm.