Photo credit: SkyPark at Santa’s Village
Christmas comes but once a year (to the disappointment of many children and relief of many bank accounts)… but there is one remote corner of the Los Angeles-adjacent Skyforest where that’s not quite true. Since the early 1950s, Angelenos have recognized that Christmas is a daily event at Santa’s Village Lake Arrowhead. Sure, there were a few years when the seasonal cheer (along with the electrical components and several props) abandoned the hallowed ground as it decayed in disuse. But since 2016, the merriest of the California amusement parks has been back, spreading yuletide cheer no matter the season.
The Early Success of Santa’s Village Lake Arrowhead
As if to illustrate from the outset that Christmas was a good time anytime, the Santa’s Village theme park opened its gates for the first time in May 1955… about a month before Disneyland. It was an innocent time when the godfather of all California theme parks hadn’t had the time to dominate the market yet. Not that Santa’s Village was ever a legitimate threat to Disney’s throne.
But for a 230-acre amusement park tucked out of the way in Skyforest at the periphery of Lake Arrowhead, Santa’s Village seemed to do well out the gate. According to The Los Angeles Times’s coverage of Santa’s Village Lake Arrowhead, the park attracted tens of thousands of guests to its remote 365-day winter wonderland in its first year and a half in business.
The genesis of Santa’s Village can be linked back to Glen Holland, a real estate developer based in Southern California. While reading about an East Coast-based holiday-themed amusement park in the Saturday Evening Post, Holland was struck by the prospect of bringing similar entertainment to Southern California. So, wasting no time, he connected with general contractor J. Putnam Henck about building his theme park concept on 15 acres of land owned by the Henck family.
Unlike other California theme parks, Santa’s Village established a pioneering franchise-style amusement park business model. So, if you remember a Santa’s Village in Scotts Valley, California, you’re not hallucinating. Another location opened in East Dundee, Illinois. Both franchise locations eventually shuttered, though the Illinois Santa’s Village re-opened under new ownership in 2011 as Santa’s Village AZoosment Park.
The Santa’s Village That Lifelong Angelenos Remember
Lifelong Angelenos may be able to recall some of the early highlights that put Santa’s Village Lake Arrowhead on the map. Some of the most popular attractions of the theme park’s early days included:
- Bobsleds
- Sleigh rides (featuring live horses or reindeer)
- Train that cut through scenes from fairytales
- Monorail with cars fashioned to look like bumble bees
- Petting zoo
- Toy shops
- Candy-making workshops
But arguably the star attraction was a year-round opportunity to meet Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus themselves. And though Santa’s Village introduced new original characters over the years, no one could steal the thunder of the main man himself. In the minds of children in the 1950s and ‘60s, few celebrities could match the star power of Santa Claus.
The Decline of the Original Santa’s Village
But as the decades progressed, Santa’s Village Lake Arrowhead lost its novelty and sheen. And though many Angelenos relegated it to a revered state of nostalgia, it wasn’t quite enough to make the most wintry of California amusement parks lucrative. By 1978, bankruptcy gripped Holland’s investment group. Rather than lose the park altogether, Henck and his wife, Pamela, took over management duties.
Tighter funds made it a more hands-on operation for the Henck family. Pamela even fell into the role of the Lollipop Lady, handing out sugary sweet suckers to guests as she made her way through the park’s faded vibrance. The truth is that the heyday of Santa’s Village was much shorter than public perception let on. Henck was privy to Holland’s struggles to turn a profit over the decades. Business momentarily turned around with a few additions, including the Ferris wheel and carousel, and some artfully placed commercials amidst local television programming.
During much of the 1980s, Santa’s Village Lake Arrowhead was pulling in about 180,000 people a year. But by the ‘90s, that number had dwindled considerably. No amount of nostalgia was enough to keep up with the advancement seen in other California amusement parks. On March 1, 1998, just a couple of months short of its 43rd year, Santa’s Village closed up shop for the last time. Or so it seemed.
The Unsettling Stagnation of Childhood Memories
In 2001, entrepreneur Thomas Plott purchased Santa’s Village for $5.6 million with the express purpose of returning it to its former glory. It became the staging area for a busy logging business with its buildings and props continuing to deteriorate as Plott attempted to raise the necessary funds. Watching the lumber move between the rotting husks of stagnant carnival rides and faded Christmas imagery created an unparalleled eerie surrealism.
But in 2005, Plott passed away, having made no meaningful headway on the resurrection of Santa’s Village Lake Arrowhead. Pretty much anything that could be moved was auctioned off. All of the electrical equipment was stripped by scavengers while the park lay dormant. Then, in 2010, Henck, the developer who had made it all happen, also passed. With Santa’s Village stripped for parts and the loss of Henck, it seemed that California’s year-round Christmas paradise was truly gone forever.
The Sky’s the Limit
The immovable portions of Santa’s Village continued to collect dust in Skyforest as the sun bleached its bones. Then, in June 2014, Bill and Michelle Johnson purchased the remains of the secluded park to the tune of $3.75 million. They planned to use what little was left to create a sports park with an emphasis on biking, hiking, fishing, and even the occasional watering hole. Speaking with The Los Angeles Times, the couple cited the resort area of Whistler Mountain in Vancouver as a primary influence on their initial vision. But Bill also held intimate knowledge of the classic era of Santa’s Village Lake Arrowhead. He had served as a ride operator there at the age of 14.
But nostalgia was nostalgia and business was business. The Johnsons had no interest in dragging out the corpse of Santa’s Village to watch it fail again after the novelty wore off. And if history was anything to go by, it would wear off. But then the letters started to pour in. At first a few here and there. Then a building flurry. And finally, a blizzard of outrage.
The people wanted the merriest of the California amusement parks to return. So the Johnsons sought compromise. They’d create a place for biking and hiking… and pepper as many frosty-fun attractions in the mix as their budget would allow. They set to work replacing the electrical components and updating 18 of the original Santa’s Village structures that were still relatively intact. Ready or not, the new chapter began on December 2, 2016 when the renamed SkyPark at Santa’s Village opened its gates.
SkyPark at Santa’s Village Isn’t Like the Other California Amusement Parks
For a couple who were purely fixated on an outdoor action park without the year-round seasonal theming, the Johnsons decked the halls like professional elves. They reworked the original site of the carousel into a puppet playhouse populated by marionettes crafted by local artists. And remodeled the classic car ride at the park’s entry to tell the tale of Santa’s canine companion Arrow (modeled after the Johnsons’ own wolf-dog) as guests plunge into a frigid glacial cave. They’ve even worked in Easter eggs for those returning to Santa’s Village after decades, hoping to rekindle a golden childhood moment. For example, the vintage cars that once populated the Santa’s Village of yore have been recovered, though they are now purely decorative.
But those going to Santa’s Village hoping for a one-to-one analog of the theme park they enjoyed in the ‘60s are setting themselves up for disappointment. SkyPark is its own entity… an updated take on the original Santa’s Village that can actually stand next to other California theme parks without instantly sinking beneath its own snow. The Johnsons take advantage of the natural mountain setting with meticulously maintained mountain bike trails, ice skating, and a zipline. And you’ll still find a few points of nostalgia.
But don’t come expecting a sleigh ride pulled by live reindeer. Bill Johnson recounted to the Los Angeles Times about an unruly escaped deer that kicked him in the collarbone when he was working as a ride operator at the original Santa’s Village as a teen. He cites the unpredictability of the wildlife as one of the reasons the park ultimately became unsustainable.
Looking Back or Looking Up
Ultimately, the guests who tend to most enjoy SkyPark at Santa’s Village are the ones who go expecting something different from the park with which they grew up. The rides likely won’t impress thrill-seekers; rather they are nostalgic throwbacks to a bygone era re-packaged for a new generation of children still innocent enough to believe that the Santa Claus lives just an hour or two’s drive outside of LA. The older crowd will likely find more entertainment in the biking and hiking.
But at a $49 admission, the price can be a bit steep when more advanced California amusement parks like Knott’s Berry Farm are a comparable price (and often closer). Still, when you want Christmas in the springtime, only Santa’s Village can come close to accommodating.
