Santa's Village in Sky Forest Near Lake Arrowead: Gone but Not Forgotten

1955 Southern California. An amusement park opens to the public to a throng of visitors on opening day. Heard this story before? Maybe not. The first amusement park to open in Southern California 1955 was located in the San Bernadino Mountains just above Lake Arrowhead. Santa's Village opened in May 1955.

The opening was a huge success. H. Glenn Holland was the visionary behind the creation of Santa's Village. Holland built Santa's Village in a meadow just off the winding Highway 18 in San Bernadino National Forest. On opening day cars were lined up for miles to be the first visitors to the amusement park.

The success of the first Santa's Village spawns a second in Northern California.

Santa's Village success led Holland to build a second Santa's Village in Scotts Valley, California. Scotts Valley officially opened on May 30th 1957. The Scotts Valley location was located among similar surroundings to the Lake Arrowhead location. The Scotts Valley location was nestled in a forest and just off a main arterial also. Both locations had the same smell and feel of a forest that lended to their charm.

Both Santa's Village locations followed the same theme. The star of the show was obviously Santa Claus and Mrs Claus. Elves and gnomes who operated the rides and sold tickets. Other characters roming the park were Alice in Wonderland characters, a witch (good witch) , Easter Bunny, little Bo Peep and Jack Pumpkin Head. Wonder if Jack Pumpkin Head was the inspiration for Jack in the movie "Nightmare Before Christmas."

There was a baby petting zoo filled with goats, sheep, bunnies, ducks and deer. Children could feed the animals green feed pellets that they purchased from dispensing machines. Four reindeer from Unalakleet, Alaska, pulled Santa's sleigh. There was a bobsled ride, a whirling Christmas tree ride and a miniature Santa's Express train ride. Other attractions included a giant Jack-in-the-Box, an Alice in Wonderland maze.

All the buildings were designed to look like log chalet-type structures. Artificial snow covered the roofs of the quaint looking structures as Christmas music was blared throught the properties. H Glenn Holland said his goal was to capture the look of Santa's Village from a childs perspective. Money never exchanged hands as a small passport ticket was used to keep track of the guest's expenses. Visitors were given a passport. The passport would be checked out at the end of the visit in the exit shop. Children's belief in the myth was paramount

The Bumble Bee Monorail.

A ride that was installed at Santa's Village in Lake Arrowhead was the Bumble Bee monorail. The Bumble Bee Monorail originally had wings that would flap when it was traveling through Santa's Village. The wings ended up being unreliable as they didn't work all the time. Eventually they had to be removed. The tall trees of the forest had aged and grown closer to the monorail's path. The Bumble Bee monorail was primitive by even the standard set by Disneyland but it served it's purpose.

East Dundee Santa's Village is third and last built by H Glenn Howard.

Soon after Scotts Valley was opened, a location in East Dundee, Illinois was opened Memorial Day 1959 also. The East Dundee location had some unique rides and attractions. The Polar Dome was a forced air supported dome that hosted ice skating and hockey games. The dome was blown apart during a storm and was replaced with a conventional cedar roof in 1966.

Another added attraction in Dundee was a water park that required a separate admission. The park had various water themed slides and rides and was a popular summer destination.

Scotts Valley Santa's Village is first to be bought by developers and closed.

1979 saw the end of the Scotts Valley Santa's Village. The second amusement park built by Holland. Next to close was the original location in Lake Arrowhead. The original Santa's Village was becoming run down and hazordous and the money had finally run out. It closed in 1996. The original structures are still visible and Santa's Village is now a lumber storage yard.

The last Santa's Village to close was the Dundee location. Dundee closed in 2006 and talks have resumed to move the location 94 miles away to North Utica, Illinois. Although there are more Santa's Villages across the country these three are the originals. To learn more about Santa's Village and and view pictures look here.

sources:
www.santasvillage.net