SkyPark at Santa's Village

SkyPark at Santa's Village is an outdoor adventure Park and winter-themed amusement park in the Skyforest section of Lake Arrowhead, California. It sits on 230 acres of natural forest. At the core of the park is Santa's Village which includes historic log cabin restaurants and shops, character experiences, and North Pole themed attractions. SkyPark is where the adventure begins with a world class mountain bike park, hiking trails, fly fishing, archery, ziplines, and climbing. There is also an extensive conservation program which includes the Henck Meadowlands Conservation Trail, Guided Conservation Hikes, and Outdoor Educational Programs for school-age children. 30 acres of the park have been set aside in their pristine condition to remain unused by the guests. SkyPark at Santa's Village opened on December 2nd, 2016. The previous Santa's Village was opened in May, 1955. It was the first franchised amusement park, one of three built by developer Glenn Holland. The others, also defunct, were in Scotts Valley, California and East Dundee, Illinois. The East Dundee park reopened in 2011 under new ownership as Santa's Village AZoosment Park. Opening more than a month before Disneyland, the park was one of Southern California's biggest tourist attractions. It boasted kiddie rides, including a bobsled, monorail, and Ferris wheel; a petting zoo; live reindeer; and shops that included a bakery, candy kitchen, and toy shop. Reduced attendance and revenue shortfalls caused the park to close on March 1, 1998. The property sold three years later for $5.6 million, and served as a staging area for local logging operations. The faded candy cane signpost and dilapidated buildings became a ghost town along the Rim of the World Highway. In June 2014, the park was sold to a new owner who planned to operate it as a year-round tourist destination called SkyPark at Santa's Village. Following extensive renovations of 18 original Santa's Village buildings and restoration projects in the surrounding forest, it reopened as the outdoor adventure park, SkyPark at Santa's Village, on December 2, 2016.