Santa's Village: Return of a Skyforest Gem

The Lake Arrowhead-close attraction readies for its merry re-debut.

The totally true thing about Santa Claus is this: He doesn't set his sleigh down upon your rooftop out of the blue, without some in-the-distance build-up first.

Our point is this: You'll wait on him for some time, watching the horizon, hoping he'll arrive soon. And then, there he is, just when you began to do the antsy dance.

The holly-lined path to the re-opening of SkyPark at Santa's Village has been built upon that same "Santa's on the way" anticipation. Mountain developer Bill Johnson first revealed his big plans in the summer of 2014, plans that detailed how the founded-in-1955 Christmas-themed attraction would return to its former charming, come-revel-in-cuteness glory.

Lots of reconstruction, updating, and building work was done on the Lake Arrowhead-close destination in the following months and years, and now there is a twinkling light on the far horizon: Santa is indeed on his way to his former mountain retreat, the one just off Rim of the World Highway, with advance tickets listed as "Available Very Soon."

The area, which also serves as a sportsy destination for mountain bikers, hikers, and those seeking among-the-pines adventure, will again include Santa's House, a workshop, a North Pole post office, and other candy cane-cute details and displays, the sort of picturesque touches that'll end up in thousands of family holiday photos to come.

Families, by the by, who want to introduce the younger set to a festive place that thousands of today's parents and grandparents visited when they were kids.

Santa's Village shuttered in 1998, but mountain locals and Southern Californians living in the lower elevations heard rumor of its possible return for years.

The Scene

Want to find new things to do in Los Angeles? The Scene's lifestyle stories have you covered. Here's your go-to source on where the fun is across SoCal and for the weekend.

Theodore Payne Foundation's ‘poppy-ular' Poppy Days Spring Sale is about to sprout

The Broad is broadening: The contemporary art museum just unveiled a major expansion plan

While past and future fans await the re-opening (update: the park is awaiting on a temporary use permit), a spin around the online Santa's Village headquarters provides a peek at what to expect, including this all-important fact from the FAQ, the one that asks if Santa may be found at the park year-round.

The answer? A resounding "yes!," complete with exclamation point.

Put that gingerbread-sweet sentiment in your heart while you watch for Ol' St. Nick's imminent arrival up, up, up the mountain (and also keep an eye out for when those first advance tickets will finally be on sale).

Welcome back, Santa's Village. We see you on the horizon.

Copyright FREEL - NBC Local Media
Contact Us