A mountain theme park built for Christmas is spending October dressed up for Halloween instead. SkyPark at Santa's Village, tucked into the pines near Lake Arrowhead, is running its seasonal Pumpkins in the Pines celebration every Saturday and Sunday in October, adding trick-or-treating, a giant pumpkin weighing contest, and a puppet show inspired by the Legend of Sleepy Hollow to the park's usual year-round mix of mountain biking and Breakfast with Santa.
The event layers Halloween-themed decorations and activities onto the existing grounds, according to NBC Los Angeles, whose writer Alysia Gray Painter covered the celebration. The weekend schedule also includes the Wacko Magic Show and a Fantasy Forest night walk, giving visitors a mix of daytime family activities and after-dark spookiness across the same 15-acre historic footprint that once hosted the original Santa's Village. Day tickets or annual passes are required to enter the grounds and take part in the fall-inspired programming, and the park hosts special celebrations on both Halloween and the day before it.
A Christmas Park That Also Does Halloween Right
The pairing might sound odd, but SkyPark has built its identity around appealing to people who enjoy both Halloween and Christmas in the same calendar year. That dual appeal traces back to the park's unusual history: the original Santa's Village opened on Memorial Day weekend in 1955 in Skyforest, California, six weeks before Disneyland, developed by Glenn Holland as the country's first franchised theme park chain, according to the SkyPark at Santa's Village website. The concept was reportedly inspired by a magazine article about a North Pole attraction in New York.
That original park didn't last forever. After approximately 23 years in its original capacity, Santa's Village continued under the Fantasy Forest at Santa's Village concept before closing in March 1998, and its historic rides and fixtures were later sold off at auction, with many pieces ending up in the hands of local mountain residents, per the same account. Five years after it closed, the abandoned property faced an even bigger threat: the Old Fire ravaged much of the property in 2003, a blaze worsened by a mountain bark beetle infestation. Local fire agencies prevented the Village from being destroyed.
From Abandoned Lot to Guest-Powered Adventure Park
The property sat dormant until Lake Arrowhead residents Bill and Michelle Johnson bought it in 2014 and reopened the site as SkyPark at Santa's Village on December 2, 2016. The rebrand turned a shuttered Christmas theme park into an outdoor adventure destination built around mountain biking and hiking on a 230-acre property.
The new owners developed the site as an outdoor adventure destination, and its Halloween programming includes daytime activities like pumpkin painting and costume contests for younger kids. The Fantasy Forest night walk is part of that October programming, while daytime activities stay family-focused.
Getting There and What It Costs
SkyPark sits in Skyforest near Lake Arrowhead, according to I Love Lake Arrowhead. The area is part of the San Bernardino Mountains. The USDA Forest Service provides information about the San Bernardino National Forest.
As of July 2026, daily admission runs $59 for adults ages 18 to 64 and $49 for children and seniors, with vehicle parking priced separately at $15. Children ages three and under and seniors ages 75 and older get in free. Anyone planning a trip up the mountain for Pumpkins in the Pines will want to factor those costs, along with the drive up the mountain, into a weekend visit during what's likely to be a busy October at the park.
