Once upon a time, children in the San Francisco Bay Area could visit the North Pole. The North Pole was of course located in Santa's Village. Santa's Village was nestled in the RedWoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains located in Scotts Valley.
The grand opening was May 30, 1957 and Santa's Village stayed open until 1979. It was open three hundred and sixty-four days of the year — closed, ironically, only on Christmas.
The main rides were a bobsled, a spinning Christmas tree and Santa's Express train. There was also a petting zoo, real reindeer, a huge Jack-in-the-Box and equally large Santa's boot, and an Alice in Wonderland hall of mirrors. There was also a frozen candy cane striped North Pole.
All the workers dressed like elves while a host of random characters wandered the Village, including Alice in Wonderland, the Easter Bunny, Little Bo Peep and the Good Witch, Jack Pumpkinhead and Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. Santa Claus of course lived here, exuberant and full of cheer, overseeing his workshop of bustling elves.
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