PTR: Santa's Land VT 10/10

[Wumbology]

Hey everyone,

 

On Columbus Day Weekend my family and I were up at our house in Vermont. It's lovely in the fall. A few months prior I had seen on one of those amusement park maps that a park called "Santa's Land" was in Putney, Vermont. After looking it up, it looked like a fun little attraction and it was only 45 minutes away, north, from our house. We found some time on Columbus Day to go check it out.

 

It opened in 1957 and has seen a number of owners. The previous owner to the current ones apparently didn't help the park very much- you can see pictures of its state just before its refurbishment in 2005. Today the park is a nice little family attraction and I think it is one of the most unique parks in the country. It features a train, a number of kiddy rides, a North Pole village, some playground-type equipment, and animal exhibits. The park is run by a husband and wife and a few of their friends.

 

I'll be including some pictures, as I noticed that this park was not in the park index. I have some more pictures stashed away, but can pull them out if anyone wants to see more. I figured I'd leave some surprises for anyone who visits.

 

Note: We did visit Santa, and he was very funny and friendly. His cottage is beautiful. I didn't get any pictures of it with my camera, though.

 

All in all, this was a cute park, very Vermont-y, and I recommend that anybody check it out if they are nearby.

The park entrance, through the store.

The view when you enter the park.

You cross over this stereotypical Vermont covered bridge to enter the park.

Looking out into the park from up the hill in the "North Pole Village."

The "Ding Dong Schoolhouse." (Tee-hee.) Here kids can write to Santa and Christmas movies play, including "Blue Screen."

The only restrooms in the whole park.

Some Christmas-y art on the side of the Santa's Arcade building.

The Candy Cane Cupboard, which had some good food for lunch. And not just the typical theme park food.

If you are tall and male and you get anywhere near this llama, he sets his laser-spit to kill.

This is the one of the owners, who works in the Sweet Shoppe. She was feeding the llamas as she explained to us how the old owners used to abuse them and after seven years they're now just able to feed them by hand.

This giant speaker was playing classic Christmas music over the whole park. It very well might have been the same music that played in 1957.

Groovy Snowman - one of the crazy characters in the park.

Santa's Deer Park - a neat attraction where you walk around with a herd of Fallow Deer.

Pretty cool!

The Giant Slide. Amazingly enough, a headliner for the park. It's right in the heart of the park.

The Train... This is what people come to see. The Train is a Jeff Johnson credit: at the end, the driver (park owner) let's the brakes go and the train runs downhill and glides to a stop in the station.

Bill the Camel, in the "Flapjack Junction" area of the park, from the train. The Train gets a little weird after this... You have to see for yourself.

This Boat Ride isn't very much without water... Hmm...

The Car Ride.

"Mushroom." All these kiddy rides were operated by one guy, who lead the kids from ride to ride and ran them.

The Merry-Go-Round.

HEY KIDS. I'M THE PURPLE PLUM MAN. GIVE ME SOME CANDY.

Looking towards the park exit. Thanks for reading!

[cal1br3tto]

How charming! I love that there are still parks like this. It's interesting how so many seem to go under the radar. Hopefully the well-kept ones, like this one, are at least popular with the locals.

[Wumbology]

How charming! I love that there are still parks like this. It's interesting how so many seem to go under the radar. Hopefully the well-kept ones, like this one, are at least popular with the locals.

 

I hope so too. Based on RoadsideAmerica.com's report on the attraction back a few years ago, even people in Putney didn't know about it. However, this was before the refurbishment and I think this place is on its way up now. The people we met really were very nice. The woman in the gift shop that sold admission told us all about what they were doing. Pictures were on the wall of their off-season refurbishment projects, (such as repainting the former 1957 train engine "Chuggy Choo.") Plus, it's still open. It could have gone the way of "Holy Land U.S.A." here in Connecticut.

Here's a scan of the map they handed us at the entrance.

[Electerik]

Thanks for posting this! Never heard of the place. Enjoyed seeing it.

[gisco]

Now if they would just put a coaster in!

[jynx242]

Thanks so much for taking the time to make this Trip Report. Little parks like this make me happy!

[Wumbology]

Happy to share it. The place deserves some attention, they're putting a lot of love into it.

[JimmyBo]

This place looks and reminds me a lot of Santa's Land in Cherokee, North Carolina. It's another small roadside park on the way to Dollywood if you go that way to the park. Did they have bears you can feed through a tube?

 

Jimmy "Cute little park" Bo

[Wumbology]

^Unfortunately, no. Sounds funny, though. There were a few more animal pens that I didn't include pictures of, mostly birds and livestock. Though it is kind of funny that there's this park here and then there's a Santa's Village about three hours away in New Hampshire. And then there's NC and one in Illinois? A popular theme.