Like many abandoned properties, the Lake Dolores Waterpark has offered plenty of fodder for ghost stories. It has weathered its fair share of disasters — including an employee accident, bankruptcy, and arson.
After several attempts to revive the 1950s relic, the park officially shuttered in 2004. In the years that followed, it became a rummage yard for metal scraps, a canvas for graffiti artists, and an obstacle course for thrill-seeking skateboarders.
Lately, it has offered a psychedelic backdrop for Instagram photos. People frequently ignore "no trespassing signs" to pose in front of a dried-out pool or decaying water slide.
But the water park could spring to life again soon.
A private firm, G&GF Enterprise, received approval from San Bernardino County in March to revitalize the land. The owners hope to transform the park into a roadside playground in California's Mojave Desert.
"Our entire development is going to be for the comfort and entertainment and recreation of traveling people so that they can take a break and they can have fun," Om Garg, the company's manager, told Business Insider. The pandemic isn't slowing down the plans, he added.
Take a look at the park's current derelict state.