High above Skyforest, a cyclist pedals through the pines with nothing beneath the wheels but a narrow steel rail and 40 feet of mountain air. This is the B Rail, a suspended, human-powered ride built along the route of Santa’s Village’s historic Bumble Bee Monorail. The original attraction carried black-and-yellow bee cars above the park beginning in 1961. Its successor places a single rider on what feels like a bicycle in flight, with speed determined by how hard that rider is willing to pedal.
It is thrilling, slightly unnerving and an apt symbol for what Michelle and Bill Johnson have spent more than a decade doing at SkyPark at Santa’s Village: taking a relic from another California and giving it enough momentum to move forward.
Santa’s Village opened in Skyforest on Memorial Day weekend in 1955, six weeks before Disneyland. Built along the Rim of the World Highway near Lake Arrowhead, the park offered live reindeer, a miniature train, storybook cottages and elves making toys. For generations of Southern California families, the winding drive into the San Bernardino Mountains ended beneath candy-cane arches.
But nostalgia could not keep the gates open. After years of financial trouble and changing ownership, Santa’s Village closed in 1998. Rides were auctioned, electrical infrastructure was stripped away and the property spent nearly two decades deteriorating behind locked gates.
When the Johnsons purchased the 230-acre property in 2014, they were not planning to become custodians of Christmas.
The local husband-and-wife real estate and design team envisioned a mountain recreation destination influenced by places such as Whistler: trails through the forest, mountain biking during the day and a village where riders could gather afterward. Both had deep ties to the region. Bill had even worked at Santa’s Village as a teenager.
Then the letters and memories began arriving. SoCa residents did not simply see an abandoned piece of land. They saw childhood waiting to be returned to them. The response persuaded the Johnsons to pursue a more complicated idea—one that would preserve Santa’s Village while building the active outdoor park they originally imagined.
“It wasn’t our idea to bring back Santa’s Village as much as it was the Southern California market,” Bill told the Los Angeles Times.
The undertaking required more than repainting a few cottages. The Johnsons restored original buildings, repaired aging infrastructure and brought the property up to modern safety codes. They installed a sawmill and used timber harvested from the property for portions of the reconstruction, continuing the handmade building tradition established when the village was created in 1955.
SkyPark at Santa’s Village reopened in December 2016. What emerged was neither a conventional amusement park nor a museum sealed beneath artificial snow. The village still has Santa’s house, gingerbread, colorful characters and the child-size wonder that made the original park beloved. But beyond the familiar rooftops, the forest has become part of the attraction.
Visitors can ride professionally designed mountain-bike trails, test their aim at the archery range, throw axes, climb rock walls and skate at Silver Bells Arena. Seasonal programming shifts from summer concerts and autumn celebrations to the full Christmas transformation that remains the park’s emotional anchor.
The distinction is participation. At SkyPark, guests are asked to pedal, climb, balance, throw and explore—not simply wait for the next mechanical ride. The B Rail may be the clearest expression of that philosophy. Rather than remove the old monorail structure, Bill worked with fabricators and engineers to reuse it. The resulting attraction opened in late 2024 as a self-powered, single-rider bicycle suspended from the original track.
The ride carries guests between 25 and 45 feet above the village. There is no enclosed bee car now, only a bicycle-like frame, the steel rail and a broad view through the treetops. “As a kid, I worked on the monorail ride,” Bill told InPark Magazine. Decades later, he became its lead designer and helped return the long-silent track to service.
That blend of preservation and reinvention extends beyond the park gates. At the nearby SkyPark Camp + RV Resort, travelers can stay in restored vintage Airstream trailers overlooking the valley. Each trailer in the SkyStream Resort is more than 50 years old and individually designed, with modern beds, fireplaces, patios and gas firepits. The accommodations turn a day trip into a mountain weekend without sanding away all the quirks of the original trailers.
Together, the bike park, restored village, campground and speakeasy broaden the audience without erasing the place people remember. Children can meet Santa. Experienced riders can spend the morning on the trails. Couples can disappear into the Reindeer Room, while campers end the night beside a fire overlooking the lights below.
The result is not Santa’s Village exactly as it was. That would have been impossible—and perhaps dishonest. The original park belonged to station wagons, roadside attractions and an era when a bee-shaped monorail could become a family landmark.
What the Johnsons have built acknowledges that history without becoming trapped inside it. On the B Rail, the old track still curves above the village. The difference is that no motor carries anyone forward now. The rider has to pedal.
For more information about Skypark visit skyparksantasvillage.com
Current schedule: Generally open Thursday through Sunday; hours vary by date and season
Overnight stays: Tent sites, RV spaces and restored vintage Airstream accommodations are available at SkyPark Camp + RV Resort
Reindeer Room: Ages 21 and older; reservations required; typically open Friday and Saturday from 5–10 p.m.
Before traveling: Confirm operating hours, attraction availability, trail conditions and ticket prices through the official SkyPark website.
Photo credits: Photo courtesy of Skypark
