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All the United States Colorado Cascade The North Pole

The North Pole

This vintage theme park is peak Christmas kitsch—and it's open all summer.

Cascade, Colorado

Added By
nickblossom
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North Pole Post office   nickblossom / Atlas Obscura User
North Pole Post office   nickblossom / Atlas Obscura User
Entrance Sign   nickblossom / Atlas Obscura User
Highest-Altitude Ferris Wheel on the Continent   nickblossom / Atlas Obscura User
A Santa slide at the North Pole.   ptjoe12000 / CC BY 2.0
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
North Pole (August 2024)   Joe from Bellingham / Atlas Obscura User
North Pole (Aug. 2024)   Joe from Bellingham / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Residents of Colorado Springs don't need to wait until December to start celebrating Christmas. Just outside of town lies the North Pole, a Christmas-themed amusement park that's open all summer.

The park first opened in 1956, and it's still owned and operated by the same family. Upon opening the park was simpler—a village designed to look like Santa’s Workshop, inspired by a similar project in the Adirondacks. The first rides, which opened in 1958 according to a local news outlet, included "a mine ride where a donkey pulled a cart along tracks, an authentic fire engine, and a stagecoach."

Over the years the park expanded and changed, but it retains an authentically saccharine mid-century kitsch more than a half-century later. The North Pole "village" has a post office, several shops selling candy, toys, and Christmas-themed trinkets, and of course, the Claus family dwellings and workshop. 

The amusement park boasts the highest-altitude Ferris wheel in North America, among other attractions like a small roller coaster and a tilt-a-whirl.

Related Tags

Holidays Amusement Parks Santa Claus Christmas

Know Before You Go

The park is closed from late December through May. Check their website for up-to-date hours and admission information.

Community Contributors

Added By

nickblossom

Edited By

Collector of Experiences, Michelle Cassidy, Joe from Bellingham

  • Collector of Experiences
  • Michelle Cassidy
  • Joe from Bellingham

Published

February 5, 2024

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  • https://www.9news.com/article/life/style/colorado-guide/north-pole-santa-workshop-colorado/73-5220e16f-2e60-48f6-aa66-367d0cd3cc85
The North Pole
5050 Pikes Peak Hwy
Cascade, Colorado, 80809
United States
38.904943, -104.977356
Visit Website
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