Waterless

This is the story of an abandoned water park in the desert of California. Nearing the end of the Route 66 journey is a small California town called Harvard. The town is most well known for the waterpark that used to operate out of it: Rock-A-Hula Waterpark or Lake Dolores. The waterpark opened in May of 1962 and closed in 2004. A fire claimed a lot of the remaining buildings and most of the water slides have been sold off or removed from what is left of the park, but it is a great place to stop and take a walk through on a drive to Vegas from Barstow or Los Angeles. Built by Bob Byers originally for private use by his extended family, the waterpark was named (Lake) Dolores after Bob's wife. The park was irrigated by water from underground springs that came from the Mojave Aquifer. The park is situated off of Interstate 15 in the Mojave Desert. A campground opened in 1962 fed the waterpark customers. The park featured 8 identical mounted waterslides mounted side by side on a man made hill. Each slide was 150 feet long. The park also featured two slides that were 150 feet long that were to be rode standing up. Peak attendances in the early 1970s and mid 1980s had the park gain popularity, but that faded in the late 1980s, causing the park to close.

Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark: The park was sold in August of 1990 to a three person investment group who wanted to open a 1950s themed park. They replaced the old slides with modern slides and painted the slides Red, White, and Blue to symbolize the American flag. The plan for the park was eventually to have an RV park adjacent to it. This renovation of the park was costly and the business endeavor saw millions of dollars in debt after only three seasons, complicated by a lawsuit when an employee became paralyzed in an accident as well as an investor having financial troubles. The park closed in 2000.

Dolores Byers, died in October of 2001 one month before, she sold the park. The new park opened on weekends in 2002 and 2003 and was named Discovery Waterpark, however after only being opened intermittently during the 2004 season, the park shut down. Slides and attractions had been sold off in 2009, and the park fell into ruins. Urban explorers, like myself, frequently visit the landmark. There have been attempts to revitalize the park with a construction proposal to open the park again for operation in 2026 but as of 2021 the park is currently listed for sale at $11 million dollars.

Personal thoughts on my visit: I always am fascinated by what is left behind in places that meant something to someone throughout their existence and Lake Dolores or Rock-a-hula waterpark is no different. Although I never experienced the park, I can remember going to waterparks like it with my family. We used to frequent a waterpark in Jekyll Island, Georgia every vacation and the memories there with friends are what I imagine the memories at this park would have been like. Exploring allows me to dive into histories of locations and hope to bring back memories for people. At Lake Dolores, it occurred to me that the location is literally in the middle of a desert. As it is no longer a functioning waterpark, I feel it would be difficult to get it up and running again. There is nothing near Harvard, CA. Barstow is the nearest town which is about 30 minutes south. Vegas is about an hour and a half north, and the town itself is about ten houses if that. The mark was really missed with this place. It would have made more sense when Route 66 was a popular way to travel because it was easier for families to access, but now it is more difficult. I hope someone who can really make a difference here considers buying the place, but until then it will remain a haven for explorers and graffiti artists. Imaging flocks of families and kids visiting the park today is hard as everything is covered in graffiti and main attractions are gone.

In conclusion, this is what I hope this site can be, histories of abandoned places or places I travel to, and then photos I have taken in various locations. I hope anyone who checks this out and reads through my adventures can be inspired to take similar adventures.

https://youtu.be/_aVKntkhVNQ