Putney, Vermont: Santa's Land USA

Santa's Land is reopening! An anonymous benefactor stepped in and helped the owners reopen for a 55th season in 2012. The park will be open weekends from the Friday after Thanksgiving through the weekend before Christmas.

I just learned through Santa Land's Facebook page that 12/18/11 was its final day of operation. The owners couldn't keep it going any longer.

The Rutland Herald reported that a Santa Claus statue was stolen from the entrance to Santa's Land, in Putney, Vermont on April 4th. The statue was one of only four figures remaining from the original theme park, which opened in 1957....

I'm writing to let you know more about the wonderful resurgence of Santa's Land in Putney, VT. New owners purchased the park in May 2004 and thankfully all of their hard work has rendered your description of Santa's Land largely inaccurate! That's a good thing! With the new owners, Santa's Land was welcomed back into the VT Attractions Association and once again appears on the official state travel map. We've also just completed a print run of 20,000 brochures that will be distributed at all visitors' centers as well as many points throughout the state.

Last summer, Santa's Land was certified by the USDA and this past spring new animal additions were made in the form of a camel, miniature ponies, emus and royal palm turkeys. Three previously closed buildings have been reopened this year and a new playscape has been erected. And of course, we've gone through gallons and gallons of paint!

All Santa's Land needed was a little TLC and of course visitors who remember what the park once was. There is still plenty of work to be done with the ultimate goal to have the entire park ready for its' 50th anniversary in 2007! We can't wait.

Santa's Land USA seems to be doing pretty well for barely escaping the fate of becoming Frontier Town. We visited the last day it was open this year, and I went down the Iceberg Slide even though I'm 22 years old. The animals all seem healthy and Santa's doing fine. He showed us letters from kids, including one that simply said "Why don't you come in the day?!"

There's now a big walk through "Deer Forest," which I never remembered. Didn't check to see if the toilet seats were still candy cane-striped. The Igloo House still doesn't serve pancakes, which makes me sad.

We stopped at the Putney General Store and mentioned where we were going to the clerk, who said "Santa's Land? It's open?" This guy lives four miles from it, and doesn't know it's open!