Abandoned Waterpark in the Mojave Desert - Lake Dolores aka Rock-A-Hoola

In the middle of the scorching Mojave Desert is a strange sight. It has sat quietly for over a decade, turning the heads of passing motorists.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in Newberry Springs California

Like the abandoned Zzyzx Healing Center, Lake Dolores / Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark is a fascinating abandoned location built at the site of a natural spring.

Driving back to Los Angeles after a weekend in Las Vegas, traffic had slowed to a crawl. About 20 miles east of Barstow I saw a treasure so rare and wonderful that it could have been a mirage or a hallucination brought on by the desert heat: an abandoned waterpark. It was the perfect place to wait out the traffic jam.

I crossed the vastness of the empty parking lot to a walkway surrounded by billboards and beheaded palm trees.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

I passed through the gate into a bizarre and amazing world that I'd never dared to dream existed.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

A world of oil changes, tune ups, skulls stenciled onto buildings,

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

...illegible signs,

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

...discarded shower curtains in empty bathrooms,

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

...self-aware buildings,

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

...lockers,

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

...and even hookers, apparently.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Canals with stagnant brown water snaked through the park.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Bone-dry pools languished beneath the punishing glare of the sun.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Concession stands stood empty and ransacked.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

A sign once bore important information for those about to ascend the stairs to the water slides.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

The scaffolding remains, but the slides were shipped off years ago to Cultus Lake Waterpark in Canada, where they would again know the joy of plunging visitors into refreshing pools of chlorinated water.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

The concrete pylons that once supported a dozen or so water slides stand as monuments to happier times. This place must have been awesome in its heyday.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

The top of the hill affords a very nice view.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Below, rows of water filtration tanks bake in the sunlight.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Many of the park's buildings remain, most of them entirely empty,

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

thoroughly vandalized,

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

their inner and outer walls coated with graffiti.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

At the far end of the park stands an old prefab structure that once served as a "County Store".

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Little remains inside, except fallen ceiling panels, toppled filing cabinets, and a desk.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Lake Dolores is a 273-acre man-made lake in Newberry Springs, California, a town famous for its annual Newberry Springs Pistachio Festival. The lake is fed by the Mojave Aquifer via underground springs. It was quite dry at the time of my visit.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Local businessman Bob Byers built Lake Dolores Waterpark in the late 50s and named it after his wife. He originally meant for it to be used exclusively by his family.

In 1962 he added a campground on the adjacent lot and opened Lake Dolores to the public. Over the years the waterpark expanded with the addition of rides and other attractions.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California


Lake Dolores Waterpark, "The Fun Spot of The Desert!" had its heyday in the '70s and early '80s before attendance began to decline. 

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

It featured a variety of attractions including group raft rides, bumper boats, JetSkis, high diving boards, a zip-cord ride and a massive swimming pool.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Byers sold Lake Dolores Waterpark in 1990 to an investment group who revamped it with a 1950s theme and changed the name to Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark.

Sadly, Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark remained open for only three seasons before massive debt forced its closure. A contributing factor was a $4.4 million lawsuit by an employee who became paraplegic after an accident in 1999. The investment group declared bankruptcy in 2000.

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

In 1999, the electronic music festival Electric Daisy Carnival was held there.

The property was returned to Dolores Byers, the original park's namesake, whose husband Bob Byers had passed away in 1996. Dolores sold Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark to another investment group in 2001 and then died a month later. 

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

The new owners poured $400,000 worth of renovations into the park and changed the name to Discovery Waterpark. It reopened 2002, but closed again in 2004.

Since its closure, the park has been used for many purposes, including a filming location for several T.V. shows and films, art events, and music performances. 

Abandoned Lake Dolores Rock-A-Hoola Water Park in the Mojave Desert in Newberry Springs California

Thanks for checking out this article. If you enjoyed it, feel free to share it on Facebook. While you're at it, please subscribe to my blog and follow me on my social media sites:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/placesthatwere

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JimSullivanPlacesThatWere/posts

EyeEm: https://www.eyeem.com/u/placesthatwere

flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/placesthatwere/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/placesthatwere/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/jimplicit

Instagram: http://instagram.com/theplacesthatwere

Tumblr: http://placesthatwere.tumblr.com/

And come back next week, when I'll share the story of another fascinating abandoned place.

BTW, if you'd like to see some pictures of Lake Dolores Waterpark in its heyday, follow this link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/andyroo117/sets/72157614486264219/detail/