BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — It’s hard to get terribly excited about a multi-acre water park when it’s 55 degrees outside and rainy, but that’s exactly what a local developer is working on — even as he works feverishly to get ready for his annual Christmastime tradition.
Christmas Town is just a few days away from opening, but that water park is considerably further away on the calendar.
Call Mike Ross a big kid and you’ll get no argument from anybody, not even from Mike Ross himself. The guy behind Christmas Town is back and he’s got big plans — not only for Christmas Town, but a couple years down the road we may see a new water park in Bakersfield, and yes, Ross is the big kid behind that as well.
Ross has been organizing Christmas Town for more than a decade, including the last several years at the Kern County Fairgrounds.
“I’m a big kid and I enjoy family entertainment,” said Ross, an accountant who also owns a Chritstmas tree farm in Bakersfield. “Kinda make this place a funner place. We really have fun entertaining people. We just keep trying to make it bigger and better every year.”
The attraction opens the days after Thanksgiving and runs through Jan. 3. An outdoor skating rink, snow hill, a new Keebler Elf Tree, 30 elves and of course Santa Claus. More more, of course. Tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for kids.
But all the while, Ross has another project up his sleeve. Tortuga Water Park — an amusement park very tentatively set for 26 acres at Mohawk and Hageman in northwest Bakersfield. He says advanced technology will allow the park to use no more water than three single family homes.
On Wednesday night the Bakersfield City Council will vote whether to approve a contract for an Environmental Impact Report on the Tortuga Water Park proposal. It’s on the council’s consent calendar.
Ross grew up in Bakersfield and fondly remembers the many ways kids cooled off when temperatures hit triple digits. Places like the Plunge — a massive swimming pool on Union Avenue.
“The Plunge, when water parks were at Hart Park, there was one on White Lane — yeah, I remember every childhood spot,” Ross said. “I’ve gone tubing down Kern River, I’ve done just about everything you can do around here.”
But things like this can’t be rushed. Not with all the permitting and engineering requirements such a project will entail.
“You’re singing to the choir, man, I totally agree,” Ross said. “We’re on step one, we’re waiting to see what step one looks like, and then we’ll move to step two.”
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17 News.