Grant Lloyd just wanted a place for kids to work in the summer.
Lloyd, who died Monday, Dec. 17, at 82, never thought Cherry Hill would become the thriving business it did. The old sand hill that once bustled with ants now accommodates more than 150,000 people a year. For nearly 40 years, Cherry Hill has been a destination place in Davis County for water slides, mini golf and camping.
Lloyd planned on running Cherry Hill, which was originally named Crossroads Camping, on the side as he sold life insurance for the Prudential Life Insurance Co. full-time.
"It took off so quickly, he quit Prudential," Bruce said. The resort is now in its third generation of family ownership.
"People come in and they can remember when I worked as a lifeguard," Bruce said.
The property belonged to Grant's father, who grew cherry and peach trees on the property. When the Utah Department of Transportation wanted to build Interstate 15, part of the property was sold and the Hill is what remained.
"A friend of his said, 'You ought to build a campground there,"' said Bruce Lloyd, Grant's son and co-owner of Cherry Hill. Grant did, and Cherry Hill opened on June 6, 1967.
The Pie Pantry Restaurant is Grant's father's home. It is still surrounded by trees that adorned the property 60 years ago.
Bruce, along with his brother, Keith Lloyd, co-own the 20-acre resort.
In the beginning, if someone drove up and had a Utah license plate, people would scratch their heads, Bruce said.
Cherry Hill was a destination place more for people outside of Utah than inside. However, when the oil embargo hit in 1973, more people from Utah started going to Cherry Hill.
Grant started to put in attractions that would give local people a reason to stop at Cherry Hill. In 1978 the mini golf course was put in; the first water slides arrived in 1980; the Lazy River followed in 1984.
The '80s were when people were just starting to discover water slides, Bruce said.
"About 60 percent of out business is from Utah now," Bruce said.
Grant's Gulch, which was put in about three years ago, is a homage to Grant Lloyd.
"I think it's unique that there's someone who took their father's farm and made a business with it," Bruce said. "I hope someday to become as good a businessman as he was."
E-mail: blee@desnews.com