Cherry Hill water park, camping resort and entertainment center is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
The 20-acre resort opened its doors June 6, 1967, as Crossroads Camping. It was started by Grant S. and Mary Lou Lloyd as a camping resort.
Cherry Hill sits on land that was originally owned by Grant Lloyd's father, C.A. Lloyd, who bought the property in the early 1920s. When the depression hit, the elder Lloyd tried to sell his land.
"I am sure glad that he had no takers," said Bruce Lloyd, C.A.'s grandson.
Today Cherry Hill is co-owned by Bruce and his brother, Keith Lloyd.
Bruce Lloyd said his father opened the camping resort to give his children something else to do in the summer besides pick cherries.
"We helped shovel gravel and put pipes in, you know everything," he said. "I was 12 when he opened it."
Cherry Hill remained strictly a camping resort for several years, but its popularity continued to grow, especially among those outside Utah.
"When he started Crossroads Camping, he just used a few acres on the front of the hill," Bruce said. "Then a year or two later it was so busy he added a few more hookups for campers. It just kept growing."
Bruce said that during the gas embargo in the early 1970s when the price of gas soared, Grant Lloyd decided to put in other attractions to draw local residents to the resort. He started by adding an 18-hole miniature golf course and then two blue water slides.
The resort has continued to change during the years and today also includes an Olympic-sized pool, the Pirates Cove Activity Pool, Cardiac Canyon River Run, six batting cages, a 30-foot, four-sided climbing wall and "Hamster Haven," a giant ball crawl with nets and tunnel slides.
The most recent addition to the entertainment haven is Grant's Gulch Lazy River, which was built in 2004. It is named after founder Grant Lloyd.
"We joked for years that we were going to name a ride after dad and we finally did," Bruce said.
The river winds through an old mining town, and swimmers can float or soak in its water. Every hour, two miners, Claude and Clyde, decide to have the town blown up by dynamite. A soundtrack of the miners blasts through the mining town as water blows out of pipes, buckets tip and other things happen.
Bruce said that there are a few new features on the drawing board for Cherry Hill, including possibly new slides on the east side of the water park near the lazy river. But he said it will probably be a couple of years until anything new is added.
Cherry Hill also has the Pie Pantry restaurant where customers can enjoy homemade pies, sandwiches, ice cream treats, wraps and more. The restaurant occupies C.A. Lloyd's old home.
The hill, which was once bustling with ants, is now swarming with people.
"My favorite quote that my father said was, 'When I first got the property all it grew was ants,"' Bruce said. "He got the part that was kind of sandy on the front of the hill."
Today, Bruce estimates that 150,000 people visit Cherry Hill's water park and campground each year.
Although Cherry Hill has changed during the past four decades, it still prides itself on being "The Greatest Fun Spot You'll Ever Know." Bruce said the entertainment center strives for a wholesome environment. "We want a good, safe, clean family fun atmosphere at our park," he added.
E-mail: nclemens@desnews.com