After 50 Years, Doors Closing To ‘Flintstones’-Themed Amusement Park

An era is coming to an end for Bedrock City, an Arizona theme park that is Flintstones-based and operated for nearly 50 years.

Located on Arizona State Route 64 about half an hour from the Grand Canyon’s South Rim, the park closed down for good during the recent weekend. Spanning 30-acres, the park had been up for sale for a number of years. A new owner will take over the land on Friday.

According to a Bedrock City spokesperson, a new attraction will be built on the site when the new owners take over, though they did not disclose their plans for the new attraction.


Bedrock City was actually a second, Flintstones-themed park. Purchased by Linda Speckels and her husband Francis in 1972, the park was the sister property to one in Custer, South Dakota. Francis Speckels had worked as a government contractor and partner in the original Bedrock City before creating the Arizona one. The South Dakota Bedrock City, which was operated by a relative of Linda Speckels, was sold to Custer Hospitality LLC for $1.5 million and closed in 2015.

Having featured the iconic characters from the Flintstones cartoon such as Fred Flintstone, Wilma Flintstone, Barney Rubble and Wilma Rubble, Dino, the Flintstone’s pet dinosaur, and more. Visitors could enjoy such attractions as a train ride through the park’s volcano as well as take a slide down the tail of a large brontosaurus dinosaur, just like Fred did every day going to work.

The park also consisted of a gift shop, a diner, and also had a campground where visitors could stay with access to a grocery store (Barney’s Grocery), showers, a laundry facility, and more.

The Flintstones aired on ABC for six seasons after debuting in 1960. The series was the first animated series to air in a primetime television slot, paving the way for The Simpsons three decades later. In 2013, TV Guide even declared The Flintstones the second greatest TV cartoon of all time — second only to The Simpsons.