Amusement Park News

Oxnard, Calif. is known for its strawberry fields and annual strawberry festival. And soon, it will also be home to an amusement park with a strawberry theme. German-owned Karls operates strawberry-themed amusement attractions throughout Germany and is bringing them to the coastal city just north of Los Angeles.

The Oxnard location will be the first Karls park outside Germany. Karls CEO Robert Dahl plans to open the new park by 2028, in time for visitors to enjoy during the Olympic events to be held in Los Angeles.

The new California Karls park project was granted needed land-use entitlements by the California Coastal Commission in mid-August. The park will be located on Fisherman's Wharf at the Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard.

The new park will be called Karls Adventure Village at the Channel Islands Harbor, and it will include children's rides, playgrounds, dining and retail, and a public promenade. Karls will also refurbish existing buildings. The new venue will be themed to include strawberry-centric rides as well as nautical themes that fit with the community, and a focus on the village concept itself with a market building, café and bakery, and exhibits that pay tribute to both the agricultural and nautical background of Oxnard itself.



Now that the Coastal Commission has approved the project, Karls plans to begin construction in 2026. Ventura County Harbor Department director Michael Tripp asserts that the Karls project marks “a pivotal moment for our community and harbor."

Dahl is equally enthusiastic about the location, saying that his company loved the Oxnard area.

"To finally get the green light for our first Karls in the U.S. is a fantastic feeling,” Dahl remarks. “This is a big step for us…we can't wait to get started on this new chapter.”

Emphasizing Karls' commitment to a long-term partnership with Oxnard, Dahl says his company is focused on creating a location with attractions that center “the harbor's coastal identity.”

A rendering of the park shows the refurbishment of the iconic faux lighthouse located along the wharf, as well new buildings replacing other existing nautically themed structures that have fallen into disrepair in the area.



Tripp notes that there was a public process begun three years ago to obtain proposals for the Fisherman's Wharf area, with Karls proposal a particular stand out for “its creativity, family orientation and commitment to enhancing public access.”

Establishing a plan for the wharf was a collaborative effort undertaken among regulatory bodies and the broader Oxnard community, with the Coastal Commission's approval serving as a “testament” to the collaboration.

“Our goal here has always been to build a real community ‘focal point,' a place where local families can come together, a place that creates good jobs, and a place that celebrates the wonderful maritime and agricultural culture of the area,” Dahl has announced.

The California Karls location will continue the legacy that the company has built in Germany, one that is both compelling to guests and educational.

“It will be a true Karls' experience, filled with our rustic, creative charm and the same focus on handcrafted goods and authentic storytelling that has made us successful in Germany,” Dahl explains. He says the company wants to show its guests “the joy of a simple, fun, and natural experience.”

The project will be designed along the lines of Karls other locations, following a village model theme that is filled with experiential activities and fun.

Dahl describes the company's decision to partner with the Oxnard community as being “made with our hearts and minds,” and serving as a commitment to an ongoing partnership with Oxnard, one that should both provide jobs and enhance enjoyment in the area.

Taking a look at Karls roots, the company has numerous “experience villages” throughout northeastern Germany, starting back as far as 1921 with company founder Kar Dahl's fruit farm, and the sale of his strawberry products. Kar's son Karl-Heinz continued to operate the business, but found that after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the strawberry market was overtaken with inexpensive strawberries imported from Poland. To improve its market, Karls created an experiential retail industry for its agricultural products and in 2008, turned a simple tractor ride into an attraction that was “placed next to the company's strawberry shop, building other experiences around the ride, including a restaurant and playgrounds.”



Robert Dahl emphasizes the use of repurposed materials to establish a rustic but charming atmosphere on Karls properties. While the majority of the German park's rides and attractions are strawberry-themed, other food items also hold sway among the ride theming in Germany. There's a potato chip themed roller coaster; a gummy bear land; and a flying carpet ride with coffee pot theming.

Dahl describes the company's attractions in Germany as being primarily geared toward kids 12 and under, along with ample farm shops and food manufacturing and demonstrations from baked goods to soap-making to the making of the company's signature strawberry jam, sold at all its locations.

Following the success of the tractor ride, Dahl was introduced to a variety of other rides available from manufacturers, and purchased a Barnyard ride from Zamperla at IAAPA, followed by its first roller coaster, purchased in 2018.

The coaster, K2, is a tube ride from ABC, and along with its thrilling track, Karls also includes a pre-ride show that is set inside a recreation of the Dahl family home, presenting information on how the family harvested strawberries and potatoes, it's original crop. Once aboard the ride, the coaster features cars designed as delivery boxes.

Rides are varied at Karls parks throughout Germany, but they include attractions that come from ART Engineering, Gerstlauer, Technical Park, Sunkid and Zierer.

While some of these rides will assuredly be part of the mix in Oxnard, there will also be additional experiences, similar to those that Karls provides in Germany, such as playgrounds both indoor and out, play fountains, train rides, and even pony rides.

Karls is a leading name in Germany's theme park scene and is sure to bring a 'berry good' time to Oxnard.