It seems that Mountain Lake in Virginia – now nothing more than a reddish-brown pit – shows little regard for human intervention or Hollywood nostalgia

Dirty Dancing lake had the time of its life, but now it's all dried up

Seven miles up a winding road in Pembroke, Virginia, sits the Mountain Lake Lodge, an imposing 1930s stone building that looks out over a manicured lawn peppered with cabins. The hotel is instantly recognizable to fans of the 1987 film Dirty Dancing as Kellerman’s Resort, the luxurious summer retreat where the precocious Frances “Baby” Houseman meets hunky dance instructor Johnny Castle and romance ensues.

Mountain Lake Lodge is proud of its fame, and has preserved its history to the delight of thousands of fans who flock to the resort each year to visit Dirty Dancing landmarks on the property, like Housemans’ white latticed bungalow (now called “Baby’s Cabin”), the dining room featuring the famous “no one put Baby in the corner” table, and the spot where Johnny smashes his car window. But there’s one critical part of Kellerman’s which has changed since 1987: Mountain Lake.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest This Google satellite view of Mountain Lake shows how far it has receded over time Photograph: The Guardian

Anyone who has seen Dirty Dancing knows that the lake is an integral part of the film: it’s where guests sun themselves while Baby and her sister Lisa try on wigs. It’s where Rockette Penny teaches a merengue class, and of course there’s the famous lift scene, where Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey practice their signature dance move in the water (although that scene was actually filmed at Lake Lure, North Carolina).

But today, Mountain Lake is nothing more than a reddish-brown pit, only partially filled with water. The lake’s water levels have fluctuated dramatically in the 30 years since the film. It first dropped in 1999, and returned to its normal levels in 2003. In 2006, it dropped again, and emptied completely for several days, leaving behind dead and rotting fish. From 2008 to 2012, it was mostly empty.



What happens is fairly simple: water drains out of the lake through several holes. According to Roanoke College environmental studies professor Jon Cawley, Mountain Lake’s basin is the only one in the world that goes through this sort of cycle and has this sort of plumbing system.

“When the lake drains – when it actually empties out – it is cleaning itself by moving sediment that has accrued in the bottom of the lake down through that rather complex plumbing system to actually make the lake bigger, deeper, and to keep it clean,” he says.

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In the hallways of the hotel, black-and-white photographs of women dressed in hats and long dresses boating on the lake in the 1800s line the walls. In 2008, the bones of a man who had been missing since a nighttime fishing trip in 1921 were found when the water level dropped. His cigarette case was still there, too.

The resort strives to educate guests in order to minimize disappointment over low water levels. In 2013, local firms carried out a major construction project to stabilize the lake’s water level by plugging its holes with native sediment and stone, but within the next year, another drainage hole was found from which just under a million gallons of water were lost per day.

It seems that Mountain Lake will do what it likes; it shows little regard for human intervention or Hollywood nostalgia.

