(CNN) – In 2008, Mountain Lake, famous for the 1987 movie “Dirty Dancing,” dried up and stayed that way for more than a decade. But this summer, it’s starting to fill up again, wowing locals and visitors alike.
Mountain Lake Lodge is a mecca for true “Dirty Dancing” fans traveling to the Pembroke, Virginia resort to see the film’s various highlights. There is the cabin where “Baby” and her family stayed and the gazebo where the guests took dance classes.
Mountain Lake is starting to fill up again after staying dry for 12 years.
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However, in recent weeks, after a wet spring, employees noticed that it was filling up again.
“It’s almost a third full at the moment and it seems to be holding up,” Mountain Lake Lodge general manager Heidi Stone told CNN.
“It is very exciting,” added Stone. “The guests are very excited because for many years it has been dry and looked more like a meadow. It is the most beautiful when it is full of water.”
According to scientists, this phenomenon of draining and filling the lake makes Mountain Lake unique.
Scientists say Mountain Lake is unique in that it drains and fills to clean itself of sediment.
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Cawley explains that after studying the lake bed, he and other scientists discovered that the lake reaches a minimum level every 400 years.
“When the lake drains, when it really empties, it is being cleaned by moving the sediment that has accumulated at the bottom of the lake through that complex plumbing system to make the lake bigger, deeper and keep it clean,” Cawley said in the video.
Fans will have to wait to see if the lake will fully fill, but Stone said that even without the lake, there are other activities at the lodge to enjoy, such as a “Dirty Dance” weekend package that includes a treasure hunt, trivia, and obviously a dance party.
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