Lake from Dirty Dancing is filling up again after disappearing for 12 years

A mysterious lake made famous by the film Dirty Dancing has astonished scientists by refilling with water, 12 years after it disappeared.

A mysterious lake in the United States made famous by the film Dirty Dancing is filling up with water, more than a decade after it vanished.

The lake at Mountain Lake Lodge, in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, is well known to fans of the 1987 film as the spot where Johnny and Baby practised their famous lift.

It also served as a picturesque backdrop for dance scenes set at the gazebo in the film’s fictional Kellerman’s resort, making the lodge a mecca for Dirty Dancing fans.

The lake dried up in 2008, but now, it’s astonishing scientists by refilling with water as part of a unique process of “self-cleaning”.

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Dirty Dancing stars Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey at the lake in the film.

“It’s about a third full right now and it seems to be holding,” Mountain Lake Lodge’s general manager Heidi Stone told CNN.

“It’s very exciting. The guests get very excited because for so many years it’s been dry and looked more like a meadow. It’s the prettiest when it’s filled with water.”

According to local news outlets, the lake’s water level dropped in 1999 but returned in 2003. Three years later it started dropping again, and by 2008, it was completely dry.

The Mountain Lake Lodge in Virginia is a bucket list destination for Dirty Dancing fans. Picture: Supplied

In a video on the Mountain Lake Lodge’s website, Roanoke College professor Jon Cawley said the mountain lake basin was “absolutely unique”, not just for the region but the “entire world”.

He said the lake appeared to hit a major low about every 400 years.

“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,” Prof Cawley said.

The lodge was the filming location for the film’s fictional Kellerman’s resort.

The Mountain Lake Lodge, which stood in for Kellerman’s resort in New York’s Catskill Mountains in Dirty Dancing, has long been a major tourist attraction for fans of the cult film.

It has offered visitors the chance to stay in the cabin that hosted Baby and her family, along with activities inspired by the film, including trivia, dancing lessons and a watermelon toss.

Ms Stone, the hotel’s general manager, previously said it tended to be a popular “girls’ getaway” weekend spot.

“But we do see some husbands and boyfriends from time to time,” she added.