Other Notable Denver-Area Skateparks And Spots

Aspen

Cement banks and bowls of various heights/depths. Team Pain, I believe. Three separate areas: (1) small shallow bowl; (2) a flow area; (3) and a large "angel" clover bowl.

Arvada / Memorial Park

Steel four-foot half pipe; steel six-foot half pipe; small pyramid; small rail; short cement banks; steel gets very hot in direct sun; not well maintained; trees provide nice shade, but make the ramps dirty; high rug rat factor. The banks would be fun, but there is not enough room to get speed for them. Around 1995, I remember thinking how great it was to have this park, along with Englewood and Golden, nearby. But then concrete started to get poured everywhere, and now these steel modular parks are obsolete. Directions from Denver:

I-70 West
Exit Wadsworth
North/right on Wadsworth
West/left on 58th
North/right on Wadsworth (old Wadsworth)
West/left on Barbara Ann Drive (7800 Barbara Ann)

Aurora Wheel Park

Includes a BMX racetrack, a bmx freestyle area, an rc racetrack, an in-line hockey rink, and a skateboard park. The skateboard park is all concrete, and most of it is kept on the small side, except for the deep end of the snake run and the big bowl. A few problems: Traffic intersects a lot; plenty of people just standing in the way; no spine transition; rule against bmx bikes is never enforced (meaning, it's dangerous because there are bikes flying everywhere). But overall a very well-built park. There are four main areas, pictured from right to left: First, the big bowl; second, a short snake run that progressively deepens; third, an open area with small banks and a fun box; fourth, a runway with a small rail and ledges. All of the edges have steel coping. A Site Design Group project. Directions: Going east on Iliff, pass Chambers and go south on Wheel Park Circle.

Boulder / Scott Carpenter

Concrete bowls and banks, all connected; concrete pyramid with rails; free; allows bikes; shuts down occasionally for graffiti removal. A Site Design Group park. Directions from Denver:

I-25 North
36 West (to Boulder)
East/right on Arapahoe (right before Crossroads Mall)
South/right on 30^th
Park will be on your west/right side

Broomfield/The Cage

This is a public skatepark that charges admission. It is also surrounded by a huge fence. And it has a bunch of rules and hours. The park has some prefabricated ramps (including a mini ramp and a larger half pipe) and some prefabricated "street" stuff. Finally, it has a shallow concrete bowl that has the worst-looking concrete work that I've ever seen in Colorado. The quality of the bowl reminds me of Fort Boise's skatepark, if that helps at all. See pictures here.

Carbondale

Deep vert' concrete -- that about sums up Carbondale (yes, click for pictures). To get there, go to Carbondale, and turn at the fire station. The park is on your right.

Castle Rock

A. Private Indoor

Grindwell indoor skatepark closed in March of 2007.

B. Public Outdoor

Its got a large advanced street section, a small beginner street section, and a bowl. Why read about it, take a look.

From I-25
Exit Meadows Pkwy/Founders Pkwy (number 184), and go east
Right (south) on Front St.
Pass some big-box stores, and look on your left.
4420 Front St., Castle Rock, CO 80104

Centennial / Trails Recreation Center

Great concrete bowl, concrete half-pipe, rail section, "grind" section, and beginner area. Click here for lots of pictures, and directions.

Commerce City / Fairfax Park

A. Pioneer Park

This is the one with the capsule. Pictures here.

B. Fairfax park

Modular; mini ramp; large drop-in; quarter pipes; spine; pyramid with rails; launch ramp; allows bikes. I skated it once, and never went back. Directions from Denver:

North on Colorado Blvd.
Colorado Blvd. becomes CO-2
Take US-6 E (not Hwy 2) (still going north)
East/right on E 69^th Ave.
Park is at 69^th and Fairfax St.

Denver

A. Denver Skatepark

See complete information and pictures of the entire park here.

B. Bladium / Hanger Skatepark

Bladium closed its outdoor "skate" park several years ago. No big loss.

C. Green Valley Ranch

Concrete mini plaza, weird concrete mound, mini ramp. Some pics of Green Valley Ranch here.

D. Stapleton

It has a shallow peanut with a few ledges around the deck. See some pictures of the skatepark and the surrounding area.

Edwards

It's got a large deep bowl with some pool coping, and too many water falls (especially at the hips). The bowl was kind of fun, but I was not impressed with the street section. To get there, take I-70 a bit west of Vail/Beaver Creek. Exit at Edwards [EXIT 163?] and go under I-70. Take a left at the first light and the park is on your right.

Englewood / Cushing Park

Ramps are all steel; half pipe with 4’ and 6’ sections (ala Golden and Wheat Ridge); jump ramps; rails; pyramid with rails; drop-in; spine ramp; coarse asphalt surface is far less than ideal (former parking lot); poorly maintained. Despite how terrible it is, this place was great to have around in 1995 when skateparks were few. Directions from central Denver:

Take Broadway south
Turn west/right on Eastman
Drive about seven blocks, and the park is on the north side of Eastman (795 W. Eastman)

Estes Park

I understand that Estes now has two "skateparks." Click here for more information.

Fairplay / South Park

A Grindline creation, with a cradle/half-capsule, over-vert pocket, huge bank, and pool coping. See pictures here. The skatepark is located at the South Park Recreation Center at 1190 Bullet Road Fairplay, CO, at the intersection of Bullet Road and County Road 3. Take 285 to Fairplay, right on County Road 3, left at Bullet Road.

Fort Collins

A. Edora

Concrete; has a pool-like bowl with pool tile and pool coping connected to two other moderate-sized bowls; rails and other "street" elements; the main area has nice lines, but traffic intersects. Nearby is a bmx dirt track. As a result, this skatepark is flooded with bmx bikes. Also, it gets kind of windy here sometimes. But the terrain is so fun. Click on the picture for more views, including the pool bowl.


Directions if coming from Denver: North on I-25 Exit on E. Prospect Rd., and go east South on Riverside Ave. Up the hill a bit, park on the right

B. Fossil Creek

Ft. Collins's Fossil Creek plaza-style skatepark opened on October 18, 2003, long before the DC skate plaza.

Golden

A. Ulysses Ball Park (Golden Municipal Recreation Park)

All steel; half pipe with 4’ and 6’ sections; jump ramp; pyramid; stairs; rails; quarter pipes; smooth concrete pad. Directions from Denver:

8^th Avenue East
Left on Kalamath St.
Right on 6^th Ave.
6^th Ave. becomes US-6 W
Right on Ulysses St.
Left into Ulysses Park parking lot (12^th Ave.) at 1205 Ulysses St.
Skate park is up the hill from the parking lot, next to the batting cages

B. Fairgrounds / Golden Heights

A few concrete banks, a few quarter pipes, and some rails, all on the smaller side. Near the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. Geared more towards beginners. I was there, I saw it, but I didn't even take my skateboard out of my truck.

Greenwood Village / William McKinley Carson

Concrete banks and bowls of various heights/depths, all connected. The spine easy to negotiate, and the ledge is just the right height. This park is free, but full of rules. Also, the drainage here seems to have serious problems now. So sometimes there are huge puddles in the bowl. Directions from Denver:


I-25 South Exit Orchard Rd., go right/west Left/south on S. Quebec St. Make the first left/east turn into a parking lot (6000 S. Quebec)

Highlands Ranch

A. Redstone Park

Has a concrete snake run that empties into a few bowls, a kiddy pool, and a few prefabricated ramps for "street." Directions from Denver:


West on 8th Ave. South on Kalamath St. Kalamath St. becomes Santa Fe Dr. Stay on southbound Santa Fe Dr. Left on Town Center Dr. Drive a bit and you'll see it on your right

B. Tanks Park

Haven't been there, and I don't plan on visiting. It looks like a joke from the pictures I've seen. Fellow skater, el zacho, confirmed that it is a joke.

Lakewood

A. Walker-Branch Park

This is a bit like Frankenstein's monster, with different elements thrown together. This is what you get when you try to please everyone. But it makes for a few interesting lines. There is a mixture of banks and transitions, surrounding a concrete pyramid. A bowl grows off from it. There are four rails and several ledges that are all too skinny. See here for more pictures and further explanation. Directions from Denver:


8^th Avenue East Left on Kalamath St. Right on 6^th Ave. 6^th Ave. becomes US-6 W Exit Sherridan Blvd., go north (right) Left (west) on Colfax Ave. Right on Harlan St. The park is at Harlan St. and 17th Ave.

B. X-Games n/k/a Woodward

This place went dark in September of 2005, and reopened in 2006 as a Woodward skatepark. Regardless of the name, it is located in the Colorado Mills shopping center. No concrete, but plenty of masonite. First, there are three half pipes: A vert ramp; a mid-size half pipe with approx. six-foot and seven-foot sections; and a mini ramp with a spine. Second, there are banks and transitions. Third, there are five rails. And finally, there is a huge bowl hidden behind the vert ramp.

Littleton

A. Clement

All concrete, which is good. Too crowded to be fun, which is bad. Click on the picture to enlarge.


West on 8th Ave. South on Kalamath St. Kalamath St. becomes Santa Fe Dr. Stay on southbound Santa Fe Dr. Right on Bowles Left on Long Drive, into Clement Park Take a left, up the hill, and you're there

B. Cornerstone

Mixture of 'crete and masonite. "X-Games" style. No bowls. No flow. No thanks. Bikes allowed. Click on the picture to enlarge.


West on 8th Ave. South on Kalamath St. Kalamath St. becomes Santa Fe Dr. Stay on southbound Santa Fe Dr. Left/east on E. Bellview Ave. Right/south on Windermere St. Up the hill, on the right (5150 S. Windermere St.)

Longmont

Longmont's new concrete skatepark at Sandstone Ranch is very popular, and was designed by the Site Design Group. It's got two nice bowls (one with a death box), and some street stuff. To get there from Denver, go north on I-25 to the Longmont exit at DelCamino for Hwy 119 (exit 240 I think). Turn left off the ramp into Longmont. Go approx. 3 miles on this road. You'll see tall sports lights on your left. Turn left at the Sandstone Ranch entry sign.

Louisville, CO

It has a concrete bowl, a concrete snake/flow area, and a concrete street area. I've skated it once, and I don't expect that I'll ever bother going back. Click here for a picture of the bowl, descriptions of the park, etc.

Loveland

Jay sent some pictures of the Loveland Sports Park's new skatepark. Find information about the park here.

Silverthorne


Concrete banks and bowls of various heights/depths, all connected. Team Pain design/build. Click the picture to enlarge.

Snowmass

A pair of three-feet-tall modular quarter pipes, and two boxes of some sort. Look at this garbage, and compare it to what Aspen has.

Thornton / Community Center

Concrete banks of various heights and angles; hips; pyramids; rails; “street” terrain; several banks face a common center point, so traffic intersects. Directions from Denver:

I-25 north
Exit 84^th Ave.
East/right on 84^th Ave.
North/left on Grant St.
East/right on Eppinger (travel about one mile)
Park is on the north/east corner of Eppinger and Gaylord

Trinidad

This is probably my favorite place to skate in Colorado. You must take a look at the pictures here. Designed and built by Grindline. The main terrain is a snake run that empties into two large bowls. The snake run is a complete "S", with nice transitions and almost too many elements to decide what to hit (a very long spine, humps, a clam shell, flat coping, rolling coping, sloped coping). It then empties into a large bowl, that has an amazing hump for extra speed. This bowl is connected to an even gnarlier bowl, with what appeared to be some over-vert walls. It took some time to get used to the incredible speed that you get out of the snake run. There is minimal street terrain, and some fun humps to pump around the deck.

Directions (note, the turns are easy to miss):
Take I-25 to Trinidad (14 miles north of New Mexico)
Use exit 13 (Main St.)
Turn right at Santa Fe Trail (Sonic/Cones is on the corner)
Turn left at Jefferson (follow the small Community Center sign)
Turn right at the bottom of the hill (Community Center Sign)
Stay left approx. 500 ft.

Westminster

A. Westminster City Park

This is the biggie. It's got a deep and steep bowl with pool coping, and a street area. Click here for some pictures, details, and a brief history of how Westminster went from pay-to-play, to considering prefabricated garbage, to finally building an impressive public concrete skatepark. It's located at City Park at 104th and Sheridan. It is to the west of the Recreation Center, east of the softball field complex.

B. Hyland Hills Skate Park

Located at 8650 Zuni Street, at the Hyland Hills Sports Complex. This is a Hyland Hills Park and Recreation District project. All concrete. A few bowls and rails and such.

C. Vans

Vans closed on June 22, 2003.

Wheat Ridge / Albert E. Anderson Park

All steel; half pipe with connected 4’ and 6’ sections (ala Ulysses in Golden and Englewood); multiple ramps; stairs; rails; spine; drop-in ramp; allows bikes. One major problem with these prefabricated parks is that they get too hot on sunny days, and if it rained the night before they take forever to dry. They also develop gaps and sags. Directions from Denver:


I-70 West Exit Wadsworth South/left on Wadsworth West/right on W 44^th Ave. South/left on Filed (at W 44^th and Field)

Learn about other west coast skateparks, and cool stuff in general, at Concrete Disciples.

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