In search of the ultimate skate parks

California is known for its skate parks, but it’s also known for having the best streets to skate. To me, the difference between ramp riding and real streets is that the streets are rough. I’ve talked to other bladers and they have told me that sometimes when they skate inside or in front of buildings, either the cops come or you get kicked out by fake cops with flash lights, or what I like to call them, toy cops with walkie-talkies. Even though the streets are rough, I still feel like we should have the right to skate there, because the streets are the birthplace of skateboarding, rollerblading and biking. I mean, when skateboards or rollerblades first came out, I didn’t see anybody doing spins off ramps, I just saw kids jumping off the sidewalk. As these sports have progressed over the years, skate parks have gotten bigger than ever. You practice your tricks out in the streets, then do the same tricks in a skate park. So you’re just putting the tricks that you know into another environment.

The Glendale Skatepark has a cool mini-ramp

At the Glendale skate park, an inline skater catches some air.
Photo by Kristin Luke, 16, North Hollywood HS

"The streets of Glendale aren’t a very good place to skate, because of security guards, and some streets you can’t even skate on, but I do have a local skate park to go [that] is near my house," says aggressive blader Shane Croughan, 15, of Hoover High School. "It’s not the best skate park in the world, but it’s better than nothing," says Croughan, who has been blading for a year.

There are many great skate parks in Southern California, each with its own special ramps or courses that keep teens in lines just to get in. Take Skatelab in Simi Valley. This park is one of my absolute favorites. Skatelab is a place that just catches your eye as soon as you walk in. That’s what happened to me: I walked in and all around I could see bladers and skateboarders grinding or going big on the blue ramps. The blue ramps aren’t really a big thing, but it does make the park look cool. Another thing that caught me by surprise about this park is that when I went in the back, I saw a completely different course with a 10-foot vert bowl that is deep as can be and a blue mini-ramp, all the way in the back. I loved this mini, because the coping was perfect for busting topside souls.

Next to the mini-ramp was another vert ramp, but this one was only eight feet of vert. It really sticks out because of the red Skatelab signs on the ramp. To ride this street course you have to be creative, because this park is big and at times overwhelming. Sometimes you can find yourself doing nothing. That’s how I feel about this park, but other bladers and skateboarders have different thoughts about Skatelab. North Hollywood HS student Pachino Casey, 16, who has been an aggressive blader for two years, says, "I think Skatelab is a great place to go and learn stuff. It’s a dope place, but it depends how much you go there. At Skatelab, it has different kinds of set-ups. I mean, anybody can go there and learn."

Another skate park that is similiar to Skatelab, but bigger, is Vans Indoor/Outdoor
Skatepark at Ontario Mills Mall. Well, what can I say about this place? It’s one of the most versatile skate parks that I have been to. It has an eight-foot vert bowl next to a launch ramp. For stunt bikers, it also has a dirt jumping course outside for both beginners and the advanced.

You must try this street course


What makes the Vans street course so different from others is that the six-foot mini-ramp connects to the course. In other words, you can grind a rail, then make your way up to the mini-ramp and drop in. That worked well for me, mainly because I’m such a creative blader. Another thing that makes the Vans street course unforgettable is the gap. It’s a six-foot-deep, five-foot-wide gap between two quarter pipes that looks crazy! At the time I was skating there, I didn’t see anyone gap, but I heard stories from the locals about a skater who did a kickflip over the gap and landed it clean. Going over a gap is tough: you have make sure you know what you’re doing, because if you miss the other side by just a couple of inches, you can be in some serious pain. That’s if you’re doing a five-foot gap or wider, but if you’re doing four feet or less, it shouldn’t be a problem. Anyway, the park also has about four different rails to grind, some spines and quarter pipes of different heights. All in all, if you’re a skateboarder, blader or biker and you like a skate park that has variety, then Vans is your place.