If you’re new to skating, one of the most challenging decisions to make can be finding a good place to skateboard. After you’ve worn out your driveway, the street you live on, or the nearest parking lot, things can get pretty boring.
You have to be careful about where you choose to skate; you don’t want to end up paying a fine if you come in contact with the wrong member of law enforcement. Usually, a simple “move along, please” is all you get, but sometimes you end up with someone looking to turn you into an example.
What options are you left with? You’d be surprised at the number of places that have skate potential if you just used your head and exercised a little creativity.
If you’ve been wondering where to skateboard, you’re at the right place. This is for veterans and rookies alike; these are the best places to skateboard.
Where to Skateboard - Finding the Best Spots
These are some of the most common places you can skateboard. We wouldn’t be surprised if you rolled up to a few of these and already found some locals partaking in action.
1. Skatepark
This one is a no-brainer. If you live in a city or even a mid-sized town, there’s probably a skatepark relatively close to you.
Even if you live on the outskirts of a rural area, chances are you can make it to a skate park within fifteen to twenty minutes. We can’t tell you how many times we’ve seen people longing for a place to skate, only to realize there was a skatepark five minutes down the road they never knew about.
Sometimes they can be easy to miss because they’re contained within larger parks. We’ve seen them behind tree lines, and you’d never know they existed. Keep your eyes peeled, and we’d bet a fair amount you’ll end up finding a skatepark near you.
Related: Best Skateparks in America
2. Empty or Abandoned Parking Lots
Normally these are plentiful in any city. You just have to be careful when selecting which ones to skate. You want to find parking lots that have low volumes of traffic near them.
Don’t pick a place right on the main highway or road. If the parking lot is covered by a large building, even better. Look for places that are kept within city blocks. Go alley surfing and find parking lots that used to exist as off-street parking for closed-down city businesses.
If you find a parking lot that has a “No Skating” signposted, then you should probably move on. Most likely, they’ve been dealing with people skating there for a while, and the sign is a result of their frustration.
3. Indoor Park
These exist in lower numbers than outdoor skateparks and usually cost money to frequent them, but they sure are nice. An indoor skatepark comes equipped with a nice hardwood floor.
These indoor skateparks can be especially convenient when the weather is bad. To skate without limits when it’s raining outside is a skater’s dream.
There is another convenience of indoor skateparks. Usually, they are listed and incredibly easy to find because they’re businesses. Anywhere that accepts money is going to advertise to bring people in. Indoor skateparks are no different. Search online to find an indoor skatepark in your area.
4. City Parks to Ride
This is another obvious choice. You can make use of city parks even if they don’t have ramps and actual skatepark setups. Get creative with your surroundings. You’ll most likely have benches, rails, picnic tables, garbage cans, and other obstacles you can bring into the mix.
If you’re just looking for a simple cruise, you can take advantage of the paved bike paths. Be mindful of cyclists and joggers.
For a more enjoyable day, try to find a park with fewer people, or go on days where there’s less of a crowd. This gives you more room for riding and not worrying about running into anybody.
5. A High School
This is a great idea if you’re looking for a place to skate. Normally high schools have plenty of extra obstacles in case you’re a grinder. There are plenty of sidewalks and usually lots of stairs.
There is an endless amount of potential gaps you can try your hand at. If you’re lucky, you might even find some makeshift ramps. Let’s not forget high schools also have giant parking lots if you’re just looking to practice tricks or want to sharpen up your freestyle skills.
It helps if you have permission or know someone who attends the school. It’s not a deal-breaker, though, so if you don’t, don’t let it stop you.
Related: Skateboarding at Night
Alternative Ways to Find Skate Spots
You can try these methods of finding places to skateboard. They’re not actual physical places, but they deserve to be on the list because they can actually lead to some cool places to skate.
Get to Know the Local Skating Community
Find some local skateboarders and ask them where they skate. You’d be surprised at how fast you can find friends who skateboard if you frequent some local bars that play punk music other genres that are popular in the skateboard world.
Existing in the digital age helps too, and you should use that to your advantage. Check out local message boards to find other skaters and leverage social media. There are probably several groups that exist to serve skaters in your city or town. This actually brings us to our next tip.
Use a Skateboarding App
There are several apps that you can download on your phone that bring together skaters and help you find places to board. WeRide is a great app that has tons of skaters willing to share information about local spots.
You’ll also make friends this way. It’s always fun to have extra friends to skate with. Everybody loves a little bit of friendly competition.
Use the Skateboard Lanes
These might not be in the city you live in, but you can still make the best of it. Some cities are lucky enough to have skateboard lanes on their city streets. We know places like Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and plenty of others have skateboard lanes to accommodate skaters.
However, if your city isn’t lucky enough to have any of these specialized lanes of travel, just use the next best thing. Use the bike lanes as an alternative. Every city has a bicycle lane on its streets, and we’ve never had any problems using these lanes to ride skateboards in.
Don’t worry about getting a ticket. Normally officers will commend you for being safer and staying off the sidewalk.
Create Your Own Skating Trail
If all else fails, just get creative. Use a series of city sidewalks, concrete trails, parking lots, bridges, and anything else you can find that’s skateable. Use a mapping application or GPS on your phone to pin-drop checkpoints or significant spots on the trail.
If you’re really feeling creative, you can use this as a means to make skater friends as well. Design your skating trail and post it on a skating message board or social media, and encourage others to do the same. You could start a trend. Who knows, you could even end up pioneering one of the next legendary skate spots.
There’s really no limit to the number of spots you can find to skate. It might seem like there are hardly any options, but you just need to get creative.
Go to spots where other people normally wouldn’t go. Try and think outside of the skateboarding box. It also helps when you use the internet to your advantage.
When you find a good spot to skateboard, don’t hoard it. Things like that are supposed to be shared. Other skaters will appreciate the fact you gave them your secret spot, and one day they might return the favor.
Regardless of where you choose to skate, just remember the two most important rules. Be safe, and always remain vigilant.