I forgot I had taken a few photos at Madras until the one of the kids in the pics emailed me and asked for them. So here you have the Madras, Oregon skatepark, built by Dreamland. It’s a nice little park about an hour outside of Bend, Oregon. The combi bowl is fairly deep, but everything else is pretty small. There’s a nice spine and plenty of odd bits of skate terrain to screw around on. The locals are colorful and friendly. There’s also a bathroom and electrical outlet. Not a destination park per se, but if you are anywhere in the area you should definitely check it out. Don’t get too excited about the Black Bear Diner. The onion rings were really tasty, but the rest of the food was dry and bland, and the waitresses look like they subscribe to Sensible Women’s Wear Daily. I don’t know what that means, except to say that if you’ve ever seen the HBO show Big Love, think of the compound.
Boombox? Fuhgettabout it! They know how to live large in Madras. This “car stereo” setup was alternately blasting punk rock, nu metal gangsta rap and dance club music.
Panorama from the bottom.
I didn’t catch this kid’s name, or face, apparently.
This is Anthony.
The Combi bowl is nice, but a bit narrow for my taste at the small end.
Grover just happened to be mid-fakie ollie when I walked by, so I stuck out the camera and snapped it.
Here’s another transfer shot of Anthony. He was flying all over the place.
Here’s the small bowl. It seemed a bit confining at first, but it was a lot of fun if you could master the whippiness. Again, maybe a bit too deep for the footprint.
A view from the top.
13 comments
Michaela
Madras looks so fun! I have to agree that you were a bit generous when critiquing Redmond. I live here and I get bored quick. I also love the snake but you can only do it so many times without wishing it had coping or was 4 feet taller.
kilwag
What can I say Tom, I’m a sucker for snake runs. Redmond is weird and flawed, but honestly I was expecting something horrible. You may be right about my assessment of Redmond, but I can’t count Madras as one of the best in the state. Depends on ho big the list is, I guess.
ehdubya
Surely Redmond’s pool coping is worth a couple of points.
Tom Miller
To each his own, of course. My own says Randy was overly generous with his assessment of Redmond and not generous enough with Madras. I think Madras is one of the best parks in the state. It’s just damn fun. Good lights is a huge bonus.
curtis
too much goop on something I ate at the black bear
Tim Widmer
Yeah- that place rocks.. first time I went there the locals were killing the place with their bikes. Huge downpour, then it lifted. I wanted to skate so bad, that I dryed it with some towels. The place started to get heavy with locals and they all stared at me. One individual who was taking shots of tequila sat there. Uncomfortable silence- He yells at me, offered me a shot and told me to drop in. I obliged..
Fun place, cool locals..
skaterhusseindave
I offered Grover brand new rib bones, but he prefers his homemade ones…weirdo
Grover
I wish that park was at Fernhill. BOOM!
hurton
don’t forget this place has motion sensor lighting so you can skate at 2 am if you want. While it may not be a “destination” it shouldn’t be missed.
RavageSkateboards
Woah, not to be mean but I think that kid getting ready to drop in might be a bit ambitious…
Tyler
haha Quinton..hes alright
We call him Fluffy Blumpkin
somerandomdude
last time i went there there where people walking around with cans of spay paint and a plastic bag gettin high in the middle of the street.
colinwalshrules
THrasher has footage of a new session @ Buena pool in Watsonville. Get some.