I was in Forest Grove to watch the mighty Boxers play soccer and had some time to kill before the kickoff, so I walked over to check out the local skatepark. Lincoln Park Skatepark was (poorly) designed and built by Site Design Group in 2004. It has that early 2000’s vibe of “I know how to pour concrete but I don’t understand the scales of transitions or how to set coping.” There are some street plaza elements that are successful, but the concrete picnic table looks like it was made to fit NBA players and the volcanoes are steep and tall, one of them comically so. There is one section of a very long quarter pipe that has “noping” and nothing on the opposing. side. Still, the skateboarding locals are friendly and it’s better than nothing. That’s Xavier on the long rail slide above.

I went to the soft opening of a brand new Parklane skatepark in Portland Oregon with a bunch of old men, all of them better skaters than me, one of them probably better than you.

When I first saw this article I was slightly shocked. If you’ve never been to Crater Lake, it is truly a beautiful, pristine, and stunning National Park. A skatepark would definitely be an incongruous intrusion. Yes, I was definitely against building a skatepark! It just made no sense, adding a huge skatepark essentially in the middle of nowhere. The view while skating would be amazing, sure. After I started reading a bit, it seemed a little silly, and when they mentioned sourced “organic concrete” it became more apparent that the article was actually satire. I thought it was real at first, not being familiar with the web site, which it turns out is a an odd mix of the Onion and a tourism site. Enjoy the article Crater Lake’s ‘Volcano Bowl’ Set to Open in 2026 as the World’s Largest Skate Park and if you get a chance, go visit Crater Lake.

Enjoy these mediocre photos (except for the drone shot, which is not mine.) of what is now my favorite skatepark. You’re looking at a semi-new a park in sleepy little Vernonia, Oregon, built by Evergreen Skateparks. About an hour outside of Portland, Vernonia has less than 3000 people. The axe on the left side is a nod to its logging history. You can tell you’re riding an Evergreen skatepark if it’s got that moonscape feel with bits of coping sticking out of what might otherwise be a tribute to the best parts of 70’s era skateparks. This version features the usual connected low bowls, bumps, and berms with the addition of a pump track round the outside. But again, they’ve improved on the traditional pump track with subtle variations on either side, so you can ride the track multiple times in various combinations, hitting (or ignoring) obstacles along the way, reversing course without losing speed. So many combinations for fun. There’s also a medium sized, mellow bowl in the middle. I can’t tell you enough how much love this park. I can’t wait to get back there.

Does anyone remember this guy from way back in the beginning of the Oregon Skatepark boom? So far back, in fact, that this is a scan of a photograph taken with actual film. I think we only had Newberg (where this was taken,) Ausmville, Lincoln City, and Waldport when this was taken. Of course, Burnside, and the first version of Pier Park. Maybe Brookings too. Was his name Chris? He took an old airport shuttle van and tried to make a go of operating a skatepark tour shuttle service. I don’t think it worked out.

Check out these fundraising stickers made in the style of vintage steel-wheeled skateboard decks. These stickers benefit the Troutdale skatepark efforts, and you can get yours in person at Cal Skate or by via Paypal to tylerjaycole at gmail.com. Please provide your mailing address and verify which sticker(s) you’re ordering and how many when making payment using Paypal… Small stickers are $2.00 each, Large stickers are $4.00 each. Here’s atop, use the “Friends and Family” option so there’s no service fee for Tyler, and all the funds can go towards the skatepark.

Northeast Bend, Oregon skaters are stoked to get a new skatepark in Rockridge park, but not too stoked on the proposed Evergreen design, described as a “lunar landscape.” Here’s the thing, they just want a regular skatepark, and not a throwback to some terrain not really seen since the 70’s. I remember similar pushback to the modern snake run that was supposed to happen in Gabriel Park. In the end the design changed on the fly during construction and we got the best of neither worlds. However, Gabriel Park is still a fun park with a lot to offer. The Rockridge park design is unique, and would probably be a lot of fun to ride, but it won’t offer the typical skatepark experience. Northwest skatepark building companies have traditionally been on the forefront of unique designs and features, but there will always be those that just prefer predictable reliability. How do we balance the risk? Will locals adapt and enjoy? We won’t know for sure until it gets built. Would I want this if it was the only skatepark in my area? It probably wouldn’t be my first choice. In addition to an existing skatepark this lunar landscape, Bend is…

Tyler over at Calsk8.com wants greater Portland area skaters to be aware that the City of Troutdale has a significant chunk of funds available from a decade old parks bond measure that could be applied to a skatepark. He’s working with a committee (and Evergreen) to propose a 30,000 sq ft. plot in Columbia Park behind Reynolds High School. The best way to help this become a reality is to attend a Parks Advisory Committee meetings held the second Wednesday every month at the Public Works building in Troutdale (342 SW 4th St.) or to write in to the Mayor and City Council (citycouncil@troutdaleoregon.gov) as well as Tim Seery, the superintendent of the Parks Advisory Committee.

You’d think with all the amazing skateparks, backyard bowls and DIY terrain here in Oregon that there ought to be amazing skateboarders getting national coverage. It’s a shame, no an outrage that… Wait. What? Never mind. Here’s Frank Shaw killing it, as usual. Highlights? All of it really, but I like the appearance of venerable old Pier Park that starts about the 2:40 mark.

Kevin Kowlaski has a new pro wheel model with Bones. My heart isn’t really broken, I’m just slightly bummed out because I’ve been sitting on an “Oregon Skate Parks” graphic that riffs on our Oregon State Parks logo for three years now. Then one day I walk into a skate shop and see that Kowalski’s model on Lifeblood beat me to it. I’m more of an ideas man than an action man… I haven’t even watched the video yet, but it’s not even a limb that I have to go out on when I say prepare to be stoked.