House Skatepark-Austin





Street Course

This week on the tour I will be visiting Texas' second newest skatepark, House Park. House skatepark is located about thirty-five minutes from Northeast Metropolitan skatepark, and is worthy of a skate session if you are ever in the Austin area. It was designed by Canadian designer New Line Skateparks, and built by Prism Development and California Skateparks. The thirty-thousand square foot skatepark was voter approved and cost a mere 1.7 million dollars (1).


Handrails

Features

• Street course
• Mini-ramp
• Bowl



Half-Pipe

• Pro shop

Front of Spine-Bowl

Hours

5am-10pm

Park Description

Back of Spine-Bowl

House skatepark has a street course that flows better than most public skateparks, with two pyramid ledges pointing in each direction, some lengthy granite ledges, and plenty of transition it is a hard to not have fun skate House. It was surprising to see a regular mini-ramp at the skatepark, most public skateparks only have bowl ramps. House Park succeeds when it comes to creating a skateable bowl. The transition height, which ranges from six-to-ten feet, makes the ramp extremely skater friendly. If you happen to BMX, House is one of the few skateparks that allows bike use.

Rules

• The use of pads is suggested
• No graffiti or tagging



Ledges

• Use of alcohol or tobacco is prohibited

Additional Features

• Pro Shop
• Skate-able art
• Spectator area

Location

W. 15th St. and Lamar Blvd. Austin, TX

Art-Ramp

 

1. Leblanc, Pam. (2011, June 15) Austin's opens new 30,000--square-foot skatepark opens today. Statesman. Retrieved from http://www.statesman.com/news/local/austins-new-30-000-square-
foot-skate-park-1542495.html

Northeast Metropolitan Skatepark-Pflugerville



The tour continues on to one of Texas' newest skateparks, Northeast Metropolitan, which just opened its doors on September 18 (1). What makes the park so unique is that it is an outdoor skatepark that skates like an indoor skatepark.

Features

• Street course
• Mini snake run
• Two Bowls




Street Course

• Shaded observation areas

Hours

8am-10pm

Park Description

Northeast Metropolitan skatepark was not an easy skatepark to find, but once I did I was glad that I was persistent. The skatepark is a fifteen minute drive from downtown Austin on Pecan St and 130. Once you turn into Northeast Metropolitan Park be patient and follow the road all the way to the end past the soccer and football fields.



Triple Bowl

I have found that some outdoor skateparks tend to be slick, but this was not the case at Northeast Metropolitan. The skatepark grips to urethane wheels really well. While the park does not have separate beginner and expert level courses it does seem to offer a nice blend of street/transition skating for every level of skater.

Northeast Metropolitan Skatepark has one of the most unique bowls I have seen. It is three connected six feet bowls, and two of the three sides have matching tombstones. It is a must skate for intermediate-to-expert skaters.

Three-Way Launch Pad

Rules

• Pads are strongly recommended
• Plastic pegs only
• Skate at your own risk
• No food, drinks, or smoking on ramps
• Unsafe behavior can result in removal from the park
• graffiti, tagging, and stickers prohibited

 

Ledges

Additional Features

• Soccer field
• Basketball court
• Football field

Contact/Location

• (512) 854-9489
• 2703 Pecan St Pflugerville Tx

                                                                                                                     (2)




1.Travis County. (2012). Northeast Metropolitan Park. Retrieved from
https://parks.traviscountytx.gov/find-a-park/northeast-metro

2. Map of Northeast Metropolitan Park. Retrieved from
http://maps.yahoo.com/

 

Scion Skatepark-Lewisville





Mini-Ramp and Box

Launch Box in the Bowl

Huge Bowl Ramp

The next stop on the map is the thirty-three thousand square foot Scion skatepark in Lewisville. The park was funded by Scion and the city of Lewisville and designed by the global skatepark designer Site design (1).

Features

• · Massive Street Course
• · Bowl
• · Spine Ramp
• · Two observation areas
• · Beginner’s area
• Hours
• · 8am-10pm



Street Course

• Park Description

Park Descriptiom

The Scion skatepark is the second largest skatepark in Texas and has one of the most unique street courses of any of the public skateparks I have visited. The skatepark has a nice balance of street and vert skating, including a beginner course and a separate course for intermediate to expert skaters.



Long "C" Ledge

As you enter the park you are greeted by the beginner’s course and one of the spectating areas. As you make your way toward the back of the skatepark it gradually starts to get more complex. The obstacles that makes this park stand out are the two forty feet long c-ledges. Moving right past the c-ledges in the center of the park is a nice sub-box. And at the very end of the skatepark is the bowl.

Rules

• · Skateboards, rollerblades, bikes, and razor scooters
• permitted only
• · Protective gear recommended
• · Do not skate when the park is wet or icy
• · Look before you go, do not snake others
• · No BMX pegs
• · No skating outside the course
• Additional features
• · A dog park
• · Soccer field
• · Softball field
• · Football field

Contact/Location

•  (972)219-3550
• 1301 S Railroad St, Lewisville, TX 75057

1. Site Design Group. (2012). Lewisville -Scion Skatepark.





Retrieved from
htttp://www.sitedesigngroup.com/projects/details/lewisville


2. Map of Scion - Lewisville Skatepark. Retrieved from http://www.maps.yahoo.com

Lady Bird Johnson Skatepark-San Antonio

 

The first stop on the map is San Antonio’s Largest outdoor skatepark— Lady Bird Johnson. The skatepark was funded by San Antonio’s Parks and Recreation department, designed by a local designer, and built by a local contractor (1).

Features

•         Bowl
•         Miniature street course

Hours

·         4am-11pm

Park Description

  

The bowl is seven thousand square feet bowl with transitions ranging anywhere from four to eight feet (2).  Directly to the right of the massive bowl is a miniature street course, which has a four foot tall bowl quaterpipe, a pyramid, a two foot tall square coping ledge, and a mini handrail. The skatepark is skate at your own risk meaning that is unsupervised.

The park is made of concrete and is outdoors, so if you are planning a skate session here, as any other outdoor park, you will probably want to check the weather first.

Rules

·         Skate at your own risk, park is unsupervised
·         Graffiti and littering are prohibited
·         Competitions and demonstrations are not allowed without Parks and Recreations   
          written approval
·         No bicycles, or any motorized vehicles allowed

Additional Park Features

·         An outdoor, seasonal swimming pool

·         Four Soccer fields
·         A basketball field
·         Four softball fields
·         Onsite Parking
·         Fifteen picnic tables

Contact/Location

 

• (210)207-7275
• 10700 Nacodoches Dr. San Antonio                            

                                                                                                                   (3)

                                                                                                               

 

1. City of San Antonio. (2011). San Antonio Parks and Recreation; Skate Plazas. Retrieved from

http://www.sanantonio.gov/parksandrec/skate_parks.aspx

2. City of San Antonio. (2011). San Antonio Parks and Recreation; Skate Plazas. Retrieved from
http://www.sanantonio.gov/parksandrec/skate_parks.aspx

3. Map of Lady Bird Johnson Skatepark. Retrieved from

http://maps.yahoo.com/








 

 

What to Expect

With more than fifteen skateparks being built a year in Texas, it is becoming difficult to know which park is right for you (1).  This blog will offer detailed reviews of the largest skateparks in Texas (2). It will provide skaters living in the state a chance to preview the skateparks accessible to them.

I will review skateparks in the following cities:

 

• Austin
• Allen
• Dallas 
• Irving
• Lewisville

 Information on the park’s difficulty, size, rules, and hours of operation will be provided for each park.

Skating has seen a dramatic increase in popularity, second only to snowboarding, which has in turn led to a demand for outdoor/public skateparks (3). This caused many indoor parks to go out of business.

Usually the dry, hot weather in Texas is ideal for skating outdoor/public skateparks, but on the off chance it is raining, this map will also provide the locations to some of the few indoor skateparks left in Texas.

A new skatepark review will be posted weekly with detailed pictures and information. So if you are tired of skating the same spot, check out the reviews to see what Texas has to offer.

References

1 .Carter, D. (2011). Texas skate park index. Retrieved from http://www.skatepark.org/park-development/advocacy/2011/01/texas-skatepark-index/

2 .Gansle, D. (2010, October 18). The best skate parks in North Texas. CBS Local. Retrieved from http://dfw.cbslocal.com/top-lists/best-skate-parks-around-dallas/
 

3. Site Design Group. (2012). Lewisville -Scion Skatepark. Retrieved from http://www.sitedesigngroup.com/projects/details/lewisville