New York City’s Best Skate Parks, in Downtown Manhattan
Any skater worth his deck will tell you that the whole city is a skate park, with wallies and ollies, inverts and flips, slides and grinds just screaming to be tricked in public spaces all over town, "no skateboarding" signs be damned.
Part of skateboarding's appeal has always been the semi-subversive, anti-authority culture surrounding the sport. Still, even the most outlaw street skaters enjoy an afternoon (or ten) at a legit, professionally designed skate park, and two of the best in NYC are in downtown Manhattan, right by the river's East and Hudson: the Coleman Oval under the Manhattan Bridge, and the Tribeca Skatepark at Pier 25.
Coleman Oval Skate Park in Downtown Manhattan
The Coleman Oval (really, Coleman Skatepark 2.0) is located on the Lower East Side, right under the Manhattan Bridge, a gritty, secluded spot that brings to mind those epic nights of youth, skating under the FDR. In other words, it's perfect. But don't let post-industrial wasteland feel of the place fool you: the Coleman Oval is a spacious, well-designed, professionally constructed space by the non-profit Architecture for Humanity. And it's packed! We stopped by on a freezing weekday afternoon recently, and skaters young and not-so-young (along with the odd roller-blader and BMXer) were out in droves, everyone having a blast. Sure, the kids were cool, but this wasn't an aggressively intimidating, "locals only" vibe. If you skate (or even just spectate), this is a must-hang.
Skateboarding at the Tribeca Skatepark in NYC
Meanwhile across town at Hudson River Park's Pier 25, the Tribeca Skatepark will be three years old this summer, and is showing no signs of losing its appeal. Designed by California Skateparks, one of the biggest names in the business, this 8,840 square foot space, while much more narrow than its east side counterpark, has plenty of room for rails, ramps, and walls. Tribeca Skatepark is part of the whole Pier 25 sport and recreation "complex", complete with miniature golf course, beach volleyball courts, and awesome children's playground–there's also a snack bar, bathrooms, etc.–so it's a bit more, shall we say, family-friendly here than Coleman. But even long-time street skaters will enjoy the skatepark's smartly-designed layout.
Downtown NYC skateparks details
The Coleman Oval skatepark is located on Pike and Monroe Streets, under the Manhattan Bridge. Tribeca Skatepark is located at Pier 25 in Hudson River Park, across from North Moore Street. Both skateparks are free and open to the public.
Posted in Downtown, NYC Events | Tagged best skate parks • coleman oval skate park • local skate parks nyc • skate park nyc • skate parks in manhattan • skateboard nyc • skateboard parks nyc • skateboarding nyc • tribeca skatepark
