By Jason Burg
Concrete has never been so welcome in Colorado. Forget about the chirping birds, howling coyotes, and bugling elk; the unmistakable bark of Indys crushing metal coping and the screech of urethane sliding across concrete has been ripping the clean atmosphere of Colorado’s Front Range for the past few years. The Denver metro area, with its sprawling suburban wasteland has seen a renaissance of sorts with the construction of high-quality California style bowls, banks and pools in explosive numbers. With a hint of nostalgia for the glory holes of the 70’s and 80’s, Colorado’s towns and cities are creating and supporting the usage of skate parks by riders of all ages. One consistent trend found at any of these parks is the wide age range of skaters having a session. It seems that these rolling concrete playgrounds have proven irresistible for folks who put away that Skull Skate or JFA deck in the late 80’s. In some cases, 30-something Coloradoans are taking up vert riding and pool assaults for the first time and within months are killing it in nearly every park. Maybe it’s the three hundred days of Colorado sunshine each year or the fun-hog spirit that plagues this region of the US, but regardless of the cause, the effect is high octane-fueled bowl sessions, drenched in blood, sweat, and Pabst.
The Background:
Skateboarding has a long tradition in Colorado from the Vail slalom and downhill contests in the late 1970’s to the thriving backyard ramp scene through the 80’s and early 90’s. The mountains have brought an endless stream of snowboarding talent to the state and that stoke for riding has certainly spilled over to the skater growth. This is evident in the skateparks being built in nearly every major mountain resort in the state. Aspen, Breckenridge, Vail area, and Crested Butte all boast stellar parks with a central focus on bowls and ramps. Many of the skaters in these towns have migrated towards the Denver metro area over the years where diverse work opportunities exist and art, music and cultural events occur every night after a session in the park. Along with the locals and transplants from the east coast, west coast, and Midwest regions that arrived in the Front Range for numerous reasons, an unparalleled amount of sick skate talent has emerged.
Downtown Denver, CO/photo by nick moscia
The Parks
Denver (City) Public Skatepark:
Without question, one of the finest and most wisely designed skateparks in the United States, the Denver City Skatepark has actually resulted in the re-location some of the nations best bowl skaters. Concrete hounds from the East and West coast have packed up their pads and moved to the Mile High City because of the unbelievably smooth, deep, burly and intelligently crafted bowls of the Denver Skatepark. The obvious “jewel of the Mile” would be the intimidating and undeniably gnarly kidney-shaped bowl situated perfectly at the back of the park near the 20th St. overpass. In the shadow of the stark but brilliant skyline of Denver’s downtown buildings, uniquely contrasting with the jagged snow capped peaks of the Rocky Mountains; this bowl has been host to some legendary sessions. Some of the local skaters have put so much time perfecting lines in this majestic bowl; you’d swear they could tear it up blindfolded. Local rippers, past and present, like Wrex Cook, Jason Okeson, Dave “Science” Maxwell, Ed Johnson, and numerous others know every curve, every kink, and every angle for linking together mind-blowing pool runs. Entering this bowl is not for the timid as significant vert forms a band around the whole kidney from the 6-foot “shallow” end to the 12-foot heart of this beast…sorry kids, not a roll-in in sight. The locals say with smug pride that this keeps the bowl open for those deserving a ride. Local Skater, Ed Johnson summed it up best.
“I’ve been skating since I was fourteen and even spent some time living in Southern California, but in my thirty-two years I have never skated a bowl this good in my life.”
The display of brainiac design is obvious as you explore more of this unbelievable park. At the main entrance to the park is a crafty ¾ bowl that features a small mini-half pipe in the narrow entrance. After rolling out of the half pipe, the bowl widens into a butter-smooth 5 ft bowl with flawless transitions that literally throws the skater to the lip for endless grinds or effortless airs. Just to the left of this area rests a series of bowls for every type of rider. A fast ramp drops into a 5-foot bowl with killer lines to the lip and concrete extensions. From here the bowl quickly drops into a deep and tight 12-foot bowl with a lightening-fast curve. With lungs of steel, it’s possible to ride this endless line forever. There is also the option of transitioning into a smaller third bowl with fun walls for slaphappy lip tricks. The most interesting feature to this double-bowl is the combination of both metal and concrete around the lip. It’s the closest to the real pool experience to be found in a Colorado public park.
There’s also a small cloverleaf bowl and a wisely planned separate but huge street course area. Let’s face it folks, separating the street area from the bowl area makes sense for everyone…if nothing else, it’s safer for everyone concerned. Thirty-five year old skater Douglas Fletcher was one of the driving forces behind the construction of this logical park.
clover bowl, Denverpark/photo by nick moscia
“About for years ago, I went to city planning meetings along with a group of skaters to request the construction of a skatepark,” Fletcher explained. Working with city council member Joyce Foster who supported and spearheaded the initiative, the pair was able to get the plans approved.
“Once approved, I began attending design meetings. I worked with Kevin Thatcher and Architerra (construction) in the design of the park,” said Fletcher. “I mostly assisted in the re-design of the flat bottoms and added about 40% or 50% input to the transition plans.”
Take note; even Denver’s former mayor, Wellington Webb supported the benefits of this park by approving the money necessary for it’s expansion. Emage skate shop, located only blocks from the park, has all the schwag you need in a pinch and the owners and employees are psyched on the local flavor.
street section, Denverpark/photo by nick moscia
Boulder Public Skate Park:
Boulder, a liberal college town about 25 miles northwest of Denver, had a “pay-session” skatepark throughout the 90’s that consisted of a large vert ramp, some smaller ramps and the expected fun boxes and street features. All wood and metal without concrete in sight, this park attracted mostly students from the university and younger kids who’s parents used the park attendant and fenced-in zoo-like confines as a day-care center while they shopped at the nearby mall. The park was decent by common skatepark standards with the vert ramp being the highlight but the fees and stifling nature of the experience kept most of the locals away. In 1999, the plans had been developed to build a rolling concrete style skate park that could accommodate a larger number of skaters with a wider variety of terrain. Working with local skaters to determine the transitions, shape and design of the park, a stellar haven of smooth white concrete was created. Having the wisdom to use a skater-owned construction company to get it done right the first time, Boulder now has a world class skate park featuring a flowing series of banks and bowls highlighted by a cloverleaf that provides a transition into a fourth bowl.
The park is designed to allow skaters to cover every inch with one run since passage into each area is granted through roll-ins or drops so the possibility of constant park cruising is only limited by your lungs or a botched grind. With local skate shops Meta, and Satellite driving the vibe and supporting the local talent, a session at the Boulder park is always fueled by some insane bowl skating. To keep the new generation of jibbers stoked, there’s a mini-bowl, sloped banks, curbs, a pyramid and a low handrail to keep the kick flip crew inspired.
Jason Burg, fs air @ boulder park
The Boulder Park, along with the local shops and national product sponsors has hosted a number of amateur contests that incorporate all aspects of the park. Rather than just judging a street contest or bowl jam, the promoters have wisely used the consistent rolling nature of the park to incorporate the two into a totally creative free skate format, encouraging the use of the entire area and inspiring a unique link-up of tricks. With dedicated local talent, a spectacular mountain surrounding, supportive shops and six-dollar pitchers of Pabst Blue Ribbon at the infamous skater hangout, Sundown Saloon, Boulder is definitely on the road trip map as a top-notch bowl skating destination.
Aurora Public (Wheeler) Skatepark and South Denver area parks:
Wheeler Park in the Denver suburb of Aurora is small but mighty in its skateable terrain. The white flowing concrete is similar to Boulder’s park but offer’s some unique features including a miniature derby-like snake run strangely capped with metal coping. The winding run flows into a fun L-shaped bowl with sweeping transitions and tight corners. This bowl is flanked by a square-ish bowl with wicked-fast corners and logical angles and hips for big boosting. This park is starting to see a solid stream of bowl talent lately mainly due to the opening of the Thrifty Sticks 2 shop in a nearby shopping center. Thrifty Sticks 1, located in Denver City proper has been a hardcore supporter of old school (and new) style skating for several years now. If you can handle the unbelievable amount of kids that hang out at Wheeler Park during the after-school hours, Wheeler offers yet another example of high quality concrete in the Denver metro area.
Heading further south to Denver’s own version of Silicon Valley, the Denver Tech Center area is a sprawling mess of incredibly overpriced cookie-cutter homes and young wealth from the insane dot.com boom here in the mid-nineties. Among these homes and empty office spaces sits two more “old style” concrete parks. The Highlands Ranch and Greenwood Village parks feature diverse bowls of various heights and depths and Highlands even has a worthy California-style snake run that spills into a series of bowls. These parks are graced with fun spines and mini-bowls to keep the potential skate able lines nearly endless. Stop by Greenwood Village at lunchtime and you’re likely to find several good skaters in their thirties carving the bowl. Many of these young professionals are stoked to have quality concrete so close to the office. Keeping the pads and shorts in the car, these cats can dash out of the office at noon, drop the Dockers in the parking lot and slip on a pair Vans for an hour-long burn in the pools. Most of these folks will tell you that they skated all through high school and college and then threw the board in the closet. However despite the wife, condo, BMW and a son named Tucker at home, these parks have been absolutely impossible to resist. One guy still wearing his button down shirt with the company logo was finishing up a session as I arrived in the parking lot.
“My co-workers don’t really get it but they sure are curious!” he exclaimed as he was putting his Italian loafers back on. “Deep down, I think they’re jealous.” Listening to the excitement in his voice, I could only nod in agreement.
The Future:
So what’s with all these high quality parks within an hour of each other? I think there are a few factors that contribute to this rad renaissance of sorts. The skater community in Denver is extremely tight and the local skater-owned companies are 100% committed to the growth of bowl/pool/vert skating in the area. Denver’s own Conspiracy Skateboards makes industry-standard boards for destroying pools and supports a team of riders that have concrete in their veins. Most of the riders on the team have a hardcore view towards bowls and ramps with a nod to the historical roots of skating. The local shops also fuel the scene by employing knowledgeable older skaters with a sense of pride for the spirit of bowl skating. In addition to the public parks, national corporations have noticed the vibe in Denver and have opened indoor skateparks in the area.
Possibly the most important factor influencing the continued construction of skateparks in Colorado towns is the wisdom of community and city planners. The general consensus seems to be, “Why build another ball park that can only accommodate eighteen people at a time when you can build a skatepark that accommodates hundreds.” That’s pure grassroots logic.
Regardless of the reasons, the Denver metro-area resurgence of bowl skating is for real, and the numbers of skaters are unparalleled. With a new concrete park appearing in a Colorado town every month, these numbers will continue to explode. Plan a skate focused trip to Colorado’s Front Range and see if Chief Niwot’s curse folklore prevails. He wisely said, “Those who visit always return.”
