Berkeley Parents Network: Skateboarding in the Bay Area

Berkeley Parents Network

Skateboarding in the Bay Area

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > Places to Go > Skateboarding in the Bay Area

Where to skateboard in the East Bay?

July 2004

Where is the hottest skate park in the Bay Area? Oakland/Berkeley would be best but willing to drive. m

The Berkeley skate park is at the corner of 5th St. and Harrison on the Albany/Berkeley border. This is a free park open from 7:30 am until 9:30pm daily. Dandelion

2001

I would appreciate suggestions for places my 12-year-old can skateboard safely and legally. We are familiar with the Albany and UC Berkeley skateparks, but would like recommendations on places that are closer to North Berkeley/El Cerrito and have less restricted hours. Do any schools allow skateboarding on their paved areas after hours? Thanks. Cheryl

My son does skateboarding at Cragmont school in N. Berkeley (Marin/Spruce). There's probably nothing fancy you could do there but there are lots of skateboarders and scooter users in the evening. (They probably wouldn't allow it until after 600 or whenever the after-school program ends.) Fran

To the parent who wanted suggestions about skateboarding on school grounds.a Berkeley will soon have a skateboard park for skateboarders. In the meantime, I urge all parents to dissuade their children from skateboarding on school grounds.a Unfortunately, a significant number of skateboarders (including bicyclists and skaters) have caused huge amounts of damage to the cement on school grounds.a Thousand Oaks which hasn't yet been fully completed is one of those.a The edges of the school's cement surfaces have been broken off and have skid marks all over them.a Additionally, the speed at which some of these kids & adults are moving, and the dangerous turns that some of them take (sometimes compounded by the size of the group) put themselves and other children playing on the school grounds at risk for physical injury.a Then it could become a liability issue to the boarder, their parents, and the school district.aa Some boarders (not all) with whom I have talked are not interested in considering these dangers/consequences.a It became so bad, that the school was forced to post signs excluding all skaters, skateboarders and bicycle riders.a Any entry onto the school grounds for those activities could be considered trespass. The school district is now looking into installing preventative devices.a Possibly, these devices might allow the grounds to be open again to the less dangerous aspects of some (not all) of these sports. Jeanne

There is an excellent skateboard park in Alameda, at the old naval air station. This park has the distinction of being built and organized by high school students, who rallied 900 volunteers, and had the facility built in less than a week, a remarkable achievement. It's considered one of the best parks in the state, and certainly in the area. It is located on the Northern side of the the old naval air station (now known as Alameda Point) by the estuary, next to the old gym. Phil

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