Issue Date: May 5, 2003

Travel

Tony Hawk picks his 5 favorite skate parks

America's most famous X-treme athlete gives a high five. These ain't your father's halfpipes.

By Tony Hawk

Skateboarding has been my form of exercise, my sport -- my means of expression -- since I was 9. Since then, a lot of young people have jumped on board as well: In 2002, more kids over age 6 skateboarded (13 million) than played baseball (10 million). And ESPN's X Games, to be broadcast this year Aug. 14-18, is the most watched action sports competition. I'm a "vert" skater, which means I skate anything that gets me vertical, high up in the air. So, for me, it's all about ramps, bowls and rails. I also look for a wide variety of obstacles and jumps.

That said, here are my favorite parks in some of my favorite places around the country:

Skatepark of Tampa (Fla.)
(813-621-6793; skateparkoftampa.com)
This isn't simply the home of the Super Bowl-winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Every year, this place hosts two world-renowned competitions: the Tampa Am, which attracts 200 of the world's best amateur skateboarders, and the Tampa Pro, the most hard-core event, where fans can meet and greet their favorite skateboarders, such as Andy MacDonald, Bob Burnquist and Elissa Steamer. This place is a street-skater's paradise. Its 8,000-square-foot indoor street course is based on what you'd find in a downtown area, including a 40-foot-wide vert ramp. Afterward, when you're hungry for some great grub, head over to the historic Ybor City district, home of Columbia Restaurant, Florida's oldest (it opened in 1905). It's dubbed the world's largest Spanish restaurant, with 11 dining rooms -- it takes up an entire block!

Kona Skatepark, Jacksonville, Fla.
(866-758-5662; konaskatepark.com)
This was the first place I every traveled to, at 12, as a sponsored amateur skater. Constructed in the late 1970s, Kona is the oldest private skate park. The place has this great retro feel. It still has its original bowls to further evoke images right out of That '70s Show. They've also updated other parts of the park with two competition street courses, an 80-foot-wide vert ramp and one of the world's few snake runs, which is a downhill speed run with banked turns. Kona is the site of the annual Kona Summer Nationals (June 13-15), the professional vert-ramp competition, which helps create legends of today and champions of tomorrow, including Rodney Mullen, Mike McGill and Danny Way. When in Jacksonville, I like to take in a bit of history and nature: It's home to Fort Caroline, the first European settlement on the North American mainland, established in 1564 by the French; and the 46,000-acre Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. Boarders dig nature, you know.

Louisville (Ky.) Extreme Park
(502-456-8100; louky.org/skatepark)
At 40,000 square feet, this is the biggest public skate park in the United States. It's open 24 hours. There's a bunch of cool bowls and rails, but this park is known for its 24-foot-long full pipe. A full pipe looks like a huge sewer pipe. Most of today's parks have halfpipes, which are full pipes with the tops cut off. It's almost impossible to skate the 360 degrees in a full pipe, but it's exciting and fun to see how far you can skate around it. I did an exhibition there last July, and the weather was brutal. I'd recommend skating at night. Louisville is a great place to hang out, too. It's the birthplace of Modjeskas candy, marshmallow dipped in caramel. You can buy the homemade stuff at Muth's Candy Store. Buy a bag, then head over to the Slugger Museum, home of the world's largest Louisville Slugger baseball bat.

Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA, Encinitas, Calif.
(760-942-9622; ecke.ymca.org)
Hey, don't laugh: Not only does this Y have a great park, but it also happens to be in my hometown. I've been skating here for the last six years. They have a large street course with all kinds of quarterpipes, ramps, handrail stations and pyramids (a four-sided ramp shaped like a pyramid with a flat top). I designed the current vert ramp, which, at 80 feet wide and 13 feet tall, is a thrilling training ground for the world's best skaters. When I'm finished skating for the day, I head over to Swami's Cafe & Juice Bar, which serves up the best strawberry-banana smoothies and tuna sandwiches anywhere. Named one of the top 10 surf towns, Encinitas is also known as the Flower Capital of the World. So I like to take visiting friends and family to Quail Botanical Gardens, which has 30 acres of unusual plants, including some cycads, which go all the way back to the Jurassic Period. Cool!

Burnside Park, Portland, Ore.
(Via Portland's visitors association: 877-678-5263; travelportland.com)
It's literally under the Burnside Bridge, which connects Portland's east and west sides. The 9,000-square-foot area features two concrete bowls -- one affectionately called the "death bowl" -- and several quarterpipes and corner bowls that reach vert. There's a half- pyramid to the side. But I like the tombstone: It's a big vertical wall, about 8 feet high, with 2 feet of vert. It's a challenge to ride up, because it isn't smooth. If you want to read about skateboarding, just across the bridge to the west is the huge Powell's City of Books, with more than 1 million books. It's the largest independent bookstore in the world, and it's pretty funky, like the town itself -- about as far from Barnes & Noble as you can get!

For more information, go to clubtonyhawk.com.
The legendary Tony Hawk, 34, is the creator of more than 80 skateboard tricks. His fifth Tony Hawk Pro Skater video game is due this fall, and in early October he launches the second "Boom Boom Huck Jam" action sports and music tour.