How Can I Find a Place to Skate?

Teenage boy skateboarding at night on concrete footpath

Ilias Kountanis/EyeEm/Getty Images 

What if you've got skating in your blood but live in a small town without any good skating spots in sight? Or all the roads are full of cracks? Or the few good skate spots are full of "NO SKATING" signs? What's a skater to do?

How to Find a Place to Skate

A skater with no place to skate is a sad plight, but here are some suggestions:

Think Smaller: Some rural towns, countries where roads are different, or places where people are trying to stop skaters from skating often have no large open areas to skate in. However, skateboarding doesn't actually need a huge open space. It sure is nice, we're not gonna lie, but you don't need it. Rodney Mullen skated for a long time just on his family's driveway—and he went on to become the best skater on the planet (you might disagree ... which means we might need to have a dance off ...).

Look around for any place that you might be able to practice. Maybe your garage? Your sidewalk? A store parking lot? This is a similar situation to trying to find skate spots when it's cold and raining outside—use the same ingenuity to find a spot!

Embrace the Shadows: If you have a tough time because of the long arm of the law getting in your face, then it might be time to start becoming something of a skateboarding ninja. Skate at night, wearing all black, carrying a sword ... ok, maybe don't skate with a sword. Bad idea! But skating at night isn't! It's amazing where you can skate if you simply become a vampire.

Go to Jail: Sort of. Another option is to simply become a skater punk who doesn't give a hoot. Skate wherever you want! Who cares about laws and rules?! The trick here is that you will probably get into trouble. Depending on the country, state or city, you could get into BIG trouble.

Use an App: Check out an app that lets skaters bookmark skate locations to share with others. The apps are free, but use your judgment when getting a recommendation for a skating spot as some people aren't worried about skirting the law.

Create Your Paradise: If all else fails, you might need to make your own skate spot. There are probably other skaters around wishing they had a place to skate too. And even if there aren't, making your own spot to skate is a great idea. All you need is some space and you can make it as good or as lame as you want. You can even get your community involved to build skateboard obstacles.