One of Vancouver’s oldest skateboard parks, China Creek has been around since the beginning. It was on the brink of being demolished in 2006, but the VSBC came to the rescue petitioning to save the park.

Although it has changed over the years with skaters building ramps, funboxes, rails, and quarters, the staples of China Creek remain the same: the tea cup and bathtub, both coping-less bowls. It has been updated (as of 2009) to include a playground and a public seating area where children from the nearby daycare often play (so watch out for toddlers running around). There are no light sources for night time skating, so when the sun goes down, you’ll have to pack it up. China Creek is definitely not the most well equipped skateboard park but it’s still worth a visit if you’re in the area.

China Creek Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l35JOHUvsio

How To Get There

Located within China Creek Park, closest to the intersection of Clark Dr. and East Broadway.

Garden City Skateboard Spot is a little gem hidden inside an otherwise regular park. Although it only has a manny pad, a ledge, and a small round rail, this skateboard spot is purpose built for skateboarding. The ledge and manny pad have coping for smooth slides and grinds, the rail is solidly cemented in place, and the ground is skate park smooth. This is definitely a great place to get your basics down before stepping it up to the street or bigger skateboard parks.

If you do get tired of skating Garden City, the Minoru Park Skateboard Spot is also nearby for your skateboarding pleasure.

Garden City Video

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How To Get There

Located in Garden City Park in Richmond, near Garden City Rd. and Alberta Rd.

Richmond Skatepark is a little slice of concrete heaven for anyone looking for a good skatepark in Richmond. This park contains quarter pipes, a half-pipe, half-moon bowls, stairs, round and flat rails, hubbas, ledges and even a uniquely built pole-ride flat bar. There’s pretty much something for every type of skater, so there’s always something new to try out. For all those skaters used to perfectly flat skatepark concrete, you’re out of luck at Richmond Skatepark. The park is built with regular pavement and over the years it’s been warping, making things a bit uneven. Shouldn’t stop you from landing some steezy tricks though, right?

Richmond Skatepark Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tay3lHAnSpU

How To Get There

Located on River Rd. in Richmond, closest to the intersection of River Rd. and Lynas Ln.

Quilchena Skateboard park is a quaint little neighborhood park located in the west-side of Vancouver. During the summer Kerrisdale Community Center holds what they call Skamp (skateboard camp) and when we went there in the early morning it was chock-full of kids. No worries though as their parents came to pick them up around noon leaving the park entirely empty.

The skateboard park features 2 identical hubbas for regular and goofy skaters, some pyramids and banks, a long mini-rail, some ledges, and our favorite, a granite-topped funbox.

Quilchena Skatepark Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7t3PZp6dh0

How To Get There

Located at Quilchena Park at 4590 Magnolia St. Vancouver (access off Arbutus St. between 30th and 33rd Ave).

New Westminster Skatepark has been around for a while and it’s beginning to show its age. You’ll find the skateboard park sandwiched between New Westminster Secondary School and Mercer Stadium. The primarily bowl-filled park has cracks forming in multiple places and patches of concrete missing beside coping. Still, it remains a local favorite among skateboarders. The park has 2 main bowls, a pyramid, snake-run, and multiple ledges located on the edges of the park. If you walk towards downtown, you’ll find a church with some more ledges going down a 3-step.

New Westminster Skatepark Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b0ymhqWF70

How To Get There

Located Beside Mercer Stadium on Sixth St. (between the 8th Ave. and Tenth Ave.).

If you skate street, all you need is the Vancouver Skate Plaza. It has ledges, banks, hubbas, pyramids, rails, and everything else in between. The emphasis of plaza is to keep things as raw and as genuine as possible. That’s why you’ll find granite ledges instead of your usual coping.

Plaza definitely caters to the more experienced skaters, and you’ll find a lot of ams and pros there on a daily basis. Don’t feel too intimidated, as there’s more than enough space to share.

You’ll also find shelter from the rain at Plaza thanks to the Georgia St. Viaduct spanning over the park. If it’s not raining too hard and depending on which way the wind is blowing, you might still be able to get a good skate in. A couple of large strips of dry skate park will be around in mild weather to play with.

Vancouver Skate Plaza Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjtnIhbdbUQ

How To Get There

Located directly under the Georgia St. Viaduct, within the island created by the intersection of Expo Blvd., Union St., and Quebec St.

Strathcona Skatepark is a relatively small park situated in the outskirts of Chinatown. You’ll find a nice mix of ledges, pyramids, rails, and hubbas to practice on. It’s rarely busy with the same locals frequenting the park; however, the park can get a bit crowded towards late afternoons on nice days. Recently, an improvised concrete quarter-pipe has mysteriously appeared and is one of the interestingly fun obstacles to skate. If you’re in the mood, there’s the International Ice Cream Factory across the street. There’s nothing like ice cream and skateboarding.

Strathcona Skatepark Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3aT90Z81xk

How To Get There

Located within Strathcona Park, closest to the intersection of Venables St., Prior St. and Campbell Ave.

Bonsor Skatepark officially opened winter 2004 and is a purpose built skateboard park catering to all types of riders. Split up into 3 sections, Bonsor includes street and bowl sections on either end with a pipe section in between.

The street section includes manny pads, a kinked round rail, stair rails (one flat, one round), a big 3 step, a quarter pipe, hubbas, and variety of ledges. Most of the obstacles easily flow into each other providing an endless number of possible lines. The best way to describe the street section is: “If you think it’s skate-able, it probably is.”

The pipe section includes coped half pipe sections connected into a rectangle, with a mellow half pipe section in the middle of one end and an epic full pipe on the other end. Definitely made for the hardcore shredders.

For the skaters seeking more flow in their ride, the bowl section can be carved endlessly. It includes hips, dips, drops, walls, coped ledges, and even a little manny pad. Want to ollie? There are many hips and other places to catch some air. Want to stall? There’s a coped ledge up a wall for that. Want to grind? There are ledges surrounding the area for your grinding/sliding pleasures.

Bonsor usually contains a mix of beginner to advanced skaters. It can get crazy busy during peak hours of the day (afternoon to evening) so if you’re looking to practice without having to deal with crowds, the early mornings are your best bet. The park also has no light sources for night skating so if you’re planning on getting something in during the evenings, you might want to think about bringing your own generator and lights.

Bonsor Skatepark

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EYW1HVfcD4

How To Get There

Located within Bonsor Park, one block away from Burnaby’s Metrotown Shopping Centre.

Coopers’ Skatepark is a multipurpose park accommodating basketball, hockey and more recently, skateboarding. Obstacles include benches, coped ledges, a concrete ledge surrounding the basketball court, and various areas in and around the basketball court for flat. You can literally skate all day, any day, as the bridge provides a bit of cover from the rain and lights provide a bit of illumination during the evenings (usually turning on at about 9pm). Coopers’ park is never too busy and is a good place to practice the basics. There are occasional pick-up games of basketball and every so often small children running around so don’t forget to keep an eye out while you skate.

Coopers’ Skatepark Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ2VLg_-tfs

How To Get There

Located within Coopers’ Park, directly under Cambie Bridge (Downtown side).