Skateboarding
Skateboarding
10 top skateparks in Anaheim
Read ahead for a guide on the best skateparks in Anaheim and the Orange County area, including park features and where to find them.
Skateboarding and Southern California go together like an In-N-Out burger and animal-style fries. The birthplace of skateboarding remains a haven for the sport, inspiring new skaters to pick up a board every day.
Red Bull athlete CJ Collins, from Anaheim in Southern California, explains his passion for skateboarding. “I just love skating so much that I’m always motivated,” he says.
If you find yourself in Collins’ Orange County hometown and feel similarly driven to get out and skate, you won’t have to search far. Anaheim is home to tons of skateparks where skateboarders of all levels can practice in the warm California sun. Read ahead for a guide on the best skateparks in Anaheim and the Orange County area, including park features and where to find them.
01
Skate Park at William Peak Park
Located at 7225 El Dorado Drive in Buena Park, this skatepark offers opportunities to skate behind the towering rollercoasters of Knott’s Berry Farm. This skate spot is open from 8 a.m. until dusk, and don’t forget your helmet, and knee and elbow pads as per local regulations. The park’s course is ideal for street skaters, with a great blend of rails, stairs, and quarter pipes, as well as a concrete pyramid.
02
Ralph’s Skate Court
If you feel like venturing further south within Orange County, San Clemente is home to Ralph’s Skate Court, a 14,000-square-foot skater’s dream. Take the Interstate 5 freeway to 241 Avenida La Pata to find numerous bowls, spines, and ledges. If you’re new to skating and could use a little guidance, this San Clemente skatepark offers classes through the local parks department.
03
Stanton Skatepark
This is a skatepark designed by the firm Spohn Ranch, which is known for envisioning state-of-the-art parks. Spohn Ranch skateparks are, after all, built by skaters, for skaters — the firm’s head is the influential skatepark innovator Aaron Spohn. His influence can be felt all over this Stanton park, located at 10660 Western Avenue in Stanton, California. It’s home to 9,000 square feet of concrete paradise where you can grind and slide on abundant rails. You can also practice your balance on ledges and banks anytime between sunrise and sunset.
04
Schweitzer Skatepark
You can find this park — another Spohn Ranch creation — at 218 S. Bel Air Street in Anaheim, not far from Stanton Skate Park. Open from dawn till dusk daily, Schweitzer Skatepark offers 5,000 square feet full of ledges, rails, banks and quarter pipes. It’s a great place to refine your board slides and nose grinds.
05
Palm Lane Skatepark
Among Palm Lane Skatepark’s ledges and rails, you’ll find bursts of brightness in the design. For example, there’s equipment shaped like orange slices on which you can practice your transitions. The park, located at 1595 West Palais Road in Anaheim, is open during daylight hours, with 5,000 square feet for skating the day away. The park’s street course is a favorite of local students once school’s out.
06
Ponderosa Park Skatepark
Ponderosa Park in Anaheim is home to a 10,000-square-foot concrete skatepark for skaters of every level. Located at 2100 South Haster Street, the park boasts a street plaza and an impressive bowl, and it’s open from dawn until dusk. The Ponderosa skatepark is a local favorite that can fill up fast, so you may want to go early. This way, you can take up all the room you need to practice your transitions.
07
Manzanita Skatepark
Manzanita Skatepark offers features that are great for both advanced and novice skaters. You can choose between a seven-foot or three-foot bowl and enjoy a skate plaza full of rails, ledges and ramps. Located at 1258 North Riviera Street in Anaheim, this Spohn Ranch production is also home to a beautiful mural you might recognize. It portrays joyful skateboarders against a California sunset — you might see yourself in it.
08
Vans “Off the Wall” Skatepark
Pedro Barros at Vans Skatepark in Huntington Beach
© Galileo Giglio / Red Bull Content Pool
If you want to enjoy the coastal part of Orange County, this Huntington Beach skatepark is about a 20-minute drive from Southern Anaheim. This Vans-sponsored space evokes a quintessential California relaxed vibe, with gorgeous coastal views and soothing air. You can practice on a variety of equipment and terrain, including bowls, rails, and stair sets, across the park’s 35,000 square feet. The street-style skating plaza is open to all levels from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 7471 Center Avenue, though on Wednesdays, the park is reserved for BMX biking.
09
Garden Grove Skatepark
This park is located a short drive from Anaheim just off State Route 22, otherwise known as the Garden Grove Freeway. Within this park at 9301 Westminster Boulevard in Garden Grove, you can enjoy quarter pipes, stair banks, and a Las Vegas marble bench. Since the park has lights, you can skate well past dark here, with hours of operation between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. daily.
10
Anaheim West Skatepark
You can find this local favorite in Brookhurst Park at 2271 W. Crescent Avenue. It was once the site of the Sadlands, a highly popular unofficial skateboarding spot built in the 1960s. That’s a big deal — the beloved Sadlands were frequented by the one and only Tony Hawk in their prime.
The original design of Anaheim West Skatepark was meant to mimic the surface of the moon and its craters. Now that the park has been redesigned with skateboarders in mind, you can enjoy the old craters along with updated stairs, ledges, and rails. You’ll also find a six-foot-deep pool and a smooth street course that you can ride from 10 a.m. to dusk.
Anaheim’s skateparks are a California dream
Anaheim may be known for its amusement parks, but you don’t need to pay a hefty admission ticket fee if you want a great thrill. Instead, just about every Orange County skatepark offers excitement for all kinds of skaters. You just need a skateboard, your helmet, and your pick of which top skateparks in Anaheim you want to try. So get out there, and get to grinding.
