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October 24, 2013 FACT BOOK 2013-14 15
Connecting Our Communities
Grind on a ledge
If biking isn’t your thing, try skateboarding
By GEOFF PURSINGER
Pamplin Media Group
F or decades, skaters looking
for a rail to grind on or a
ledge to jump have been
the bane of city employees,
but several local skate parks have
cropped up in the past several
years.
Most area skate parks are open
from dawn to dusk, and are free to
use.
In Tigard, the Jim Griffith Me-
morial Skate Park is one of the
newest, opening in 2007.
Located in the parking lot of Ti-
gard City Hall and the Tigard Po-
lice Department, the skate park is
named after former Mayor Jim
Griffith, a staunch supporter of Ti-
gard youth and the park. He died
in 2003, and the skate park’s task
force requested the park be named
in his honor. For more information
on the park, call 503-639-4171.
Beaverton residents have two
different places to choose from,
the Howard M. Terpenning Center
Skate Park at the corner of 158th
and Walker Road and the “Skate
Spot” at the recently redeveloped
Evelyn M. Schiffler Memorial
Park, 5561 S.W. Erickson Ave.
Both parks are managed by the
Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation
District. For more information on
the parks, call 503-645-6498.
Tualatin skaters have long
been skating at Tualatin Commu-
nity Park’s skate center, located
at 8535 S.W. Tualatin Road. The
park is also home to tennis and
basketball courts and the city’s
only dog park.
If you live in Aloha, the closest
skate park would likely be the
Reedville Creek Skate Park. Local
skaters helped in the park’s de-
sign, which emulates a street set-
ting.
With stairs, rails, a picnic table
and other objects to use, along
with ramps and quarter-pipes.
The Reedville Creek Skate Park is
located at 7500 S.E. Frances St.
The Lake Oswego Skate Park at
5520 Willow Road (corner of Wil-
low and Pilkington), is a member-
ship-based park, supervised by the
city’s parks and recreation staff.
The park is open to all ages for
skateboarders and in-line skaters
from spring break through mid-
October.
It offers skate camps, private
lessons, special events and more.
To contact staff at the park, when
open, call 971-563-8045.
The West Linn Skate Park is
known for its large, fast bowls and
its huge oververt. There also is a
shallow area with a pyramid and
many street objects, including four
stairs, ledges and a rail. It is locat-
ed at Tanner Creek Park, 3456
Parker Road.
InWilsonville, head over to Me-
morial Park, 8100 S.W. Wilsonville
Road. The park is home to the
city’s only skate park.
PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP PHOTO: VERN UYETAKE
Zach Onustock goes flying over a ramp at the Lake Oswego skate park.
Skate shops
Those looking to
track down gear can
visit the following
stores:
■ EXCEL SKATES —
8152 S.W. Hall Blvd.,
Beaverton (503-332-
7466 / excelskates.
com)
■ SUBLIMITY SNOW
& SKATEBOARDS —
12404 S.W. Broadway
St., Beaverton (503-
643-0919 / sublimity-
boardshop.com)
■ TILLY’S — 7039
S.W. Nyberg Road,
Tualatin (503-691-
1300 / tillys.com)
■ TORCHED ILLU-
SIONS — 17935 S.W.
Tualatin Valley High-
way, Aloha (503-259-
2310 / torchedillu-
sions.com)
■ ZUMIEZ AT WASH-
INGTON SQUARE —
9493 S.W. Washing-
ton Square Road, Ti-
gard (503-968-1780 /
zumiez.com).