Wheels up!

Judkins Park Chona Kasinger

Seattle’s public parks have some fantastic skateboarding facilities. In West Seattle, Delridge Skatepark (2414 SW Genesee St) is big and varied, with an impressive bowl and large transition areas, while Roxhill Skatepark (2850 SW Roxbury St) has a street plaza design that’s both fun and kid-friendly. Near Roxhill, Southgate Roller Rink (9646 17th Ave SW) offers a different kind of fun on wheels. In Beacon Hill, Jefferson Park Skatepark (3801 Beacon Ave S) features multiple ledges and its own big bowl with deep and shallow ends. A couple of miles north, Judkins Skatepark’s (2161 S Judkins St) quarter pipes are ideal for drop-ins and fly-outs.

There are also great options outside the park system. Seattle Center Skate Plaza (Fifth Ave N and Broad St) puts you in the shadow of the Space Needle, and All Together Skatepark (3500 Stone Way N) is the city’s only indoor skatepark. Looking for something a little edgy? Marginal Way Skatepark (1099 SW Hanford St), under a viaduct in SoDo, is a DYI project built by local skateboarders that’s gained national acclaim for its creative design. For hair-raising rides and a dose of skate-punk spirit, there’s nothing else like it.

If cycling’s more your thing, try the Burke-Gilman Trail, or take a leisurely spin around Seward Park (5900 Lake Washington Blvd S) or Green Lake (7201 East Green Lake Dr N); the latter is next door to Lower Woodland Skatepark (5201 Green Lake Way N), which features a series of dirt jumps that thrill BMX riders. The city also has innovative cycling destinations particularly suited to children and families. At the Bike Playground at Dick Thurnau Memorial Park (11050 Tenth Ave SW), kids just starting to ride can learn the rules of the road in a safe, fun setting designed just for them. And the Cheasty Greenspace at Mountain View (4701 Mountain View Dr S) has the park system’s only wooded off-road bike trail, a 0.8-mile loop.