Skateparks, in Wine Country?
Posted on 10. Mar, 2010 by admin in Local Light
NEED KID BAIT? GO SKATE!
Kids aren’t always excited as their Grands when the time comes for a visit, but maybe they’ll take the right bait. One of the lures offered in the Napa Valley is (like, totally) awesome skateboarding.
In downtown Napa, at the corner of Pearl and Yajome, is the Napa Skateboard Park. No one would call this concrete jungle world class, and in fact the city is looking at building a replacement. But it’s a comfortable skate for novices and journeymen, with enough humps and bumps to challenge. On the same lot is a toddler playground. There are no benches in either area, so Grands keeping watch might want to take their own lawn chairs.
At the other end of the valley is the Calistoga Skateboard Park. Located at 1305 Washington, the park boasts street ramps and grind rails.We haven’t been there yet. Have you?
Star of the valley is the new St. Helena Skatepark that just opened in October ’09. It’s located in Crane Park (Crane & Grayson Aves.), which offers activities for the whole family (bocce, playground, tennis, picknicking, etc.).
With some pretty scary looking drop-ins, the park actually served our family skaters – aged 7 to 30-something – very well. We were surprised to find “Officer Friendly” on duty. Although not a skater, he kept an alert eye on the diverse crowd sharing the concrete playground.
Oh yes. One of the things all three parks have in common is the requirement for helmets and pads – both knee and elbow. And just because you’re a dad who learned your moves more than 25 years ago, don’t think that rule doesn’t apply to you. As the officer quietly reminded our 30-something, he’s a role model for the entire park.
About that gear: We wanted an early start, so found the pads and headgear we needed for my 8-year-old granddaughter at Target (Trancas & the 29) – reasonably priced and style acceptable! But we’ve also poked into more specialized local shops, such as Boardgarden in both Napa and St. Helena.
And even if you don’t have time or inclination to head to the parks, Kohl’s in downtown Napa carries a fun line of Tony Hawk shirts for kids of all ages. Who’s Tony Hawk? Perhaps the world’s best-known skateboarder. Now that I’ve fact-checked myself on line, I realize there are also Hawk hoodies, shoes, wallets, pants and backpacks at Kohl’s. For those SoCal grandkids, the lure may now be the shop – as much as the skate!
Either way, they’ll be stoked.
