Vernon Valley Skateboard Park - Vernon Township NJ

A skatepark built on the site of the notorious "Action Park."

Like Yawgoo Valley in Rhode Island and Big Bear in New Hampshire, New Jersey’s Vernon Valley/Great Gorge Ski Resort wanted to improve offseason attendance, so they tapped into the skatepark trend.

They built their skatepark on the side of the hill that was used as the bunny slopes in the winter months. It was a 300 x 400 foot asphalt deck with three concrete snake runs, bowls, slalom track and freestyle area.

Piercy designed the park to be accessible for all levels of skater, so It was described as being very mellow. It lacked coping and any vertical sections, but the concrete surface was reportedly well-made and very smooth.  

In addition to the skatepark, the resort added a huge concrete alpine slide, and began calling it Vernon Valley Action Park. With each season, more rides and attractions were added, including Grand Prix go-karts, bumper boats, dune buggies, white water rapids, and waterslides. This park became legendary for how anarchic and dangerous it was, later immortalized in the 2020 documentary film "Class Action Park."

The skatepark was only open for three seasons, and in 1980 it was shut down and buried.