Idlewild Skatepark - Reno, Nevada, U.S.A.

11/2/2007

Bad news: 1) The concrete in the bowl looks like the face of a 20-year-old who spent his teen years picking at the zits on his face. Pock marks, craters, chunks missing near the coping, you get the idea. 2) The tranny in the horseshoe (a ½ bowl ranging in height from 3 to 5 feet) was a bit mellow, making it difficult to maintain speed. 3) There was too much flat ground. 4) On Saturdays, parents like to bring their toddlers into the place on little pink scooters and basically get in the way. Not good.

Good news: 1) While the bowl is a mess to look at, the craters and such are not enough to cause a slam (just make a little noise and slow you down a bit) and the tranny is pretty fun, even with the generous flat middle and weird 2-foot shallow end. It could be a lot faster, but it is more skatable than it looks, especially if you are running 60mm or bigger wheels. 2) The crete in the rest of the parks is nice 3) The place is loaded with fun banks and hips. 4) The locals are cool and some of them were killin it!

By day three I found myself anxious to get back to this place to learn more lines. I ran into a lot of the same kids and dudes each day and they were all really nice. I have heard the park in Sparks (Burgess) is the call in terms of good tranny and good crete in this area but it was a hassle for me to get there. If you are staying in the city and do not have a car (or time to drive around), this park is definitely worth the skate from downtown.

-Bryon R.