Street Section
A lot of skateboarding’s early roots took hold in Venice in decades past, and now they have a shiny new skatepark to revive the scene.
First, it was the gnar dogs ripping drained pools in the area, then flatland hit the strand and entertained the travelers right alongside the break-dancing acts. Then in the 90s skaters were allowed a small spot along the beach that was home to a few ledges and manual pads that were instantly made famous as they appeared in videos and then Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 brought it to the big time.
Recently opened right new to this famous spot, is the new Venice Beach Park. Sitting right on the sand, this park is the place to go for epic sunset photography, with either the ocean as your backdrop or the bright shops that line the strand. The place is definitely crowded during the summer months, but the crowd is never as bad as it looks because most of the bodies lining the edge of the park are just gawking at the local talent.
You would think that sand would be troublesome too, but somehow the whole surface was debris-free. The pool section is definitely the highlight, as with most of Southern California’s cement parks. One snaking bowl neighbors a kidney that’s straight out of an old Dogtown video.
The street section has some fun features, but don’t plan on putting together a line here…the place flows like Toby Keith would if he had a cameo in 8 Mile. Each feature is decent on it’s own though, buttery ledges and fun-size drops without anything that overly intimidating.
It’s worth a look if you’re in the area, to get there just head to Venice Beach via Westminster Ave or Venice Blvd and you’ll see the spot out on the beach between all the babes and Bocce balls.
Gnar Dog Section
