Garland Skatepark – Rick Oden Park

9/23/22. The Garland skatepark grand opening event will be held on Saturday, October, 22, 2022.

The City of Garland skatepark is an absolute monster. A game changer for the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex. Located just east of S. Garland Ave on Miller Rd, the Garland skatepark is the result of an extremely comprehensive and collaborative development process that truly incorporated the community’s input every step of the way. The skatepark has been designed for all ages and skill levels. Skateboards, inline skates, scooters and bikes are allowed at this all-wheel friendly facility.

‘Integration’ within the overall park immediately became a priority to the SPA Skateparks – New Line Skateparks design-build team, City leadership and future users of the skatepark. Placement of the skatepark within Rick Oden Park is just outside the flood plain. An inviting pedestrian pathway through the skatepark allows park users to be part of the action and creates an overall traffic flow consistent with the intended design elements of the Rick Oden park design. Shade trees are planted to block the afternoon sun. Additionally, shade structures within the skatepark will provide further relief during warm summer days. And finally, a full scale skatepark lighting system enables users to skate in the evenings to 1) escape the summer heat, or 2) get longer skate sessions during the winter’s early sunsets. 

GARLAND SKATEPARK TERRAIN 

SPA Skateparks design-build team took a hard, long look at the existing North DFW Metroplex skateparks and set out to make the Garland skatepark stand out in a big way. The skatepark has three main terrain areas – a street / plaza area, bowl / transition area and a beginner’s area. 

Street / Plaza Area

The plaza portion of the skatepark, although about half of the size of the overall skatepark, is a whopping 20,000 square foot (ish). That’s bigger than many skateparks found elsewhere. The plaza area’s shape follows that of the parking lot and Rick Oden Park vehicle entrance off Miller Rd. An expanse of plaza terrain and perfectly positioned elements provide lots of opportunity in an even bigger footprint. There are five elevation changes within the street plaza, creating the 3 stair sets, and many banks and transitions.

Bright yellow metal inserts under select rails provide color pops throughout the park. Several integral concrete colors improve the look of the park, and to also indicate to skaters where terrain changes are within the park. The park offers bread-and-butter elements, and also unique features that you haven’t seen anywhere else and make for countless combo tricks. Just a few bullet-point descriptions of features within the street / plaza area:

• manual pad complex down a bank
• horseshoe turnaround wall
• park-style massive hip with ledge top
• jersey barrier on top of bank
• 2 stair sets with different rail / hubba configurations
• volcano / pump bump to redirect direction

Bowl / Transition Area

You won’t find a deep, aggressive skate pool or bowl here. There are a few nearby skateparks that already fit that bill. Instead, there’s and expansive flow bowl with depths from 4 to 7 feet. Choose your own adventure with various pump bumps and blend zones positioned throughout the bowl for endless lines. A few features include:

• volcano pump bump attached to a roller
• no coping roll-in area
• flat, curved rail along the coping
• escalators
• tombstone
• quarter pipe transition from bowl to street plaza
• ribbon track and volcano around the bowl deck

Beginner’s Area

Garland proudly boasts the first, dedicated beginner’s area within a Texas skate park. Intentional is a key word here, as the City specifically wants beginners and kids to have a place to learn and feel comfortable doing so. Skateboard classes, lessons, and other skatepark programming are perfect for this area of the park. Two integrated shade pavilions nearby are perfect spots for parents and fellow skaters to view the action or rest, safely. The beginner’s area is separated by the flow of pedestrian traffic through the skatepark – from the parking lot to other park amenities Rick Oden has to offer. The skate features within the beginner’s area are all lower level, scaled back heights meant to, well, learn. 

• quarter pipes
• banks
• pump bump
• bowled corners 
• manual pad complex
• flat and down rails
• hubba ledge
• hip 

HOURS & RULES – GARLAND SKATEPARK 

Here’s a link to The Boneyard Skatepark on the City of Garland’s website that should have skatepark hours and rules. Interested to learn more about skatepark rules, regulations and signage examples?

HISTORY & MASTER PLAN 

coming soon….

FRIENDLY REMINDER

As a public skate park, this is YOUR park. It’s up to us skateboarders to keep skateparks alive and well by being respectful of others and the facility. Please report any suspicious activity, vandalism or otherwise to the City of Garland’s police department that may harm YOUR park, harm others, or may result in the temporary closing of the skatepark.

EXTERNAL LINKS 

• Oct 27, 2022 – Local Profile – Second Largest Skate Park in Texas Opened in Garland
• March 16, 2022 – Dallas News – Garland’s long-awaited skatepark will be called ‘The Boneyard’
• July 16, 2021 – YouTube Video – Garland, Texas Skatepark UPDATE + INTERVIEW
• Jan 13, 2021 – Dallas News – Long-awaited skate park is coming to Garland after years of debate, advocacy
• Jan 9, 2021 – Skate Parks for Dallas – Garland Skatepark at Rick Oden Park
• April 13, 2019 – Skate Parks for Dallas – THE GARLAND SKATEPARK PROJECT BREAKS THROUGH!