Vermont is For Skateboarders
Skateboarding in Burlington used to consist of the Courthouse steps, a few various ledges, misty mini ramps that no one was allowed to skate and decrepit ramps at the Burton factory -- but not anymore. These days, the largest city in Vermont is home to not one, but two skateparks, a public miniramp (at the B-Side) and even Burton redid their ramps. The newest of these skate facilities comes in the form of an indoor skatepark, which opened its doors to the public a few weeks back.
Ryan T. Edwards has so much damn flick that it looks like he probably landed this kickflip in the middle of the pyramid. Well he cleared it, okay? Photos: BG |
Now I know what you're thinking. An indoor skatepark, in Vermont? What is this world coming to. But it's true, now when there's no snow on the mountains there's still something to do mid-December. I took it upon myself to go check out Talent Skatepark (name blatantly stolen from Talent Skatepark in Oregon) with some of my extra time.
In a red building housing some sort of computer or cell phone store and other fine consumer establishments and far to nice to house a skatepark lies a configuration of ramps very reminiscent of Londonderry, NH. This could, in fact, have something to do with the fact they were built by the same person.
The park includes several small quarter pipes, a vert wall, pyramid, three boxes of varying heights, a flat bar that moves when you skate it, a couple banks and a 4 1/2 foot mini ramp. It also seems that on any given day, there will be at least three photographers shooting, making the park to be a perfect place the be a rock star, right?
Overall, this park was totally fun. It's easy to pick out a line, although the place is pretty small and if you make your runs too long you'll probably be quite unpopular. The park really isn't set up for multiple people to skate at once. Every piece of coping was perfectly laid and even with every other piece of coping, but it's pretty small and reminded me of the non-existent coping at the Burlington, WA skatepark (a reference that no one reading the story with any interest will appreciate, but whatever). The mini ramp is perfect, there's a corner for little kid to practice pushing or whatever other skills people used to acquire in their driveways but now advance directly to skateparks to learn. The only other down fall is the particularly low ceilings that render the vert wall somewhat un-useable, but one of the ceiling tiles is already missing and the others will probably follow soon, at which point tricks may be possible.
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Ryan T. Edwards. Backside smith grind. |
The park costs $10 for the day and is open from 12-8 most days and only until 6 on Sunday. It's located at 2069 Williston Road in South Burlington (just follow signs to the airport and the park will be on your left after you pass it.) If you're over 18 you only have to wear a helmet and it didn't seem like the full pads for minors thing was being enforced. The pro shop has everything you could possible break in a day of skateboarding and they also sell snowboards, snow skates and outerwear, incase you need any of those items to skate.
If you need to know anything else that's not covered in my comprehensive story, www.talentskatepark.com. Enjoy.
-BG
Vermont is for Skateboarders: An indoor park in Burlington. What will they think of next?
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