In recent years, a number of Jersey Shore communities have rolled out the welcome mat for skateboarders with municipally built and maintained skateparks. All require appropriate safety equipment; during the pandemic, social distancing is also required. Some require facemasks. Below, a selection of our favorites.
Atlantic Highlands Skate Park
21 1st Avenue, Atlantic Highlands
This is a pretty basic park of metal ramps on asphalt, but with a unique location on the Atlantic Highlands waterfront. After fielding numerous complaints about kids skating in the street, the borough opened the park in 2008. “It’s been a win-win for the municipal harbor,” says town administrator Adam Hubeny. The park features a bank, a hip, a C-rail, launch ramp, flat ledge, a small stair set, quarter-pipe and a decent mini ramp.
Bathrooms are located at the Harbor’s Senior Building. Open 8 am–dusk. All skaters must wear a helmet, knee and elbow pads. Admission free.—Jon Coen
Skateplex (Temporarily closed)
Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park, 465 Ocean Boulevard North, Long Branch
Seven Presidents has been the go-to skate park at the Shore area for 15 years. Boasting 15,000 square feet, it’s part of the Monmouth County Parks system and directly across the street from the family-friendly Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park, making it a nice spot to surf and skate in the same day. While the solid bowl remains, the street section was completely rebuilt in 2016 into a more contemporary skate plaza with smooth-as-butter concrete featuring multiple stair sets, floating ramps, Euro gap, hubba ledges, two planters and five rails. It also has a creatively sculptured speed hump-to-quarter-pipe that could pass for a work of art.
The park has bathrooms and a concession stand in the summer, closer to the beach. Open 8 am–dusk. Skaters 17 and under must wear a helmet. Admission free.—Jon Coen
Sunshine Village Skatepark
399 Asbury Park Boulevard, Neptune
This new park was built among the sports fields and playground of Neptune’s Sunshine Village and is worth the trip for the bowls and transitions. The bowl is designed for flow with endless lines on three- and four-foot walls, as well as a cradle that reaches six feet. The street section features a kinked hubba, bump-to-bump, manual pad, ledge and extensions. The two areas are distinct but can be linked together with a spine. This is one of the Shore’s more creative parks, thoughtfully designed and well built.
“You’re not going to find too many parks like this in New Jersey,” says Derek Rinaldi, who was one of the state’s earliest professional skaters in the 1980s. “It’s good for everyone—adults and their kids, advanced skaters and little ones who are just learning.”
There are bathrooms at the park. Open 9 am–dusk. Pads are recommended. Skaters 17 and under must wear a helmet. Admission free.—Jon Coen
Brick Skatepark
44 Burnt Tavern Road, Brick
Ocean County was long in need of a serious skatepark. Bricktown finally answered the call and opened this fantastic facility at Bernie Cooke Park. Completely concrete and state-of-the-art, the park’s centerpiece is an elongated bowl with different hips, ledges and transitions. On each side of the bowl are creative street sections with multiple ledges and rails, including an A-frame rail and ledge. It’s the kind of spot you could skate over and over in and still find new lines—designed to allow a versatile skater to flow the entire park.
The park has temporary Porta-Johns. Open 9 am–dusk. Skaters 17 and under must wear a helmet. Admission free.—Jon Coen
Barnegat Light Skatepark
10 West 10th Street, Barnegat Light (LBI)
Not a place to go out of your way for, but worth a quick skate if you are staying in one of the cool towns on the north end of Long Beach Island. Barnegat Light is the only skate facility on all of LBI and adjacent Manahawkin. This is a typical small-town recreational area (next to the post office) with a mini ramp, quarter-pipe, hip, ledge and a rail. The blacktop has seen better days. Fortunately, some of the wood was replaced two years ago. While the features are rough, it’s still okay for kids to learn.
There are bathrooms on site. Open 9 am–dusk. All skaters must wear a helmet, knee and elbow pads. Admission free.—Jon Coen
Ocean City Skatepark
550 Asbury Avenue, Ocean City
About five blocks inland from Ocean City’s boardwalk is the town’s newly constructed skatepark. The park offers 12,000 square feet of features, including a large bowl and snake run, grind box, half-pipe, grind rail and kicker ramps. The park is located immediately next door to the Ocean City Fire Department Headquarters. During the pandemic, access is limited to 20 skaters per hour, and facemasks are required. There is typically a roped-off seating area for spectators and guests, but no spectators are allowed during the pandemic.
There are two Porta-Johns outside the park’s gates. Open 9 am–dusk. All skaters must be fully padded; skaters under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Admission free.—Royal Thomas II
Sea Isle City Skatepark
5926 Sounds Avenue, Sea Isle City
Located within Dealy Park, the 6,000-square-foot facility offers a half-pipe, two quarter-pipes and a handrail stair set. A funbox and grind box round out the concrete flat of the park with rails, kicker ramps and a double whoop to keep runs going. The park has a scenic location on the edge of Sounds Avenue and a view of the nearby marshes. There is a shaded seating area just outside the fence. The park also features lights, a playground, sports fields, tennis and basketball courts.
Bathrooms are located at the nearby recreation building. Open dusk–dawn. Padding and helmet required; skaters under 12 require adult supervision. Admission free.—Royal Thomas II