Capital Skatepark (Closed)

Update: Sadly Capital Skatepark is now closed. View more info on the new location here

Grungy little warehouse about 20 minutes south of Austin. Its grungy in every sense of the word, rough as guts, kinky, rusty, rundown etc but thats also what makes it so damned good. No posers here, just passionate skaters who brave intensely hot summer conditions to do what they love. The day we stopped by the place was scattered with a dozen or so dudes just tearing it up, great to watch – even if i did loose 2 litres of body fluid just sitting there watching the awesomeness.

So the setup is fairly minimal with the main feature being the end-to-end run with a few banks and rails along the quick journey. At the end it’s got a 12ft wall ride to spring you back to the start like a human pinball. There’s also a bank of 4-5ft transitions that run down to some smaller fun-boxes, rails, wedges and a hubba. Right up the back there’s a neat 3ft bowl that’s a lot of fun once you work out where the rough patches are.

All of the surfaces are masonite and have been well and truly worn in, there’s some home court advantage for the locals who know exactly where the good lines are. The coping is similarly worn but ya know what? None of it matters that much. You turn up at Capital Skatepark, sign a waiver, slap down $15 and then just get down to some skateboarding.

Open from 3-11pm in the summer but be sure to check their site before you make the trip. There’s also a little skate shop, some basic vending and restrooms. Great bunch of locals who just come here for one thing. Awesome.

Shayla Dame Skatepark

Formerly known as Round Rock Skatepark, this is an impressive spot that’s part of a well equipped community centre. The skatepark takes up quite a large area and features and sprawling street course and a large bowl.

The street course is an end-to-end setup starting with a series of 4-5ft banks and transitions that lead to a bunch of obstacles including stairs, rails, hubba’s and boxes. At the far end the street section rounds out with a few more banks and transitions as well as a little pyramid hip and and a 3-4ft transition. Scattered throughout there is a few interesting bits and pieces like a rough-as-guts 3ft trannie with chunky pool style edging. The layout is awesome and you can get solid lines from one and to the other and back, a lot of fun.

The bowl is a bit of a monster and has three areas. Firstly the smaller end gets to around 6ft and has various entries, transitions and extensions. The central section is just a couple of extensions one that’s a full circle thing and the other an over vert pool edged transition. Rounding it off is the larger pool end which is around 10ft and wondrously wide with a smooth transition. The simplicity of the big end makes it beautiful to skate.

A solid skatepark with a well thought out design and great for skaters of all skill levels. The only gripe would be the quality of the edging and coping thats a bit rough and chunky in parts…. but all part of the fun.

The park also features a great shaded area where you can watch all the action from (and take a break from the summer heat). The surrounding parkland is all very lovely and there’s a few other sporting facilities around (basketball, tennis). Plenty of free parking nearby. Check out the official site for more details.