3 of the best Skateboard Parks in NC
Greenville NC, which has recently acheived recognition as the home of pro bmxer Dave Mirra and Jaycee Park recently added to its already strong reputation as a prime skate destination with the opening of Fusion Skatepark.
In past years the city has been a haven for skaters all over eastern NC with the campus of East Carolina University being named one of the top 25 skate spots in the country by Thrasher magazine as well as being the onetime home of Lenny Kirk.
Fusion Skate Park
Fusion skate park seeks to add to that reputation offering a competition style park worthy of a road trip. The park resembles that of an oversized mini ramp with lots of goodies packed in the middle. The outer edges of the park consist of quarter pipes one with a roll in an an extension and the other with a wall ride and a wedge ramp.
But you wont get bored on the way to the other side. The middle of the park consists of two wedge ramps with platforms a small one and a larger one. The wedges have a step grind box on the far left side with a raised grind box stretching the length of the ramp in the middle of the ramp and on the far right side and a grind rail waiting on the other side of the ramp. The transitions are fairly mellow, but with masonite ramps and a nice smooth floor you wont be slowed down a bit.
The park is designed for nice smooth fast lines and will certainly make a great stage at future contests and demos as well as make for a great everyday session.
ExtremePark in Jaycee Park
It will take 15 minutes of skateboarding from Fusion Skatepark to the Jaycee Park. Jaycee is a huge park having several action sports dedicated parks within.
ExtremePark is one of these – which has BMX and Skateboard Ramps. In comparison with Fusion – Extreme Skatepark is much more advanced and has many mini ramps and quarter pipes.
Extreme Skatepark in Wilson, North Carolina, is one of the state’s newer parks. Opened in 2000, the park resides in a renovated warehouse, allowing for a spacious skating area with room for additions.
Extreme’s current layout features the basic obstacles of any skatepark: a pyramid, funbox, and a few wedges and quarter-pipes. Covered in masonite, the ramps boast smooth and fast surfaces. This fact coupled with the smooth concrete floor means maintaining speed is not much of a problem. Already expanding, the park also has mini-ramps, and a munchkin area.
Skateboarders should really appreciate the fact that Extreme is built and arranged for them rather than bikers (which any skater living in the Carolinas can tell you is rare to find these days).
Considering the lack of street spots in this area of North Carolina, the park deserves accolades for catering to skateboarders, and is definitely worth checking out.
Below are some of recent photographs from our visit to the Extreme. These will give you an idea about the robust skateboarding features the park supports.
Fusion Surf and Skate
Between both the Skateparks – Fusion and Extreme – you will definitely need to visit Fusion Surf and Skate.
Fusion Surf and Skate is the only one stop shop for skateboarders in Greenville NC. Started in 1997 – it has become one of the oldest in skate business.
The shop got a lot of popularity among skateboarders – as it added a custom-built hand crafted skate bowl. The skate bowl attracted a lot of traffic and happy buyers of other skateboarding accessories too.
This was their official statement for the installation of the Skatebowl – “We want to bring the skate community back together again, in a positive, safe environment.”
Basically a small mini skateboard park inside a retail store allows customers to skate and shop under one roof. And most importantly the skatebowl is free!
Once between both the skateparks – you can visit Fusion Surf and Skate too. The skatebowl there is fully wooden which makes the sloping surface pretty smooth. It is 3-foot, 8-inch deep with curved walls – for you to glide around and launch into the air for skateboarding tricks.
The store (Fusion Surf and Skate) is located at 518 S.E. Greenville Blvd.
Last time we checked in – the shop was also planning to hire a professional skateboarder for the customers to assist them in buying stuff and helping them out with basic skills. Don’t know whether they have hired or not.
Follow the map below – which will lead you from Fusion Skatepark to Extreme Skatepark via Fusion Surf and Skate.