Kona Skatepark

The oldest operating skatepark in the world, running since 1977 and family-owned since 1979. Sprawling old-school concrete with hills, a snake run and pools alongside a modern street section and a vert ramp, with beginner-to-advanced lessons that explicitly welcome adults.

If you skated in the late seventies or eighties, Kona is a pilgrimage: the concrete hills and the snake run are the same shapes that skaters crossed the country for in 1977, and the Ramos family have kept the place open since pulling it out of bankruptcy in 1979. It is a paid, staffed park, which for a lot of returning adults is exactly the point — sessions are timed, the place is looked after, and you are not the only grown-up there.

Lessons run at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels and are open to adults, not just kids. One rule to know before you arrive: helmets are mandatory for everyone under 18 and for any beginner or intermediate skater regardless of age, in every area of the park. For advanced adults they are strongly recommended rather than required.