A Guide to Skateboarding in Richmond Canada

Sat along the Strait of Georgia, neighboring Vancouver and even hosting its airport, the charming island city of Richmond has a lovely sense of community and a great taste for the outdoors – who can blame them with their abundance of waterways, islands and coastline. The outdoorsy fun doesn’t stop onland, though. In fact it continues into the city’s most urban landscapes thanks to the local skateboarding scene.

Skate here might not rival major US cities in terms of scale, or indeed heritage, but that’s not to say there isn’t some genuine skate history here. The city is most notable for housing the iconic Richmond Skate Ranch, a seriously ahead-of-its-time indoor skatepark designed by pro skater Kevin Harris. The ranch was open from 1986 to 1992 and hosted a range of amazing events, world class skaters and the “Mini Chin Challenge”, inspired by the park’s innovative ramp of the same name.

The Ranch may sadly no longer be with us, but it put Richmond permanently on the skate map and helped foster a healthy skateboarding subculture throughout the city.

Not far from the city center, and just across the Fraser River from Vancouver Airport, is this charmingly rustic local spot. Richmond Skateboard Park has been around for a while and, in some ways, you can tell! This isn’t the most modern looking park, and elements of the concrete are a little worn, but it all adds to the look. Street art and graffiti help paint a picture of decades worth of grinding, while the sound and image of planes taking off from above adds a unique sense of underground atmosphere to the place. There is a good range of transition and street obstacles here, including quarter pipes, rails, ledges and some stairs, which cater to skaters of all skill levels.

Just a short skate down the road from Richmond Skateboard Park is this community hub, with a concrete skatepark at its core. It’s a little cleaner, fresher and modern in comparison, and is mostly made up of street elements, with a fun selection of kickers, manual pads and wallriders. There’s a unique look to the place, with some obstacles almost looking like buildings that have sunk into the concrete, and it’s a firm favorite among local skaters.

Much of Richmond is defined by its proximity to Vancouver Airport, and most residents are used to the sight and sound of aircraft flying high above. That doesn’t take away from the special feeling you get at Larry Berg Flight Path Park, though. This is a public park designed in part for plane spotting. However, its paths and “runway trails” make for a lovely gentle skating spot and the globe sculpture in the middle of the park acts as a decent concrete ledge. This is a great spot to come at the end of a day of skating, where you can spot off at a park bench and watch the planes take off as the sun goes down.

Your go to spot to cater for all your skateboarding needs in Richmond is without doubt Steve’s Board and Apparel, on the southern seafront near Garry Point Park. The store is run by Jenny Koreshi and has been since 2013. It’s a really friendly vibe here and the perfect place to get a new board, fix your current one or even get something custom-made. There’s also a good selection of skate fashion and general safety gear. The store is open from 11am to 5pm every day and is totally customer focused. This is a place run for love and not money, so you can trust the advice given out by Jenny and her team.

This is an AI assisted article produced by Gethin Morgan.