Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St Paul)

[lilac]

I'm new to the Twin Cities area, and only a few months into learning to skate. Was wondering if anyone knew of any cool street spots that wouldn't absolutely wreck an uncoordinated beginner, lol. Also looking for skate parks in the area that have good vibes and are chill about beginners being around. Would be interested in knowing go-to's for locally owned skate shops, too.
Also... probably a dumb question, but, what do upper midwest skaters do during the winter?...

[zapruder]

UofM campus is a skatepark, granite ledges everywhere, banks, manny pads. Northrop Mall is the epicenter. security has been super lenient lately, one cop even telling us "it's saturday, of course you can skate."

Government Center in downtown Minneapolis has ledges of various heights but the ground is unapologetic at spots. from there if you cross the street in any direction you can hit a mellow 5 stair, banks, or more ledges.

Palace in St Paul is far and away the most fun and chill park in the cities. modular ramps and always rad vibes. I hit this one almost daily over lunch and it's the warmup spot when we film on this side of town. Painter Park in mpls serves the same purpose on that side of town but it's a crispy new plaza

over the winter most people will go to either 3rd Lair or Familia. plenty of private indoor bowls with keyholders too! we've got it really good compared to other midwest cities

[lilac]

UofM campus is a skatepark, granite ledges everywhere, banks, manny pads. Northrop Mall is the epicenter. security has been super lenient lately, one cop even telling us "it's saturday, of course you can skate."

Government Center in downtown Minneapolis has ledges of various heights but the ground is unapologetic at spots. from there if you cross the street in any direction you can hit a mellow 5 stair, banks, or more ledges.

Palace in St Paul is far and away the most fun and chill park in the cities. modular ramps and always rad vibes. I hit this one almost daily over lunch and it's the warmup spot when we film on this side of town. Painter Park in mpls serves the same purpose on that side of town but it's a crispy new plaza

over the winter most people will go to either 3rd Lair or Familia. plenty of private indoor bowls with keyholders too! we've got it really good compared to other midwest cities

Thanks, thanks. Looking forward to checking this stuff out when I get the chance!

[zapruder]

Expand Quote

UofM campus is a skatepark, granite ledges everywhere, banks, manny pads. Northrop Mall is the epicenter. security has been super lenient lately, one cop even telling us "it's saturday, of course you can skate."

Government Center in downtown Minneapolis has ledges of various heights but the ground is unapologetic at spots. from there if you cross the street in any direction you can hit a mellow 5 stair, banks, or more ledges.

Palace in St Paul is far and away the most fun and chill park in the cities. modular ramps and always rad vibes. I hit this one almost daily over lunch and it's the warmup spot when we film on this side of town. Painter Park in mpls serves the same purpose on that side of town but it's a crispy new plaza

over the winter most people will go to either 3rd Lair or Familia. plenty of private indoor bowls with keyholders too! we've got it really good compared to other midwest cities

[close]

Thanks, thanks. Looking forward to checking this stuff out when I get the chance!

once this bout of rain passes! itching to skate over here

[JoseCansnake0]

Welcome! I'm in the southwest suburbs and really only skate parks. There are a few good ones sprinkled around the metro. If you find a good curb spot, let me know.

Winter skating at 3rd Lair, or familia. I usually support Familia skateshop whenever possible

[lilac]

Welcome! I'm in the southwest suburbs and really only skate parks. There are a few good ones sprinkled around the metro. If you find a good curb spot, let me know.

Winter skating at 3rd Lair, or familia. I usually support Familia skateshop whenever possible

I'll for sure check out Familia, hadn't heard of it. Well, except in this thread, for winter skating, but not in the context of being a shop. As far as more local shops go, is Zombie Board Shop any good?

[lilac]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

UofM campus is a skatepark, granite ledges everywhere, banks, manny pads. Northrop Mall is the epicenter. security has been super lenient lately, one cop even telling us "it's saturday, of course you can skate."

Government Center in downtown Minneapolis has ledges of various heights but the ground is unapologetic at spots. from there if you cross the street in any direction you can hit a mellow 5 stair, banks, or more ledges.

Palace in St Paul is far and away the most fun and chill park in the cities. modular ramps and always rad vibes. I hit this one almost daily over lunch and it's the warmup spot when we film on this side of town. Painter Park in mpls serves the same purpose on that side of town but it's a crispy new plaza

over the winter most people will go to either 3rd Lair or Familia. plenty of private indoor bowls with keyholders too! we've got it really good compared to other midwest cities

[close]

Thanks, thanks. Looking forward to checking this stuff out when I get the chance!

[close]

once this bout of rain passes! itching to skate over here

Dude, same. I was peaking out my windows all day hoping my parking lot somehow dried up. It most certainly did not, and I'm going crazy practicing manuals over and over again indoors while I'm waiting to get out again. And I'm sure the neighbors below are just as unenthused about my indoor practicing, too... I mean, hey, I try to keep it as quiet as I can, it's just manuals -- if I wanted to be a real asshole I'd practice jumping and flipping sorta shit all day. Oh, yes, I'm so very merciful and kind

[zapruder]

Expand Quote

Welcome! I'm in the southwest suburbs and really only skate parks. There are a few good ones sprinkled around the metro. If you find a good curb spot, let me know.

Winter skating at 3rd Lair, or familia. I usually support Familia skateshop whenever possible

[close]

I'll for sure check out Familia, hadn't heart of it. Well, except in this thread, for winter skating, but not in the context of being a shop. As far as more local shops go, is Zombie Board Shop any good?

Zombie’s awesome. there’s also Cal Surf in uptown and After Hours holds it down for St Paul too (stuff to skate in the basement too!) so you’re usually not too far from a great shop

[mamba]

MSP has a really good skate scene. Cal-Surf, Familia, 3rd Lair, and After Hours are the shops I'd consider the most "core". They are all worth checking out. Then there are some weirder shops in the area. Almost all the suburbs have a skate park and some are really fucking nice. Some are shit. Winters people skate at 3rd, Fam, or Help. Help is a newer shop in the burbs, and have a decent park. However help is also run by a church or something... so take that however you will. Welcome to the cities. DM me if you got any questions.

[Creambetweens]

+1 for painter the community center had someone handing out free popcorn the few times I went. Used to live across the street next to that black block apartment blob before that was finished. Too bad we bounced before the park opened plenty of stuff to skate in uptown alleys and cool record/music spots

[apport]

plenty of stuff to skate in uptown alleys

i don't know if it's still there or skateable anymore but somebody built this small transition/bump behind the garage of this punk house on 31st and harriet, that was a fun little dinky spot to hit up when i lived in that neighborhood

[zapruder]

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plenty of stuff to skate in uptown alleys

[close]

i don't know if it's still there or skateable anymore but somebody built this small transition/bump behind the garage of this punk house on 31st and harriet, that was a fun little dinky spot to hit up when i lived in that neighborhood

too lazy to drive over there but google streetview confirms it's still there as of Oct '23