The United States is home to some of the biggest, best, and most iconic skateparks in the world. Until the last few years, Iowa wasn’t well-known for its skateparks despite the healthy skateboarding community. That is, until Lauridsen Skatepark opened. So, what is Lauridsen Skatepark?
Lauridsen Skatepark is an 88,000-square-foot park that opened in Des Moines, Iowa in 2021. The skatepark features three bowls including a large flow bowl and steep amoeba bowl as well as many rails, ledges, banks, and quarter pipes. Lauridsen Skatepark is made of 6” deep concrete compared to the 4” deep concrete that most skateparks are made of.
While you aren’t required to wear a helmet, it’s important to wear protective gear at Lauridsen Skatepark. There are beginner-friendly obstacles at Lauridsen Skatepark, particularly on the street course, but the transition elements are for experienced skaters. Follow along as we dive deep into Lauridsen Skatepark and explore what the biggest public skatepark in the U.S. has to offer.
Quick Skatepark Details
| Address | 901 2nd Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50309 |
| Location | Des Moines, Iowa |
| Park Hours | 6:00 am – 10:30 pm |
| Park Lights | Yes |
| Admission Fees | Free |
| Park Supervised | No |
| Phone | 515-323-5300 (report damage and violations number) |
| Park Opened | May 7th, 2021 |
| Skatepark Builder | The Skatepark Cabinet + California Skateparks |
| Helmets & Safety Gear | Recommended – not required |
| Riding Devices Allowed | Skateboard, Rollerblades, Skates, BMX, Scooter |
| Riding Devices Not Allowed | Motorized Equipment/Vehicles, Metal Pegs |
| Skatepark Material | Concrete, Metal Rails, Metal Coping |
| Size | More than 88,000 Sq. Ft. |
| Skatepark Website Information | https://dsmskatepark.com/ |
Where Is Lauridsen Skatepark?
Lauridsen Skatepark is an 88,000-square-foot skatepark in downtown Des Moines, Iowa located 901 2nd Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50309. You can find Lauridsen Skatepark near the Wells Fargo Arena and Principal Riverwalk. Not only is it the biggest skatepark in Iowa, but it’s the biggest public skatepark in the country by a long shot.
Lauridsen Skatepark Address: 901 2nd Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50309
What Are The Park Hours at Lauridsen Skatepark?
Lauridsen Skatepark is open every day from 6:00 AM to 10:30 PM. The lights at the skatepark are on in the morning and at night until it closes at 10:30 PM. Lauridsen Skatepark is open year-round (including holidays).
In some cases, Lauridsen Skatepark is closed to the public if there is a contest or special event. However, guests are typically allowed at contests, but the park may operate under special hours.
Do You Have to Pay to Skate at Lauridsen Skatepark?
You don’t have to pay to skate at Lauridsen Skatepark as it’s a free park. Lauridsen Skatepark accepts donations, however, and they go toward maintaining the park. The only time that you must pay to enter Lauridsen Skatepark is if there is a special event, but not all events require entrance fees.
How Do You Get to the Skatepark?
Skaters and BMX riders can get to Lauridsen Skatepark by following the long walking path leading to the park from 2nd Ave. Unfortunately, there is no official parking lot for Lauridsen Skatepark. However, you can typically find plenty of street parking spots on West River Drive which is just under the bridge John MacVicar Fwy bridge.
There is a dead end (cul-de-sac) just by the skatepark and the road offers some street parking. If you plan to visit Des Moines to go skating then you could just stay at a hotel across the street from the skatepark, you can choose:
Lauridsen Skatepark Rundown
@regularjo Didn’t have a board with me that day 😩😭😞 #skateboarding #skatepark #iowa #lauridsenskatepark #desmoines ♬ Show Me How (Album V) – Men I Trust
There are countless street and transition obstacles for skaters and BMX riders at Lauridsen Skatepark. Lauridsen Skatepark has a steep amoeba bowl, a pool-style bowl, and a flow bowl for transition riders. With that said, the elaborate street course is what the skatepark is best known for.
The street course section features banks, quarter pipes, rails, and stairs. You can also find a beautiful art piece that you can shred without worrying about getting in trouble. This helps facilitate an authentic street skating experience.
You can see the full skatepark breakdown of all features here on their website.
What Material Is the Skatepark?
Like many of the best skateparks, Lauridsen Skatepark is made of smooth concrete. Not only is Lauridsen Skatepark made of concrete, but the concrete is much thicker than the average skatepark. For example, skateparks feature 4” thick concrete, but Lauridsen boasts 6” deep concrete.
How Busy Does It Get?
Lauridsen Skatepark gets quite busy because of how well-populated the surrounding area is. Des Moines, Iowa is home to over 212,000 residents. However, skaters and extreme sports enthusiasts from all over Iowa and the surrounding states travel to Lauridsen Skatepark, so the park is often full of people.
Lauridsen Skatepark also hosts big events, and that’s when it gets the most crowded. Incredible skateboarding competitions, like The Dew Tour, have been held at Lauridsen Skatepark and drew hundreds of onlookers.
Here is a video below of the full Dew Tour 2022 at Lauridsen Skate Park, you can watch or skip through the video to see the park and how busy it was during the tour:
Also the 2021 Olympic qualifier event was held at Lauridsen Skatepark too, which is a huge event!
Is Lauridsen Skatepark Beginner Friendly?
Lauridsen Skatepark is beginner-friendly, but many of the obstacles are meant for experienced skaters and BMX riders. For example, the snake run, amoeba bowl, and flow bowl are somewhat extreme for beginners. Besides the rails and stairs, the street course at Lauridsen Skatepark is great for beginners because there is plenty of flat ground.
Are Helmets Required at Lauridsen Skatepark?
Helmets aren’t required at Lauridsen Skatepark, but they are recommended. Lauridsen Skatepark also recommends that you wear knee and elbow pads to cushion your blow. It’s wise to wear protective gear at Lauridsen Skatepark as there are many challenging street skating and transition obstacles, and everything is made of concrete.
Do They Have Lights at the Skatepark?
Lauridsen Skatepark is well-lit and features lights throughout the whole park that keep it bright at night. The lights stay on until the 10:30 PM closing time. After that, the closing curfew is strictly enforced by local authorities.
Do They Have Rental Equipment?
Unfortunately, you cannot rent equipment like skateboards, helmets, and pads from Lauridsen Skatepark. You are required to bring a board, bike, scooter, and protective gear to Lauridsen Skatepark.
Can You Ride BMX at Lauridsen Skatepark?
You can ride BMX at Lauridsen Skatepark, and skaters often share the same obstacles with bike riders. The flow bowl is the best obstacle for BMX bikes at Lauridsen Skatepark. You can also shred the street course with a BMX bike.
Can You Ride a Scooter at Lauridsen Skatepark?
You can ride a scooter at Lauridsen Skatepark, and it’s quite common. I don’t recommend riding the bowls with a scooter, but the street course is perfect for scooters.
Can You Ride Rollerblades at Lauridsen Skatepark?
Lauridsen Skatepark welcomes rollerbladers. Many of the obstacles at the park, such as the hips, banks, stairs, bowls, and rails are perfect for rollerblades.
Can You Ride a Longboard at Lauridsen Skatepark?
You can ride a longboard at Lauridsen Skatepark, but most of the obstacles at the park aren’t ideal for longboards. It’s difficult to perform flip tricks and grinds on a longboard so that limits what you can do at the park. Longboards aren’t conducive to ramps and bowls either, but they work well with the flat-ground sections at Lauridsen Skatepark.
Is There Wi-Fi at the Park?
Lauridsen Skatepark doesn’t currently have Wi-Fi on site. Hopefully, you have enough cellular data to use your phone in case you need to use the Internet or certain apps while you are there.
Is there a Public Bathroom at the Park?
Yes, on the south end of the skatepark you will find a public bathroom you can use when you need to go. This is ideal as a lot of older skateparks have no bathrooms and make it difficult when you need to go.
Having one right by the park was a great addition making this park even better and a more comfortable experience.
The worst part about public restrooms is that people destroy them regularly, which is sad, and this is common at the Lauridsen Skatepark restroom.
Who Built Lauridsen Skatepark?
California Skateparks built Lauridsen Skatepark along with the Skatepark cabinet. California Skateparks is a prestigious skatepark construction company that has built amazing skateparks all over the country, such as Whittier Skatepark, Sidewinder Skatepark, and Stoner Skate Plaza. They even built iconic professional skateboarder Nyjah Huston’s private skatepark.
The History of Lauridsen Skatepark
Lauridsen Skatepark’s history dates to 2004 when local community members told the Mid-Iowa Organizing Strategy Committee that the area had no skateparks. After years of trying, Des Moines eventually got $500,000 to put towards a skatepark in 2015.
The name of the park comes from its biggest benefactors: Virginia and Nix Lauridsen. Their family foundation contributed $1 million which helped fund the majority of the skatepark’s construction. This large donation in 2018 led to the construction of what became known as Lauridsen Skatepark.
Lauridsen Skatepark finally opened in 2021 and quickly became populated with local skaters. Professional skaters have also appeared at Lauridsen Skatepark as the park has hosted The Dew Tour. Lauridsen Skatepark is widely considered the best skatepark in Iowa since it opened.
Here is a great video about the story behind the Lauridsen Skatepark you need to watch:
Nick Durante is a professional writer that primarily focused on action sports. Skateboarding and Longboarding are his particular areas of expertise. When he isn’t writing about action sports, he is catching up on the world of skateboarding and spending time outside.