#snake run

Amazon Park, Eugene, Oregon

Eugene is probably best known for WJ Skatepark, the relatively new bridge park, but there’s a lot of fun to be had at Amazon Park just across town.

This park is an old-school ditch/snake run style park, winding gently down to a mellow dish of a deep end with a fun little extension. The mellow transitions and hips work really well, and the extension wall is just big enough to make for an interesting session.

Salem, OR

When I saw pictures of Salem’s skatepark online, I made sure to add it to my list of parks to check out. It’s not too often I get to skate one of these old-school snake run style parks, and the ones I have hit have been really fun to cruise around in.

I was a little disappointed in this park when I saw it in person. I may be getting a little spoiled by all of the amazing concrete work here in the PNW, but Salem’s builders seem to have been inexperienced in either concrete work, skatepark design, or both.

The transitions here are really all over the place. Most of the walls are mellow, almost like riding banks, but some of the walls are steep with super tight transitions. The unpredictable and generally weird walls here make it pretty difficult to keep speed and get a real line, which is really the main reason to have a snake run. In spite of that, there is still fun to be had here---as long as you’re willing to tolerate a little sketchiness.

There’s also a more modern addition to the park, featuring a pretty straightforward pyramid, ledges, a flatbar, and four small quarter pipes. Its a nice open layout, with easy to skate staple obstacles, so it makes for a good warm-up or mellow session.