House of Vans Toronto 2022

 House of Vans Toronto 2022

The Great Hall

VANS was back with HoV featuring bands, workshops, a community market and of course...A Skatepark.

My 500th skatepark.

Morning Bell Skateboards.  Thanks a bunch Juan!

Scored a rail on the way home.

BGC Kawarthas Skatepark

BGC Kawarthas Skatepark

Lindsay, ON

107 Lindsay St N off George St W

The Boys & Girls Club got a sweet outdoor, public concrete skatepark. I had to get there on a midnight mission to skate it before the snow. Park 499! 

Update - Now that it's spring, I went back for daytime photos and a real sesh. I started with a pretty bad faceplant. I'll be ok but I seriously considered leaving. I managed to push through and get some clips.

Took a spill on this curb.  Great feature. 

Caution, Slam Warning.

Hall of Meat

November Night Shots

Here's the story of the Midnight Mission. Rain & Snow were in the forecast and Houve of Vans was coming up in Toronto. I wanted HoV to be park #500 so I needed a 499 first. I knew this park was complete but wasn't sure if it was open to the public. On a Monday shift (Paramedic, 10:30-22:30) I found some clips from the previous days on social media of people riding the park, no fences.  So here's the plan! Finish the shift in Brampton at 10:30pm, jump in the car and take the toll highway the hour thirty drive straight to Lindsay.

Well, being a Paramedic is interesting.  We get called out as backup for a guy hit by a car. We get there and he needs a Trauma Centre. The trauma centre is basically halfway on my commute home. I jump on the other truck to render care to the patient and take off to the trauma centre. We get there and offload. How am I going to get back to my station? The truck I jumped on is from a different station and their end of shift is approaching as well. Just then, my partner and truck pull in. I hop in and she gets me back to base with 3 mins to spare.  The rest went to plan.  

This bowl could have been a lot better. It's really simple and (IMO) the transfer QP should have been extended to the other side of the bowl as well.  

Schomberg, ON

 Schomberg, ON

Osin Lions Park

Western Ave

A small but fun spot with banks, ledges, rails, QP Hubba and a big curb.

Strathroy

 Strathroy, ON

Strathroy now has 2 parks, one old, one new. Neither is stellar.

Strathroy All-wheels Park

334 Metcalfe St W

Strathroy Skatepark

223 Carrie St

Strathroy All-wheels Park

Strathroy All-wheels Park

334 Metcalfe Street W, Strathroy

Going over budget at $900000 and taking SIX months to complete, the Strathroy All-wheels Park is now open to some less than stellar reviews by the locals I spoke with.

Don't get me wrong, I had fun but the park rated a solid A on my skatepark rating scale (The EGAD Scale - Excellent, Good, Acceptable, Despicable) so not too high. There were elements from the concept that I wanted to try out; the bowl with its 3 features and the CRC Y rail & 'Old Skool' rail. 

That's the bowl I wanted to skate.

Another version of the concept.

The bowl didn't have any of the additional features.

Additionally, none of the transition had any reveal on the coping. Plus, this QP was supposed to be brick stamped and it's position was changed.

The Y rail was a lot of fun but the 'Old Skool' Rail was in a different location.

Up on this bank

This made it harder to hit. The concrete work here is questionable, lumpy and sometimes rough/sometimes slick.  There was already a hitching post rail in the park so the reason for this being here must have to do with the brick bank. Oh yeah, the brick bank was changed to the no-ping QP.

The Coaster. It was fun but the concrete was already wearing out at the pinnacle.

Pumptrack. No Complaints. I find them pretty boring. Make some table tops!

The bank is steep and the ledge is short & narrow.

This looks like a repair job on a decade old park.

Level as a sidewalk

Who needs space for multiple riders?

With all these issues I still tore this park up. Would I go back? Probably not. Would I recommend avoiding the park? No. Hit it if you're nearby or on a road trip.

If you are considering using this company you should definitely compare this to other modern skateparks.   

You can do that HERE