By Zoomer

Longboarding is alive and well in the Northwest...

Skate Parks:

Almost every city in the area has a public skate park, most are relatively new and in great condition. For longboards, Burien rocks. Auburn and Renton are also near by. I particularly like the snake run into the 2 bowls at Burien.

Check out the parks @:
http://www.concretedisciples.com/cd_skate/washington.html

Pumping / Flat land:

I really enjoy skating cross-country and there are plenty of places to do that. My favorite is Green Lake in Seattle. It has a smooth paved surface with slight elevation changes. It\'s 2.7 mile circumference and will always bring me back to where I started and in the summer there is lots of bronze skin and cinnamon tans.

Alki Beach provides a wonderful glide and stunning views of Seattle, the mountains, ferries and deliciously hard bodies. Most of the surface is new and the out and back is quite fun. There are plenty of places to eat along the route. If you like fish and chips try \"Sunfish\" on Alki you will be pleasantly surprised.

The Burke Gilman Trail 26 miles long staring in Marymoor Park in Redmond and ending at Gas Works Park in Seattle. From Bothell to the University of Washington the surface in great and the bus route nearly follows the trail, so if one needs to return a bus is near by.

For touring on your board one might want to try a leisurely cruise along Seattle\'s waterfront, just down the stairs from the Pike Place Market, there is always plenty to do and see.

The Seattle area is filled with many more bike trails, one can, can get a map from a local bike shops.

Carving/ Hills

Seattle has no lack of hills. Anywhere you go you can find a hill to skate, Unfortunately the surface of most streets in Seattle is like dodging land mines. Just ask the competitors of the 2001 Red Bull Downhill.

The East Side (East of lake Washington) offers many great carving opportunities. The neighborhoods are newer and have great surfaces. I enjoy skating neighborhoods in the Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Woodinville area, Union hill, Novelty hill, English hill or just about any neighborhood off of Avondale road offers newer pavement with less traffic. It is also fun to drop a knee in front of the many homes worth 7 figures in this area. A little further out is the Issaquah Plateau and all the neighborhoods off East Lake Sammamish Parkway. Pick any hill, there are more than one can skate in a lifetime.

If you are from out of town and want to check out some of the sights, a half-hour from Seattle is Snoqualmie Falls, Salish Lodge and the town of Snoqualmie. A new section of Highway 18 connects I-90 and Snoqualmie. It is a divided highway with new asphalt and a wonderful pitch. There is a major development going in over the next decade and a lot of new asphalt the main road has been laid but there is still relatively little traffic. Skate north from the Police station down to Snoqualmie, note I did say police station, be cool.

Events:

Red bull downhill

Shops:

As of writing there are only three shops that really cater to longboarders. There are a lot of other shops but they just dabble in longboards.

Gravity Sports (425) 255-1874
The oldest skate shop in town. Located in Renton near the Renton Skate Park

Snowboard Connection (206) 467-8545
Located downtown Seattle across from the ferry terminal

Greggs Greenlake Cycle (206) 523-1822
Located at Greenlake in Seattle

Stressed (206)972-3783. Ask for Michelle. The e-mail contact is This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Maker of Custom wood longboards which are as beautiful as any available.

Lib technologies
Makers of High tech snowboards/ skateboards and a nice longboard.

UPDATE:
Aubrey Seffernick emailed to say that:
Alki bike and board has a good selection of boards.

Here\'s a link to an article on about.com about longboarding in Seattle (Edmonds).