Sixth Avenue Skatepark - Nashville, TN

Sixth Avenue Skatepark - Nashville, TN

I've been looking forward to skating this skatepark for a while. Here we go!



I like the whole idea of this place. Sixth Avenue Skatepark is obviously located on 5th Ave in Nashville, TN. I went over today and for a quick skate session. The skatepark is funded by a Christian organization. Everyone is welcome and they don't push the religious aspect at you. There is a nice skate shop there with a good selection of decks and good deals on shoes. The people that work there seem very nice, knowledgable and supportive. They're out to give a positive place for kids to skate without worrying about bad influences, and negative opportunities that might lead kids in the wrong direction. The average age of skaters there is younger. As this old guy skated through, they were pretty cool to me. You have to wear a helmet. The cost is $8 to $12 for the day. Bring a lock. They have free lockers. The park looks great, so lets get to it.

- The Mini Half -

The first thing I did was jump into the mini half. It's wide, it's 4-ish feet high and it looks great. From the first time I checked out this skatepark years ago, before I even skated again, I wanted to ride this halfpipe. Needless to say, I was excited. Unfortunately that quickly went away. I have heard from skaters in Nashville about this half. I always hear the same thing. It's slippery to the point of not very fun to ride. I didn't want that to taint my experience, so I found out for myself. While pumping back and forth, I did three kick turns and then my board just slid out from under me like I was on ice. I didn't want to give in. After the third time I slammed, I got back up and thought, "Hey, I don't think I suck this bad at skating, but maybe this is just me getting used to skating a half again." I got back in the half and same thing happened right away. I had to figure out what was going on. It took me a second but the issue was simple. Dust. You can't see it in the picture, but there is so much dust on this half, and in this park, that in a matter of seconds it builds up on your wheels and then every thing feels like ice as soon as your wheels hit smooth wood. I cleaned off one wheel and took a pic so you can see the difference. To have any grip at all, you have to wipe down your wheels after every run and hope for the best. I got told it's few and far between anyone rides this half, now I know why.

- The Street Section -

Ok, Enough of me bitching about the half, lets talk about the street section. There are quarters, a hip, banks, decks, quarters on decks, rails, multiple sets of stairs, coping, a launch ramp, fun boxes all in a good size area. Some of the ramps felt a bit sketchy, but most were cool. I was sketched but I had some fun. The kids around me were talented and doing some cool stuff. If you follow this place on Instagram "sixavenashville" you'll see some great post of the local skaters. They do have an outdoor section, but honestly, it wasn't much to talk about.

My three take aways on the Sixth Avenue SkatePark. 1. It currently has the best skate shop in Nashville, TN. 2. Be prepared for your board to disappear out from under you at anytime for no apparent reason. 3. A couple of the younger kids here can give the older guys at the other local parks a run for their money.

Have you been to this skatepark? What do you think?