Mission Valley YMCA Krause Family Skatepark - Clairemont, California, U.S.A.

In need of a vacation? Why not take one to "Wally World"? That's right folks, Ol' Wally Holliday has done er' up proper this time. The bowl at this park is damn near perfect and will likely induce flashbacks in all you 70's/80's park veterans. The tile is blue, the coping is laid just right, and the lines are there for the taking. It's like the tamer sibling of the Orange Co. Combi-pool. Gnarly but not too gnarly. The square is approx. 7' just up to vert and the round is approx. 10' with maybe a 1' of vert. The rest of the park is huge, and consists of a vert ramp and the typical X-Bruce masonite street course. There is something here for everyone. Poolside sightings include, Neil Blender!!, Pineapple!, Adrian Demain!, &, o yeah, Andy McDonald (teaching some Boy Scouts?!). A generational melting pot. ... well it's a long way down the Holliday road... -Chris Kelley

OK, how do you say Fucking excellent! You say it by getting to this park to ride it's bowl immediately. It's a bowl of perfect proportions! Concrete, 10 feet deep end, tiles, pool coping, enough said. This is a bowl that everyone including top pros will shred to pieces. Sessions cost $10.00 for 3 hours and they are 2-5 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. on weekdays. You don't have to have a membership. Honestly it was hard to even look at the street course when this beauty was sitting in front of me. What I did notice is that it seems to go on forever. Ramp after ramp for at least a football fields worth. J. Greenwood

This park rules, and the pool is arguably the best skatepark pool in the universe. The vert ramp is a little boring under modern standards, but the rest of the wooden ramp section of this park provides unique obstacles, varying tranny heights, and varying street stuff for different skill levels. Chris Kelley gives a good description of the bowl, and the pictures above say it all. Pros - great concrete finish; great bowl design; pro skater training ground means good spectator sessions; very cool local vibe; no bikes allowed in the bowl; outhouse toilets have running water; and if you're lucky you can skate with me! Cons - in the winter, water seeps up through the cracks and drain in the bowl; no lights; pay to play; pads. -Mark T.