The Trinidad Skatepark is in
Need of Major Repair
This is a long read, grab a cup of cocoa and snuggle up! it's about to get dramatic! just kidding, I will leave out all the dumb drama with City staff - the point here is the skatepark is dangerous, the city has acknowledged they know this and here we are in 2025 still trying to get them to fix the skatepark!
Bringing awareness to the dangerous conditions of the skatepark...since 2023.
In 2023, we moved to Trinidad from Arvada, CO - where access to skateparks was greatly supported. In fact, you could definitely say we were spoiled - being in the Denver Metro area is an ideal situation for any skateboarder to have such access to a variety of skateparks!
We decided to move to Trinidad in early 2023 and chose Trinidad because of the beauty & affordability of Southern Colorado and an existing local Grindline Skatepark. We were stoked to have the Grindline gem as our home park just a 5 minute drive from our new house. We were officially in Trinidad in April 2023 - After skating the park almost every day the first month of being in Trinidad, the honeymoon eyes started fading as we realized the skatepark was in bad shape. Although it was 20 years old at the time, it was obvious the skatepark had not been maintained and obviously neglected - there was trash everywhere and a lot of bad graffiti. In reality, the skatepark is in a dangerous condition from the lack of maintenance and upkeep by the city and community. After meeting and skating with the locals, it was confirmed the city neglected the park and allowed it to become a "partyhole" for kids.
We took things into our own hands and began cleaning the park and covering up the graffiti. The locals were grateful for the most part, however, after sharing the clean-up efforts in the local Facebook group, the city staff called us in for a meeting in May 2023. We were told to stop all maintenance being conducted at the skatepark. The city began showing interest in renovating the park and even adding new beginner features and called a group meeting led by the then Communication Coordinator. The sheriff, city manager, director of outdoor recreation, etc were all in attendance. Response to the issues (dangerous conditions, repairs needed and lack of maintenance) and possible solutions were mixed among the group. Some showed enthusiasm and others were not "present" during the meeting, one being the Director of Outdoor Recreation - which was confusing because it seems they would be excited to have community support for such a large project that was obviously long overdue.
We met at the skatepark with the City Manager at the time and the Communications Coordinator and other members of the community, including local skaters. However everything discussed at the meeting still has not been done.
Through the course of 2023 and 2024 - the city has managed to play a game of hot potato with the skatepark project - from the Director of Outdoor Recreation to the City Landscaper and now in 2025 supposedly with the Engineering Department.
Grindline Skateparks came to Trinidad in December 2023 and conducted an assessment of the current state of the skatepark - the city paid for their rep to come to town and paid for an assessment to be written up. An RFP was posted for professionals to submit bids in February 2024. After the city tried to accept a bid for 40% of the budget by an unqualified contractor, the skaters protested. That contractor withdrew his bid under the premise "We are in over our heads". The skaters demanced a renovation of the park to ensure use for another 10-15 years. We were told someone got "their feelings hurt" and that is why the project stalled. The city's Landscaper told our group that her expertise is flowers and plants...so why she was ever in charge of the project makes no sense. She stated she was doing research and her research confirmed the contractor who rescinded their own bid for "being in over their head" confirmed they were qualified and that she was "waiting for the flower season to be done" to move forward with the project. SO we lost another season of skateboarding so she could water the plants - these were her own words.
So needless to say, we remain frustrated over how the city continues to handle the park. Nobody with the city has any information. Their response is "I don't know".
