Big Rollout: Crowds pack Riverside Bowl Skatepark in Camas for reopening celebration

Crowds packed inside the newly remodeled Riverside Bowl Skatepark in Camas on Thursday, July 27, to get the first look at the park’s newly remodeled skate elements, see the unveiling of the park’s mural artwork and enjoy music and refreshments courtesy of the city of Camas.

Camas Mayor Steve Hogan said the park remodel has been a long time coming.

The park has been a part of Camas’ city parks for 23 years, Hogan said, and had gone through a long “dry spell.”

“Some local people … have done a lot of work to get this where it is,” Hogan said, before introducing Tim Laidlaw, a Washougal skateboarder who kicked off efforts to revamp the aging skatepark in 2017, and the park’s mural artist, Kevin Seagraves, also a Washougal skateboarder.

Laidlaw also spoke at the park’s grand reopening Thursday, and said he was “the crusty, old kook who rallied skaters to clean up the park in 2017, and presented (plans for a remodel) to the city council in 2018.”

“We asked the city to improve the skatepark, and they answered the call,” Laidlaw told the crowds gathered at the park reopening.

Laidlaw credited several individuals and organizations with seeing the skatepark’s remodel through to the end, including Camas Parks and Recreation, the Camas Parks Foundation, the Camas-based Lewallen Architecture, skatepark designer Joey Martin, Lewallen Architecture Project Manager Jackson Toole, photographer Tanya Wright, the Camas Ivy League and the Rotary Club of Camas-Washougal.

“Riverside Bowl has always been about involvement,” Laidlaw said. “If you haven’t been involved, get involved.”

Camas city officials approved a 350,403 bid from Lee Contractors of Battle Ground to remodel the skatepark in December, and construction kicked off in the spring.

The updated skatepark is meant to be accessible for skateboarders, BMXers, scooter-riders, rollerbladers and roller skaters of all levels. The new renovations feature a new bowl, a pyramid-shaped riding element, new rails and ramps, and Seagraves’ murals along several of the park’s cement walls.

The park is located at 2900 N.E. Third Ave., in Camas.