First longboard track opens

Photo: Contributed - William Chung

The dirt longboard track in Kamloops opened today.

A first-of-its-kind longboarding park opened in Kamloops Saturday during a Slide Jam held by the Kamloops Longboarding Club.

This off-road facility features over 350m of track, including both an intermediate and an expert run. Users can start at any point along the hill to vary the difficulty level.

Additional amenities will include a grassy area, covered picnic table, pit toilet, drinking fountain, benches, trees, and waste receptacles.

The City of Kamloops conducted a public open house for West Highlands Park in 2012, during which local longboarders voiced their desire for a track in the new park.

The City researched this possibility and concluded that the location above Pacific Way Elementary school was a better fit and committed to building the track. This location was already owned by the City and takes advantage of the topography, isolated location, paved parking lots and nearby transit stops. 

Members of the Kamloops Longboarding Club were directly involved in the design and layout of both longboard tracks.

"After working closely with the local longboarding club over the past several months, we are excited to be the first municipality to provide an off-road longboarding track for riders to practise their skills in an automobile-free environment," commented Michael Doll, Parks Planning and Sustainability Supervisor for the City of Kamloops.