The best skate parks in NYC for kids

New York’s only
 indoor skate park offers 8,000-square-feet of industrial skate space, plus custom-built slopes, ramps and other features needed to practice your amateur extreme sports moves. 5050 also offers birthday party options and lessons in case mastering an Ollie or shredding a half pipe is your youngster's one true birthday wish! Monday, Wed–Fri 3–8pm, Sat 1–8pm,  Sun 11am–8pm. Helmet required. Day rates: $12–$20. All ages.

This popular 15,000-square-foot skate park features something for everyone: a five–foot Ollie Zone with a four-foot quarter, two-foot wedge and three-foot start box for the beginners, and an Intermediate Fun Box with a 24-foot ledge, kinked flat rail and 18-foot Ollie ledge. The skate park is unsupervised, and participants are encouraged to wear a helmet at all times—it's also only open to skateboards, in-line skates and roller skates, so you won't find bikes or scooters here. Daily 8am–dusk, weather permitting. Pier 61, Chelsea Piers. All ages.

McCarren Park has 35 acres of courts and fields, but did you know it's also home to a beloved city skate park as well? It was originally constructed in 2009, and it received a much-needed makeover in 2016 that included the addition of stairs, several rails, a hip, some hubbas and a smoother overall design. Daily, closes at dusk. Located behind McCarren Park Pool. All ages.

This park's main attractions include the Unisphere, the mammoth steel globe created for the 1964 World’s Fair, and the New York Hall of Science, Queens Museum, Arthur Ashe Stadium, Queens Botanical Garden and Citi Field. The rolling green fields also encompass a zoo, a mini golf course, a carousel, six playgrounds, a boating lake, a skate park, a barbecue area, playfields, and a $66 million aquatic and ice arena. Did we mention that it also has a skate park?! It's 16,000 square feet and was built over the Astral fountain. It offers pyramids, banks, ledges, stairs and rails. Daily, closes at dusk. All ages.

*Photograph: David Shankbone/Wikimedia Commons

Part of this skate park's appeal is that it's shaded by the Manhattan Bridge, which means you won't fry sitting out there while your kids skate around. Woohoo! It's also near the water, so you'll get some nice breeze. This particular spot is pefect for both intermediate and newbie skaters and offers plenty of smooth concrete and rails. The adjacent playground features animal art, spray showers and safety surfacing in case you'd like to stop over there too. Daily 8am–10pm. All ages.