AFTER TOO many years the dream of many local skateboarders has come true—finally! As Metro first wrote about a couple of weeks ago, San Jose now has its own skatepark, and it finally opens this Saturday, April 26. Located in Lake Cunningham Regional Park, this concrete jungle has more than any skater could ask for in one location. The largest such park in Northern California offers 67,000 square feet of terrain where you can find the largest fullpipe, vert wall and cradle this side of the Mississippi. Wormhoudt Incorporated, who designed this monstrous park, has been developing and building parks since 1976 and has been responsible for many parks in the Bay Area such as Menlo Park and Redwood City, as well as Scotts Valley and as far away as Tel Aviv, Israel. Close attention has gone into every detail: pools have real pool coping and the feel of pool title in the vert section under it. The buzz has gotten intense; according to park manager Viet Nguyen, "People have been calling to find out when the park opens to organize their vacation around it." But remember to pack your knee and elbow pads along with your helmet when you decide to make it out—per park rules, they're an absolute must in order to ride.

SKATEPARK GRAND OPENING happens Saturday, April 26, at 10am. Free. Lake Cunningham Regional Skate Park, 2305 S. White Road, San Jose; 408.531.9221. For more info and park hours visit [ http://www.sjparks.org/ ]www.sjparks.org.

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