The DO (Clifton Banks)

This is arguably the most famous spot in Cincinnati.  This is where GSD invented the Boneless in the late 70's and remains a mainstay in local videos.

The spot is a series of asphalt banks connected by a sloping parking lot.  It feels like a skatepark made completely by accident.  The upper section has a large bank to ledge.  There is a hip, where the ledge forms a perfect wallie spot.  The lower section is a bank to curb, which is slippery and perfect for stalls and grinds. 

There is so much to do here that isn't captured in these photos, and I will continue to build this page.  There is a large shallow bank for bert slides, a manual bump, and a gap with large parking blocks. 

Generally I like to park in Burnet Woods and skate down.  This spot is in Clifton, near UC.  UC is essentially a giant bombing hill, and is fun to hit up after this.

LOCATION:  Clifton, Clifton Ave. behind UDF

Central Court Stairs

This is a really interesting spot with a lot of possibilities.

This is a set of terraced steps, with a set of shallow three stairs, and the other side a six stair.  There are railings for each set, with kinks on the bottom.  This spot has plenty of run up on each level, and is perfect for lines up and down stairs. 

One of my favorite features is the ledge that runs down the length of the three stairs.  It could use a good waxing before grinding, but you can easily ollie on and ride down it.

You can see in one of the shots there have been some badasses here wallriding down the large stair set.  This is especially impressive considering the cracks in the wall are easily large enough to catch a wheel (on the upper set).  There are also some cool planters that can serve as manual pads. 

This spot is close to 9th Street Crusty Curbs.

LOCATION:  Downtown, corner of 9th and Central.

9th Street Crusty Curbs

This is a micro spot, with some crusty curbs and a small gap.

As you can see there are some crusty blocks creating a small gap.  This place is well lit at night.  Some tricks I like to do here are nose picks over the bump, boneless to tail block on the square part, big upping the crusty part, and boneless 180 over the gap.

This is a good spot in between Garfield Place Ledges and Central Court Stairs.

LOCATION: Downtown, 9th Street between Plum and Elm Street.

Garfield Place Ledges

This is one of my favorite places to skate downtown; the scenery is great, smooth granite ledges, lots of flatground space.

This is a park in the center of downtown, which has smooth ledges that increase in size.  The small ones are great for practicing ollies or doing big ups on.  I learned boardslides on these ledges.  I find it fun to skate where there is a lot of activity, and this part of the city is bustling.  There are usually people walking on the sidewalks on the surrounding streets, but rarely in the park.

The tiled ground is smooth and with the scenery and setup is a perfect flatground spot.

The statue of President James Garfield is a high two stair.  The run up to the stairs is curvy, but makes for a very stylish trick.

I have been asked to leave by a Segway cop, but have been here many times where cops just drive by and don't mind.  I've employed the T-Rex defense successfully here; cops can't see you if you don't move.  So when a cop comes by, sit down on a ledge, they'll move on, and you can keep skating.

This spot also serves as a jet stream to quickly traverse the interior of the city.

LOCATION:  Downtown, the corner of Garfield Place and Vine Street. 

P&G Tower Banks

This is a classic spot, seen in Neil Blenders part in the 1990 G&S Video.

The parking lot is slightly sloped, and these banks wrap around the corner of this wall, making it possible to cruise around it and get a decent amount of speed.  I got a close up of the bank to show that it is a little crusty, and pretty steep.  Doing anything on these is a pretty gnarly accomplishment.  As you can see, the wall has been wall ridden, which we weren't able to land, but is definitely possible if you get a lot of speed and manage the crustiness.

There are also some smooth concrete ledges and a gap, good for grinds and boardslides.

One thing to notice is the "No skateboarding" sign.  I've never seen a single car in this lot, but I've been asked to leave this spot every single time I go.  Generally, you get about 15-20 minutes till someone in the tower sees you on video, throws on a jacket, and moseys down to begrudgingly give you the canned speech "Hey guys this is private property and they don't want you to skate here."  You can tell they do it a lot, so I usually just get there, get as much in as possible, and respectfully leave when they ask.

This spot is close to the Upper Eggleston Banks.

LOCATION: Downtown, corner of Culvert and New Street, near the P&G Towers.

Upper Eggleston Banks

The Upper Eggleston Banks are a major bank spot downtown.

These are wide banks covered by bridges.  The best features are the hip, and the manhole, which are great for ollie/boneless tricks and stalls.  There's also a block on top, which is good for stalls (you'll need a lot of speed) or drops.  The banks empty into a large open area, so you can even do some bank surfing.

If you go near the south end of these banks, there is a sidewalk that leads up to Columbia Parkway, and is a cool run up to a bank, which is fun to cruise or do big bank tricks on.  It does go blind out into the street, which although rarely has traffic, its still good to have a spotter.

One thing to mention is that these spots, especially in the winter time, generally will have homeless people sleeping there.  I've never had any issues with homeless people down there, but its just good to have a heads up to be respectful and aware.

This gem is close to P&G Tower Banks.

LOCATION:  Downtown, where Culver and Butler streets meet.  Near Eggleston Avenue and the P&G Towers.

US Bank Arena Banks

This is a cool set of banks under US Bank Arena.

This is a cool covered bank spot that empties into a wide sidewalk and a usually quiet road.  This spot is covered and I believe lit at night.  I would love to see someone bomb drop off the ledge or the stairs.  Bonus points if you wallie the column.

LOCATION: Downtown, Ohio Scenic River Byway, Under US Bank Arena.

Paul Brown Stadium Garage

This spot is quite a gem, considering its amenities relative to its ease of access.

 This spot is great because it is lit at night, dry during rain or snow, and fairly warm as it is out of the rain.  There is a ledge that transitions from curb height to double curb height, the higher side has been waxed up from other skaters.  There is also a large curb height manual pad.  Also note the garbage can; there are a lot of poles, garbage cans, pallets, and other objects to customize this spot.

There are also a slew of jersey barriers not pictured here.

I really like the manual pad surrounded by horizontal round bars.  This is a great place to get creative.  Hippie jumps, boneless hand plants, and even big ollies if you're a badass.  

To get to this spot, you want to skate along Pete Rose Way.  It opens up into a garage under the stadium.  You can go in this way and exit out the back of the stadium, where you can use a great cruise through Smale Riverfront Park as a jet stream to get to the eastern side of the city.

This gem is close to Plum Street Stairs and Acid Drop Challenge.

LOCATION:  Downtown, Pete Rose way, under Paul Brown Stadium.

Plum Street Stairs

The Plum Street Stairs are a good set of small stairs.

There are a lot of possibilities with the ledges next to the stairs.  The 4 stair in particular has a high ledge that is suitable for grinds and wall rides.  The 2 stair is great for practicing new tricks down stairs or doing tricks up stairs.

The spot is in a sloping parking lot at an office that appears to be empty.  It used to be the Dunn Humby offices.  There is a nice curb height manual pad, and in the distance, you can see a large curb which is fun to do stalls and grinds.

I would love to see someone hit the wallride off of the stairs.  Another trick would love to see would be boneless handplant on the two stair rail, to tail on the ledge then acid drop.

This spot is close to Paul Brown Stadium Garage and Acid Drop Challenge.

LOCATION: Downtown.  Corner of 3rd and Central, near the stadiums. 

Acid Drop Challenge

This is the Acid Drop Challenge, a microspot that's good for a few minutes of fun.

As you can see, there are 4 levels of ledges, each representing a level of badassery when Acid/Bomb dropped off. They range from around 3 feet tall at the smallest ledge to around 8 feet tall for the highest. Personally I'm only a Level 1 Acid Drop Badass (ADB), but Matthew (pictured) is a certified Level 2 ADB.

This spot is close to the Plum Street Stairs and Paul Brown Stadium spots. Also note the yellow plastic curbs; they are easy to grind and bump off of.

This gem is close to Paul Brown Stadium Garage and Plum Street Stairs.

LOCATION: Downtown.  Corner of 3rd and Central, near the stadiums. 

No parks yet!

No parks yet, but I have a lot on the way.