Nebraska’s largest skate park opens in Lincoln

Skaters rolled into the new nearly 10-acre South Haymarket Park Tuesday for the soft launch of Canopy Yard, the state’s largest skate park.

The 25,000-square-foot skate park is part of the city’s larger project for the South Haymarket Park, which will feature a dog park, a playground and an interactive water feature. The rest of the park is expected to open at the end of 2026.

The park is now open seven days a week from sunset to sunrise with exceptions for construction.

“Our goal with this soft launch, though, is to really provide the access we know you've been waiting for to this incredible amenity, while ensuring that everyone can be safe next to this active construction zone until that's completed,” Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird said.

Gaylor Baird said the new park will attract skaters from across the city and the region.

“The Canopy Yard skate park represents the kind of thoughtful, active public space that drives the growth of our community members, economic opportunity, quality of life and just plain fun,” Gaylor Baird said.

Spohn Ranch out of California designed park, which features a variety of quarter pipes and transitions, a clover bowl and a full plaza with rails.

Phil Burcher, president of the Lincoln Skatepark Association, said the new park will change the way Lincolnites think about skateboarding.

“We've got two neighborhood parks that have been small and not anything like what the city really needs, and now we're getting this regional skate park, which is the biggest skate park between Denver and Des Moines,” Burcher said.

The Lincoln Skatepark Association raised $30,000 to support the new park directly from community members.