The skateboarding season is officially started and to highlight this moment we’ve all been waiting for, we decided to review one of the best, well built and most diversified new skateparks in the area: the Honoré-Mercier skatepark.
Designed by a crew of experimented consultants including Empire team member Charles Deschamps and built by the talented crew at Papillon Skateparks, the Mercier skatepark is nothing short of amazing! To shake the dust off after a long Winter, to learn new tricks on all types of obstacles or to practice on a very progression oriented course, this one is truly one of the best we’ve seen.
Berfore getting into the details, remember that if you haven’t skated the new Mercier park yet, you are missing out on one of the best skateboarding facilities that were built around Montreal ever. Don’t get caught lacking, grab that board, jump in the car or the bus and prepare for one the best sessions you’ll ever have.
HOW TO GET THERE
Located between the Hochelaga Maisonneuve and Pointe-aux-Trembles districts, the Honoré Mercier skatepark is easily accessible by car and public transport. For those by car, the skatepark is located near Notre-Dame Street and very close to Highway 25. There is parking available all around the park so no need to worry about finding a spot.
For those who prefer public transportation, the skatepark is a 20 minutes walk from Metro Honoré beaugrand. To avoid the walk, hop on bus #28 at the metro station and you’ll be at the park in 6 minutes.
THE STREET SECTION
Just by looking at the pictures of the park, it’s easy to tell that it was designed and built with street skating in mind. From unique rainbow shaped obstacles to your classic down rails and flat ledges, the park has everything to make street skaters happy. The ground is smooth as can be and the street obstacles are perfectly placed so you can hit them in a row.
Both ends of the park feature a down rail and down/flat ledges. One of them going down a bank with a flat part on top and at the other end, a bigger one going down stairs. The second down rail has a pole jam on it allowing skaters to get on it without ollieing. On one side of the rail you’ll find a flat ledge and on the other side, a down ledge.
In the middle of the park you’ll find all types of street obstacles, from funky to regular ones. On the north side of the park, you have your classic tech section with a manual pad, ledge and flat bar. As you move to the the other side of the park, obstacles keep on getting more original. In the middle of the park lies the main pyramid equipped with hips, ledges and steep banks all around it.
On the North side of the park, you’ll find a bank to ledge that has wallrides and steep banks on both sides. The bank to ledge is followed by a slanted A-frame featuring a ledge and a pole jam. Last but not least, the speed bump with rainbow rail and slappy. This one will for sure please the creative ones out there. In fact, the whole park will!
THE TRANSITION SECTION
As mentioned earlier, the park is very street oriented, but still, there’s enough transitions in there to please you if you like that type of skating.
On one side of the park, you’ll find a wide a medium sized quarter pipe that’s great to get speed and to do long grinds or slides. The quarter pipe is also equipped with a big extension. If you like to go even faster and even blast airs, the extension is perfect as it is steep enough to get you there.
On the other side of the park, a small quarter pipe that turns into a hit. Ideal to practice your transition hip tricks or to get back towards the middle of the park with speed. On the other side of the flat/down rail, you’ll find medium sized quarter pipe with a high bank at its end. The bank is super good as it’s perfect to do trick in or just drop in to enter the park with speed. Blasting airs from the quarter pipe to the bank is also really fun.
THE FLOW
Nothing bad to say about the Honoré Mercier Skatepark’s flow. As mentioned before, the ground is extremely smooth, making the flow even more flowy! The obstacles are placed in a linear way, helping skaters to avoid collisions. The transitions on both sides of the park are perfect to keep cruising through the park without pushing too much and the obstacles angles are smooth and low impact. Unless there’s a hundred people skating at the same time, you won’t ever feel stuck at the Honoré Mercier park.
