OB Nelson Park Skatepark (aka Fairfield Skatepark)

Fairfield Skatepark

The Fairfield skatepark, officially known as OB Nelson Park Skatepark is a 4,000 square-foot outdoor concrete skatepark in Fairfield, Iowa that first opened in 2014.

While small as skateparks go, the park makes great use of the space, including a large Y-shaped multi-level waterfall bowl with an extra-high tombstone extension on one end of the bowl, and a moderately sized street section.

OB Nelson Park Skatepark is designed for both beginner and veteran skaters looking for a large bowl and some street terrain to practice board slides, grinds, and freestyle skating.

Skatepark Details

LocationFairfield, Iowa
Address202 W Fillmore Ave. Fairfield, Iowa 52556
Coordinates40.99439, -91.96612
FeaturesLarge Y-shaped waterfall bowl with an extra high tombstone extension, handrails, ledges, stairs, and a curved manual pad.
Size4,000 Square Feet
Riding AllowedSkateboards, BMX bikes, in-line skates, and scooters.
ConstructionConcrete
HoursDawn til Dusk
LightsNo
FenceNo
FeeNo cost
Phone(641) 472-6159
Opened2014
Design/BuildSpohn Ranch Skateparks

Fairfield Skatepark Overview

The OB Nelson Skatepark is located in the city of Fairfield, Iowa which is located about a two-hour drive southeast of Des Moines and a one-hour drive directly south of Iowa City.

Fairfield Skatepark
Images courtesy of Spohn Ranch Skateparks

The skatepark is a little on the smaller side, however, many skaters from Fairfield and the surrounding communities have been coming to the Fairfield Skatepark since it opened in 2014.

Fairfield Skatepark

One of the main attractions of the OB Nelson Skatepark is the extra-large Y-shaped multi-level bowl with a waterfall flow feature and a tombstone vert extension. Many veteran skaters love this bowl and the photo opportunities that the tombstone extension can offer.

Fairfield Skatepark

The street plaza consists of a few different grind rails, ledges, stairs, and a unique curved manual pad. The curved manual pad offers a place for skaters to practice their technical skills by ollying up into a nose manual and riding it out while at the same time leaning into the curve to round it out before kick-flipping off of the pad. 

The rails are all of a comfortable height for most skaters regardless of skill level and age. Some younger skaters may have a little trouble, however, with enough practice, those rails will become easy in no time. 

Fairfield Skatepark

The Fairfield skatepark was built in 2014 after a one-time anonymous dotation was made to the city to construct the park.

Once the city received the funding, the Spohn Ranch design team was called in to look at the space and design a skatepark that had depth and worked within the budget that City put forward. The result was the state of the art 4,000 square foot OB Nelson Park Skatepark. 

The skatepark is part of the much larger OB Nelson Park that offers many different amenities for the citizens of Fairfield and the surrounding communities.

The OB Nelson Park contains a bandstand, baseball and softball fields, a dog park, grills, picnic tables, a playground, public restrooms, and some pavilions that can be reserved. There are also some sand volleyball courts. The OB Nelson Park offers something for everyone in the family to enjoy for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon of outdoor entertainment.

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *