Otto Anderson had a bike helmet and a skateboard he picked up for $8 at the thrift store. Still, he was loving the new skate park in Columbia Falls, which opened earlier this month.

“If this had been here in middle school, I probably would have been here every day,” the Columbia Falls senior said.

As it was, this was his third day ever skateboarding. But the avid skier was catching on quickly.

Ditto for River Wolford.

“It’s sick,” Wolford said of the new park. “They should have done it 10 years ago.”

For veteran skater Jade Demarais, it’s another excellent offering by Dreamland Skate Parks, the contractor that built the park, he said. Demarais grew up in Browning and has lived in Whitefish a couple of decades. He’s been skating for 34 years and figures he has hit just about every park in Montana.

He was duly impressed by the park.

“It’s top notch. Dream knows what they’re doing,” he said.

The park was made possible by the city of Columbia Falls, Bad Rock Skate Park Association, which is a local group of boarders and their families, and a $330,000 grant through the Land, Water and Conservation Fund. The Skate Park Association raised about $400,000 for the project, which it had been working on for years.

The new park is located in the southwest corner of Fenholt Park, tucked along the hillside.

Demarais said what makes this park cool is the variety of terrain, from ramps for beginners to a 10-foot deep plus bowl made to mimic an in-ground swimming pool.

A grand opening celebration was held at the park, which is free and open to the public, on April 26.

    A skateboarder gives the new skate park in Columbia Falls a whirl. (Chris Peterson/Hungry Horse News)