Wakefield Skate Park

This place is great. On a cold snowy day the pool or gym is nice. When it’s hot out, the bike trails and tennis courts are even better.

This is a fantastic little skatepark! Plus, it’s now FREE! The county keeps it in great condition and even added a street section to go with the vert stuff. They also have classes as well as skate camps here, so be sure to check the online calendar.
No, this is not a park for a very experienced skater, but it will give any fair-​to-​decent skater a challenge and more. I’ve been taking my 10 year old son here for a couple years and it is perfect for him.

Summary: more of the same for the DC area. We need a good sized, creative park that doesn’t let down those who value good transition.
Older Transition Section:
This park isn’t technically pre-​fabricated or modular, but it has the same crappy aesthetic and feel. American Ramp Company, a 90’s and early 2000’s pre-​fab company, built this awkward setup. They were notorious for all-​metal construction but fortunately this park is wood-​framed with a Skatelite surface. Unfortunately, it has no truly redeeming features. While the overall square footage is fairly large, the ramps are a disappointment. The proportions, both in individual ramps and in placement relative to each other, are all wrong. Take for example: eight foot high quarterpipes too under-​vertical to be true vert quarters but too steep to be anything else. Sub boxes too small and too far back to be of much use. A box jump with tight transition, awkwardly long deck, and a broad curve into a short wedge landing. All the ramps have a sharp kink at the base where the sheet metal «toe» touches the ground at too steep of an angle. To top it off, the weak supporting frames flex, which causes the Skatelite surface to buckle and crack. Any new sheets one may observe are temporary cosmetic improvements that soon suffer the same fate. Exposed screw heads poke out the side of most of the ledges, so bike riders who grind should beware of tearing their tire sidewalls.
Mini Ramp:
Professional ramp builder Mike Mapp (of Cedar Crest & Ramptech fame) built a mini ramp in recent years. With an eight foot tranny and height of six feet, solid framing, and clean coping/​Skatelite work, this ramp would have been great had they not limited his working space to 16 feet. At that narrow width, this ramp is a tease. People who like mini ramps will wish it had carving, grinding, and manualling room. Limited as it is, though, it makes for a good «first real ramp» experience for novices.
Plaza:
This edition opened in late 2012, and most skaters congregate here and use the small street-​based obstacles. It’s comparable to the Lake Fairfax park (the same contractor built it concurrently) but the obstacles are a little smaller and the square footage is roughly ¹⁄₃ of the LF park. It’s got some standard basic rails and ledges, all of which are smooth and well crafted. As with the other concrete parks in the region, it cost the FCPA triple what it should have but that’s Northern VA red tape and administrative fees for you.
In conclusion, Wakefield Skatepark is adequate for the novice crowd. Intermediate and expert riders will find enjoyable obstacles and there, but not be impressed with the overall setup.