While it may seem like it got a slow start, the Central Oregon public skatepark scene began nearly 25 years ago with the opening of Ponderosa Skatepark in 1997, followed by Redmond Skatepark in 2001.

Today, skateparks are flourishing around the region. Redmond’s design and features are faring far better than old Pondy, but along with those skateparks, Northeast Bend, which already hosts Rockridge Skatepark, will also be home to a smaller “skate dot” in Northpointe Park (63800 Wellington St.) set to launch in the spring.

Sisters Skatepark Alliance, a unique skate class at Sisters High, is planning to make additions via the skater-built park’s donation, fundraising and DIY ethos. Below is this week’s bounty of area skateparks. Look for more on some of the abovementioned parks next week.

Rockridge Skatepark — The preferred skatepark of young upstarts, aging snowboarders and scooter riders, this northeast Bend skatepark has one of designer and builder Evergreen Skateparks’ trademark “moonscape” designs and is all about flow. The spacious concrete footprint means it can be a long way to the coping, but your quads will get a workout. Given the fact its moonscape design — think pump bumps, rounded banks, corners and pockets — means an all-in-one-bowl design, it can quickly feel crowded, making it most fun when uncrowded for less experienced riders.

Ponderosa Skatepark — Located in southeast Bend and known as “Pondy” in the parlance of local rippers, Ponderosa Skatepark was built by Spohn Ranch and has a lot of possibility in a small space. With a primary focus on street — a hubba, rails, ledge, Euro gap and banks (including two with metal lips) — it still boasts enough transitions and coping to keep mini-ramp and bowl skaters grinding and happy, though Bend sorely needs a proper, one-at-a-time, standalone bowl. For the curiosity seekers, check out the old Pondy, built in 1997 and still reasonably maintained, located at the north end of the park. Pondy can stay surprisingly dry in winter, as can Redmond Skatepark, built in 2001 by Oregon-based Dreamland Skateparks, builder of a new, 1,500-square-foot “skate dot” coming next year with the opening of nearby Northpointe Park. It would be cool if such features became a staple of parks in the future, the way sports fields that sit unused most of the year are.

Prineville Skatepark — Speaking of Dreamland-built skateparks that can often stay dry in the wet months, Prineville is the newest of Central Oregon’s skateparks and one of its largest. While skaters in Bend can only dream of public bowls, Prineville boasts a fun one, with a tight shallow end and more forgiving deep end with larger transitions, hips, a loveseat and vert. Go for the bowl, perhaps, but stay for the sprawling concrete of the flow area, with a mix of metal and concrete pool coping, as well as the fun ditch-meets-bowl under the park’s lone light. Its set in a park lining a creek, with a playground across the street, walking path, pickleball court next door and a food cart pod nearby, this is also a good spot for the non-skaters in your crew.

Next week: More on Sisters, Madras and Redmond skateparks.