The 10 Coolest Snowboard Parks

We'd hate to start it off like this, but back in day, there was no such thing as a park for snowboarders. Shit, resorts wouldn't even let us on the damn mountain. They were too enamored with neon-clad two-plankers paying ridiculous amounts of money to breeze down some sun-soaked powder. (Zinka anyone?)

Instead, we had to hike through ass-deep snow with our shred sticks and shovels in tow. Hours were spent hauling, packing, and perfecting a kicker that we only had a few hours of daylight to ride before we had to do it all again the next day. A sore back was all part of the job. When we got bored with that, five of us had to grab a skinny tree, bend it down, and bury the top for a lumber session of wood riding that lead to way too many crass jokes. That was a lot of fucking work, but holy shit was it fun.

Luckily, Mike Parillo came along and changed the game for snowboard park design. Now, they've got professionals and heavy duty equipment to build terrain parks instead of the tricks of the trade being passed down from vets to groms like folklore. Just about every major mountain resort has an assortment of these terrain parks––stacked to the brim with kickers, booters, rails, hips, and more.

These parks, often designed with the input of today's top riders and industry heavyweights, have taken snowboarding to a whole other level. And, they've given us a reason to either keep riding or strap-up more and more.

While each park can offer something different to every rider, the following 10 (in no particular order) are the cream of the crop.

Compiled by Roots Culture Connect and [ 2 one 5 ] Creative.

Check out The 10 Coolest Snowboard Parks.