Pro and amateur skaters from around the country are headed back to John Hunt Park this Sunday, this time to take on one of Get-A-Way Skatepark’s signature features: the snake run.
Huntsville Parks and Recreation and The Skatepark Project will host the 2026 Snake Run & Ride Challenge on Sunday, Oct. 4. The free event runs from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and is open to skateboarders of every skill level.
Organizers say the day will mix a contest, a clinic and a sizable giveaway. About 100 skateboards and other gear will be handed out while supplies last.
“We’re excited to see the annual skateboarding event return to John Hunt Park,” Parks and Recreation Director James Gossett said. “It’s a fun event that brings the skateboarding community together and gives residents and visitors another reason to get out, explore the skate park and enjoy all it has to offer.”
On-site registration and warmups start at 10 a.m. The giveaway and free skate instruction begin at 11 a.m. The Pro Snake Run & Ride Challenge follows at noon. Participants will have a chance at cash prizes.
The 11 a.m. clinic is billed as all-levels. Kids and adults who are just getting on a board, and skaters looking to clean up their lines, are invited. Instruction is set to come from the same group competing in the pro challenge, including X Games veterans and Olympic skateboarders Bucky Lasek, Lyn-Z Adams-Hawkins Pastrana, Jordyn Barratt, Lady Meek, Reef Orlando and Alec Beck.
Event organizer Paul Gierow said this will be the third annual skate event at Get-A-Way since the park opened in 2023.
“The snake run challenge will showcase top level skaters and professional and Olympic athletes will lead the skate clinic featuring free board, helmet and pad giveaways,” Gierow said.
The 52,000-square-foot park, designed by Team Pain Skate Parks, sits at 3685 Alex McAllister Drive SW. It includes three bowl areas, two snake runs, a three-quarter pipe and a street plaza. Gierow, a former standout at Huntsville’s original Get-A-Way on Leeman Ferry Road, helped push the new park into existence with a $1 million gift and later work with the city and The Skatepark Project, the national group founded by Tony Hawk.
Last year’s gathering at the park was framed as a bowl jam. The year before that, the Oververt Challenge took over the three-quarter pipe. This year’s focus on the snake run puts the long, rolling concrete lines at the center of the program.
Zachary Austin is a writer for 256 Today. You can contact him at [email protected].
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