Spokane County, WA Public Conduct: Skateboarding Rules (2026)

66 of the Spokane County Code, adopted by Ordinance No. 11-0810 in 2011, requires anyone riding or operating a skateboard, along with bicycles, electric-assisted bicycles, scooters, in-line skates, roller skates, skate shoes and electric personal assistive mobility devices, to wear an approved helmet on any public area in the unincorporated county. 020(h) defines 'public area' broadly to include public roadways, sidewalks, bicycle paths, parks and any right-of-way or county-owned facility or property. 030(a) requires the helmet's neck or chin strap to be fastened securely while the skateboard is in motion, and subsection (b) extends the requirement to anyone being towed on a skateboard.

Subsection (c) makes a guardian responsible for making sure a child under sixteen in the guardian's care wears a fastened, approved helmet while skateboarding in public, though the guardian has an affirmative defense if they required the helmet whenever the child was in their presence. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, ANSI, Snell Foundation or ASTM performance standards and be equipped with a strap. 040 extends the helmet mandate to organized skateboard races, exhibitions, demonstrations and parades held in public areas, requiring event organizers to reject participants who won't comply. The chapter exempts wheeled devices used for medical reasons, such as motorized wheelchairs.