Palm Desert, CA Public Conduct: Skateboarding Rules (2026)

Chapter 12.24 of the Palm Desert Municipal Code is titled Skateboarding and Roller Skating, and § 12.24.010 is the operative rule: the city council prohibits any person from operating, propelling or riding on any skateboard, roller skate or similar device upon any roadway, including any street, highway, bikeway, sidewalk, mall or plaza walkway areas, in any commercial and/or office professional districts within the city. The ban is tied to zoning district, not to a clock time, so it applies at all hours on the listed surfaces. The phrase "similar device" widens it beyond boards and quad skates. The ordinance dates from 1988 (Ord. 540).

The listed surfaces matter. A sidewalk or bikeway in a commercial or office professional district is covered just as a street is, as are mall and plaza walkways such as those in shopping areas. The chapter as printed does not define the districts, which are drawn on the city's zoning map under Title 25. Residential streets in other zones are not covered by this section, but the park rules in Title 11 separately restrict wheeled use in parks.

Palm Desert does provide a place to skate. Chapter 8.85 governs the Palm Desert Skate Park in the Civic Center. Under §§ 8.85.030 and 8.85.060 anyone using the skating area must wear a helmet, elbow pads and knee pads, no bicycles or other vehicles are permitted in the skating area, no spectators are permitted in the skating area, and no food, glass bottles or cans are permitted. Section 8.85.050 prohibits stunts, tricks or luge skateboarding in the picnic area, parking lot, curbs and surrounding areas of the skate park, Civic Center and Civic Center Park, and permits them in the skating area only. Use of the skating area when it is raining or the concrete is wet is prohibited, and sponsored events must be approved through the park reservation process.