Knox County, TN Public Conduct: Skateboarding Rules (2026)

Sec. 27-8 governs skateboarding, skating and bicycling on county park property. Subsection (a) restricts skateboard use to "such times and upon places as may be designated or maintained therefore," but specifically allows skateboards on paved greenway trails unless a trail is posted otherwise. Subsection (b) requires anyone operating a skateboard, skates, bicycle or similar device in a county skatepark to wear "a protective helmet of good fit fastened securely upon their head with all straps of the helmet," and that helmet must carry approval from the American National Standards Institute, the Snell Memorial Foundation, the American Society for Testing and Materials, or the state commissioner of safety.

Subsection (c) reaches parents and guardians directly: it is unlawful for a parent or legal guardian of a child under 13 to knowingly let that child operate a skateboard, skates, bicycle or similar device in a county-owned skatepark without the required helmet, and a violating parent receives a citation to court. 00 fine plus court costs upon conviction. Subsection (e) gives a law enforcement officer or county representative discretion to deny a rider access to a county skatepark for failing to follow the posted rules there, independent of the helmet mandate.

The rule sits within Chapter 27's broader traffic and recreational-activity restrictions, which also confine bicycles to paved roads or designated trails and ban all-terrain vehicles from county parks entirely.