As Craig continues its search for new possibilities, community advocate Jon Miller believes a slab of concrete could help create a cultural shift while also providing key benefits to the area’s youth and adults alike.

The Craig Skatepark Alliance, the volunteer group led by Miller, is pushing to build a skate park at Loudy-Simpson Park, a project he feels could lift local youth, strengthen community pride and put Craig on the map as a regional gathering place in a way it has not had before.

Miller, a 1994 Moffat County High School graduate, said his early years were shaped by hard physical work since his father owned a concrete construction company. As a result, Miller spent his childhood and high school years helping pour pads, building forms and climbing into the boiler room of the Hayden coal plant to erect scaffolding. It was tough work that gave him the discipline to build a future doing the kind of labor he feels instills grit and creative character.

That creative character also played a key role in Miller’s life. As he grew up in Craig during the 1980s, he rarely saw substantial pathways for kids who wanted to create in the arts. What he did discover was skateboarding with snowboarding soon following as winter snow limited where he and his friends could skate. Those sports became his outlet and eventually formed the foundation for a life that took him into design, branding and outdoor industry marketing.

“I found my way into skateboarding and snowboarding when I was about 10,” Miller said. “Those experiences showed me a different path. They let me see that there could be a future in art and design.”

Mentors he met through Steamboat’s early skate scene helped him find college programs in graphic design and introduced him to industry leaders and athletes who helped shape his career. He worked as an art director and creative director for major outdoor brands, launched national campaigns and eventually co-founded Hypercraft, a venture-backed company developing electric powertrain technology.

Throughout it all, skateboarding and snowboarding remained a conduit for community and connection.

“Without skateboarding and snowboarding, my successful career would not have happened in any other way,” he said. “They kept me healthy, connected and inspired.”

When Miller returned to Craig in 2020, he found the community still did not have a skate park after decades of attempts. As a result, he decided to help lead a renewed push to create a place where youth could enjoy the same benefits he experienced up-valley as a teen. From his perspective the need had only grown since Craig’s previous makeshift skate park near the cemetery had been demolished in 2017 or 2018 without replacement. While young people had made attempts to raise money along with appeals to city leaders the momentum never lasted.

Miller said the jumping off point came after repeated conversations with teens and families who shared stories of frustration and disenchantment. He recalled kids standing before City Council in 2021 with shaky voices and tears in their eyes telling leaders how much a skate park would mean to them.

“These kids were courageous,” he said. “They had been asking for this for a long time and felt like they could not get traction.”

The first meeting drew a packed house during a community forum at City Council. The support pushed Miller to organize the CSA, a volunteer group focused on design, advocacy and fundraising. Early talks with the city were constructive, he said, but he knew leaders were stretched thin.

“I say this with empathy,” Miller noted. “The city has bigger fish to fry. There is uncertainty with industry closures and a lot of demands on their time.”

Momentum began to shift in 2024 when the CSA began early discussions with Moffat County. This past summer, the county commissioners approved a resolution granting one of the less utilized ball fields at Loudy-Simpson Park for a future skate park.

Having land was a breakthrough.

“You cannot go fundraising if you do not know where a project will be built,” Miller said. “Getting dirt is the biggest obstacle.”

With a home secure, the CSA moved into its planning phase. Miller and volunteers have been collecting surveys, meeting with youth groups and visiting schools to rebuild enthusiasm among students while building support with adults, organizations and businesses. He said many of the young people who showed up in 2021 have since graduated while some younger kids needed their dashed hopes rekindled after years without progress. Sharing the news that construction is now real gave a shot in the arm to all.

“When we tell them it will be at Loudy-Simpson, they get excited,” he said. “Now we are working to capture as much community input and support as possible.”

Funding, Miller said, is not a concern as the CSA plans to pursue grants through multiple avenues.

“I personally do not believe funding will be an issue at all,” he said while noting that the cost to taxpayers throughout Craig and Moffat County will be minimal.

He believes the timing, demographics and social needs make Craig a strong candidate. He also emphasized that a critical aspect of the project is the concept of “hope”, for a working-class community that is going through a massive and uncertain period of economic transition “in the shadows of up-valley wealth and opportunity”.

“30% of Craig’s population is 18 and under,” he pointed out. “And another 30% of our population drives to Steamboat every day to serve that economy. That’s over half our population here in Craig that the whole Yampa Valley should care about lifting up out of scarcity.”

Part of the CSA’s pitch is the impact a skate park can have on mental health and community connection — an extension of exactly what Miller experienced as a young Moffat County youth. He sees the skate park as a natural, proactive space that keeps kids engaged, active and connected, as well as an effort that can be networked with the area’s professional mental health services.

Skateboarding, he added, can help area youth avoid substance addiction while also serving as an outlet when other parts of life are stressful.

“A skate park can be a melting pot of people from all backgrounds,” he said. “It teaches resilience. You fall down and get back up until you figure it out. It is multi-generational. It gives people hope.”

The CSA’s proposed park leans heavily on Moffat County’s natural and cultural identity and its collaborators imagine a destination-level facility with concrete features inspired by local landmarks, including a Bears Ears formation in green-tinted concrete and a serpentine Yampa snake run with a blue bottom. They also hope to include a full pipe framed like the Moffat Tunnel and possibly repurpose the coal bucket from Loudy-Simpson as a centerpiece.

Overall, the goal is a design that teaches local history and sparks pride.

“I want kids to say they are from Craig and feel proud of that,” Miller said. “We do not need to live in the shadow of what is up valley. With Steamboat producing so many Olympic athletes, imagine a child from Craig having that same opportunity.”

If the momentum the CSA has established continues, groundbreaking could happen in 18 to 24 months. That timeline includes design work, engineering and final fundraising steps needed to begin construction. Miller said the project’s greatest strength is how deeply it resonates across generations and up and across the Northwest Colorado region.

“We are working on behalf of kids like me who have been waiting their whole lives for something like this,” he said.

For Miller the future skate park is as personal as it is practical, as it honors the mentors who guided him, the kids who asked for help before him and provides a place for the ones who still to belong today.

“This will be a community touch point for our young people and families who are desperately in need of hope and opportunity,” he said. “It is something fresh and inspiring for Craig.”

For more information or to donate, visit CraigSkatePark.org.