Our story
Roller skating belongs on the Monterey Peninsula.
A century-old tradition, a year at the Fairgrounds, and a rink on wheels ready for your school, business, or living room.
Since 1906
The Peninsula has almost always had a rink.
The Monterey Peninsula has been home to a roller skating rink almost continuously since 1906. The New Pavilion Skating Rink in Pacific Grove ran from 1906 to 1925. Skateland followed in the 1930s and 40s. Del Monte Gardens welcomed skaters from 1955 to 2011. Water City in Marina carried the tradition through 2020.
When Water City closed during the pandemic, the Peninsula lost something more than a business. It lost a place where generations of families made memories, where kids learned to skate for the first time, where friends came together on Friday nights.
We started Monterey Skates to bring that back.
The Fairgrounds chapter
Ten months. Four thousand skaters. One really convincing test.
From May 2025 through March 2026, we ran a pop-up rink at the Monterey County Fairgrounds. Birthday parties nearly every weekend, beginner lessons, and a practice home for Monterey Bay Roller Derby. It ended when the Fairgrounds restructured their pricing — but it proved something we needed to prove.
Earlier in 2026, Monterey Bay Parent magazine named us runner-up for Family Fun Indoor Activity in their inaugural Family Favorites Awards — a spot we shared with MyMuseum (open since 1997), behind only the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Earning that after six months told us this wasn’t a hobby.
The pivot
We’re not going to wait to serve our community.
Every skate we own, every light, every speaker — it’s all loaded and ready to roll. We now bring the full Monterey Skates experience directly to schools, businesses, community groups, and private parties across the Peninsula. If you have a large enough indoor space, we bring the rest.
What we bring
- 380 pairs of precision quad skates from size J7 to adult 16
- Club-quality sound tuned to the room, not the parking lot
- DMX-controlled lighting for authentic rink atmosphere
- A skilled DJ who reads the room and plays the right music
- Full insurance coverage for mobile events
- All the accessories — microphones, spare laces, spare wheels, first aid
The permanent rink is still coming
The mobile business isn’t a pivot away from the long-term vision. It’s a bridge to it. We continue to evaluate permanent venues on the Peninsula — when the right space becomes available, we’ll transition back to a full rink operation. Every mobile event we run in the meantime builds our brand, deepens our relationships with the community, and keeps roller skating alive on the Peninsula.
If you know of a large indoor space (10,000+ square feet) that could work for a permanent rink, we’d love to hear about it.
Who we are
Three skaters, one crew.
Max moved to Monterey twenty years ago for graduate school at the Middlebury Institute (MIIS), where he’s now a full-time professor and endowed chair. He’s been a roller skater practically his entire life — he grew up working at Roller Dome North in Fort Wayne, Indiana in every position from skate rental to DJ.
Max was a founding referee of Monterey Bay Roller Derby and served as their Director of Development. He now has four kids ages 6 to 9, all of them learning to skate on sidewalks and (occasionally) in the street. They ask him every other day when the rink is opening.
Morgan has lived in Monterey for over ten years and been a member of Monterey Bay Roller Derby for the last seven. She served multiple terms as MBRD’s Director of Bout Production, produced eight of the league’s most profitable events, and launched the annual Otter Bowl tournament in 2019.
A former professional nanny with a decade of local experience, Morgan brings deep insight into what Peninsula families actually want from a community activity. She runs day-to-day operations and is the friendly voice you’ll hear when you call to book an event.
A lifelong Monterey County local, Kiana knows firsthand how much a third space welcoming all ages matters to a community. Growing up, she had her birthday parties at Del Monte Gardens when it was still open.
She didn’t officially start rollerblading again until last year, then became a manager for Monterey Skates in October 2025. She’s available full-time when Monterey Skates finds a permanent location — and though she’s still a newer skater, she’s truly excited to learn and grow alongside the community.
Our community
Partners, friends, and everyone who kept showing up.
Monterey Skates has been a proud partner and supporter of:
- Monterey Bay Roller Derby — our founding relationship, and the reason many of us are here
- The Dread Ponies Junior Roller Derby League — empowering young girls ages 8 to 17 through athletic camaraderie
- Local schools across the Peninsula — field trips, dances, and fundraisers
- Monterey Peninsula families — who show up, skate hard, and keep asking us when we’ll be open again
We’re grateful for every skater who has rolled with us, every parent who has shared the experience with their kids, and every business that has cheered us on. This is your rink as much as it is ours.
Ready when you are
Ready to bring Monterey Skates to your next event?
Or reach out any time — we’re easy to get hold of.