The Bay started in 2010 as a scrappy nonprofit indoor skatepark and grew into one of Lincoln’s most beloved youth institutions. The 20,000-square-foot warehouse at 2005 Y Street holds Nebraska’s largest indoor skatepark — ramps, rails, bowls, and transitions designed and built by skaters — plus Skate School lessons for ages 5–18, a coffee bar, and an all-ages music venue that has hosted everyone from local punk bands to festival-stage names.
It’s part of Rabble Mill, the nonprofit founder Mike Smith built by merging The Bay with Hear Nebraska, the publication that once powered Lincoln Calling. The mission — “showing young people what’s possible” — runs through everything: free or nearly-free public skate sessions, mentoring programs, story-time events with Little-Big matches, and the kind of genuinely welcoming staff that keeps kids coming back.
Public hours are weekend-focused: Fridays and Saturdays 4–10 p.m., Sundays 1–10. Check socials before you go, bring a helmet if you have one, and sign the waiver (guardians sign for minors). Free decks and helmets available for lessons.