21 August 2024
7 mins Read
Australia has entered a golden era for skateboarding and the best skate parks in Australia have something to offer everyone from beginners to seasoned skaters who love everything about the subculture.
Although the curtain has come down on the 2024 Paris Olympics, the excitement of watching Arisa Trew and Keegan Palmer win skateboarding gold at the Paris Olympics was surely enough to inspire a new generation of Australians to take up the sport. Here are 10 of the best skate parks around Australia to get your bearings.
Even the most curmudgeonly members of the anti-skateboarding fraternity would have frothed on the commentary delivered by Nine’s Mitch Tomlinson and Nick Boserio while cheering on the Aussies. Cairns Skate Park, the biggest in Australia, has been echoing with the clatter of skateboards hitting concrete ever since. One of the best things to do in Cairns, the park features a four-foot (1.2-metre) clover bowl with rounded hips and pockets and a big bowl with a vert wall ranging from eight to 10 feet (2.4 to three metres).
Address: 171 Esplanade, Cairns
Cairns Skate Park is the biggest in Australia. (Image: The Cairns Post)
Adjust the tracks on your 1981 Santa Cruz Steve Olson Checker using the old ‘Tighty Righty’ formula and pull on your vintage Vans. It’s time to show the young ‘uns how to drop in and carve up a bowl. The Belco Bowl hosts some of Australia’s largest skate comps, like the beloved Belco Bowl Jam. There are also mini ramps and snaking bowls to suit skateboarders of all levels. Smash out your last run and then head to Belco for brunch.
Address: 77 Emu Bank, Belconnen
The Belco Bowl hosts some of Australia’s largest skate comps. (Image: Manteena)
Arisa Trew honed her skills at the Level Up Skate Academy on the Gold Coast. But those who don’t want to attend the elite skateboarding school with the hope of going pro can still have a lot of fun on the Goldie. Pizzey Park Skate Park has 4800 square metres of skateable area and sets the standard for competition-level facilities ahead of the Brisbane Olympics in 2032. Expect street-style obstacles with rails, hubbas, kickers and granite ledges.
Address: Sonia St, Miami
Pizzey Park Skate Park sets the standard for competition-level facilities ahead of the Brisbane Olympics in 2032. (Image: Convic)
Have skateboard, will travel? Road-trippers doing a hot lap of Australia should factor in a visit to Bondi Skate Park even if they don’t know how to nail a nosegrind. The fact it’s just metres away from the iconic golden sands of Bondi Beach makes the vibe here one worth bottling. The park has a sick 10-foot-deep (three-metre) skate bowl that attracts some of the best skaters from around the world. Don’t forget to check out the wall of street art nearby.
Address: 102 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach
Factor in a visit to Bondi Skate Park on your travels. (Image: Skater Maps)
On a holiday to Melbourne? Carve out a big chunk of time to cruise on down to Prahran Skate Park. This epic park reopened in June 2024 after a massive refurb. Beginners who favour a more street style of skating will appreciate the mellow features of this park which has rails, ledgers, quarters, stairs and banks catering to all comers. There’s also a classic steel half pipe and a mellow plaza area for younger skaters with seating for parents.
Cruise on down to Prahran Skate Park while in Melbourne.(Image: Convic)
Address: 276 Malvern Rd, Prahran
Tony Hawk’s influence as the pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding can be felt at the West Beach Skate Park in Adelaide, home to a 13-foot (four metres) vert vamp that is said to be Australia’s largest. The South Australian park is one of the best skate parks in Australia: it’s well-maintained and considered somewhat of a standout for its enclosed concrete bowl, street section and bowl designed for snake runs. It’s Radelaide for a reason.
Address: Africaine Rd, Adelaide Airport
West Beach Skate Park is home to a 13-foot vert vamp that’s said to be Australia’s largest. (Image: Skater Maps)
No matter how you identify, the dress code at Alex Skate Park seems to be: flanno and beanie. The jury is out as to whether the addition of a nose ring helps perfect your kickflips and ollies, but we’re here for it and want to join this Sunny Coast tribe. This beachfront park with two enclosed skate bowls attracts shredders. But its well-thought-out open-flow design makes it friendly for beginners, too.
Address: Buhk Family Park, Alexandra Parade, Alexandra Headland
This beachfront park is friendly for beginners. (Image: Sunshine Coast Council)
Expect a crew of salty-haired surfers at Scarborough Beach Skate Park when there is no swell forecast in this laid-back surfie city. The skate park is on the Scarborough Esplanade and attracts van lifers on their way to elsewhere after stopping off in Perth. There’s a monster bowl with concrete coping, ledges and more.
Address: 150 The Esplanade, Scarborough
Expect a crew of salty-haired surfers at Scarborough Beach Skate Park. (Image: DG Imagery)
Rosney Skate Park is near to some of the best cafes in Hobart for coffee. Down a quick three-quarter latte and then carve along the path that slices through Charles Hand Park to the skate park. It is one of the best in Tassie: it has a kidney-shaped bowl with pool tiles and coping and a large open-flow concrete section where BMXers and skaters all go with the flow. Channel the main character energy of Keegan Palmer and try and land that kickflip you’ve been practising since 2014.
Address: 15 Rosny Hill Rd, Rosny Park
Land that kickflip you’ve been practising since 2014 at Rosny Skate Park.
Close your eyes and conjure up that meme of skating commentators Mitch Tomlinson and Nick Boserio throwing wild Rocky-like punches into the air. Can you hear the crowd roar? The Ltyentye Apurte (Santa Teresa) Skate Park in the Red Centre, about an hour’s drive from Alice Springs, opened in August 2023 and is the first remote Aboriginal community-funded skate park in the Northern Territory. The skate park was the vision of eastern Arrernte man Nicky Hayes, who is the Spinifex Skateboards founder and one of only a few Aboriginal professional skateboarders.
You’ll find less is more at this skate park with a mini ramp, ledge and flat banks. But the gnarliest element is the Indigenous flag hipped bank. Usually with a flat platform, this one has one side red, one side black and then the sun in the middle.
Address: 29 Church St, Santa Teresa
Ltyentye Apurte Skate Park is the first remote Aboriginal community-funded skate park in the Northern Territory. (Image: Wade Trevean + Nicky Hayes)
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