The best skate parks in the world may not be in your country. They’re usually found abroad, and they’re worth the trip! The perfect mix of good weather, endless terrain to explore, amazing people to meet – it’s no wonder that these are some of the most popular destinations for skaters worldwide.
We’re talking about places like Barcelona, Spain; Valparaiso, Chile; and Beijing, China. Why do you think this is? Skateboarders thrive on freedom and adventure. And guess what? You’ll be feeling just as free as a bird when you find yourself skating around one of these destinations!
When we compiled this list, it was completed in no particular order. All of these skate parks are equally awesome.
World's Best Skateparks - Our Top Picks
Venice Beach Skatepark
This classic American park was instrumental in the San Jose skating movement in the 1970s. Riders come from all over California to sample this concrete skatepark.
This Venice Beach location has been immortalized in movies like Lords of Dogtown and Dogtown and the Z-Boys.
Kona Skate Park
Kona Skate park in Florida is the oldest private skatepark in the world. This location was also the first concrete skatepark in America.
This amazing location has had several different firsts. It’s also home to the first skate camp in existence, teaching young skaters on an extensive street course.
For pure nostalgia, Kona Skate Park shouldn’t be skipped.
Bondi Beach Skate Park, Australia
Bondi Beach draws a huge crowd for its natural beauty and thriving nightlife. There are dozens of great restaurants in the area that are known worldwide.
This massive park offers plenty of vert skating. There’s no shortage of rails in the park’s massive street course, either. End your trip with a visit to one of Australia’s many wildlife parks.
North Brigade, Germany
North Brigade was revamped in 2015 and now features excellent skating for street riders and pool enthusiasts. The bowls have unique shapes that you won’t find anywhere else in the world.
All levels of skaters can enjoy the street section of the park because of the intermediate and advanced level structuring of the landscape. Even though this is a very detailed and expansive park, it’s still suitable for beginners. This is rare for a park of this caliber.
Don’t worry; if you’re an advanced-level skater, you’ll find your niche here as well. North Brigade is the largest skatepark in Germany, and attracts skaters from all over the globe.
Lai Chi Kok Skate Park, Hong Kong
This is the only SLS-certified skate park on the entire continent of Asia. Measuring in at over 17,000 square feet, this monster is another brilliant park offering from the creative minds at CA Skate Parks. Although it’s not the largest skatepark, it is one of the most exciting.
The Hong Kong park has plenty of street skating obstacles available. This incredible park is equipped with endless amounts of stairs, quarters, bowls, rails, and other equipment that some skaters can only dream of.
Just a warning, though. This park is not the best for beginning skaters.
Black Pearl Skatepark, Cayman Islands
Is there anything better than visiting a tropical paradise like the Cayman Islands?
How about one of the best skate parks in the world in the middle of this island oasis. There’s no shortage of pleasure to be had at this tropical getaway nestled in the heart of the Caribbean. Currently, this is one of the largest skate parks in the world.
You’ll have over 62,000 square feet of skateboarding pleasure at your disposal if you ever visit this skating hotspot. Black Pearl Skate Park was opened in 2005 by famous skater Tony Hawk.
There’s riding for every level at this particular park, including an extensive street course. Equipped with quarter and half-pipes, rails, bowls, and lines, you’ll be making transfers and hitting gaps to your heart’s content.
SMP Skate Park, China
SMP (Shanghai Multimedia Park) in Shanghai was the largest outdoor skatepark in the world when it first opened. Other parks have beaten SMP Skate Park in size, but they haven’t beaten it in the overall thrill category.
You’ll find some of the largest bowls and vert-ramps in the world at SMP. Skaters come here yearly to achieve some of the highest levels of air the skating world has ever seen.
The layout of this park is a constructional masterpiece. It took crews 18 months with over 300 workers to finish building this jewel.
Marseille Bowl Du Prado, France
Back in 1991, this now fairly basic skate park was one of the most advanced in the world. This location has played host to some of the best pool skating competitions in history. The concrete bowls here are among some of the best in the world.
This park is made famous by its signature pool designs that are plastered with graffiti left by visiting skaters. If you’ve ever played Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, you’ve at least skated this park in the digital world. The Marseille Bowl was featured in the first and second installments of the famous gaming franchise.
Burnside Skate Park, Portland, Oregon
The next selection on our list is an American favorite. No skate park list is complete without adding the course under the Burnside Bridge.
This was one of the first skate parks to surface in Portland and was built by local skaters and not the city. The park has never been maintained by anyone but the local board scene, which makes it even more amazing.
Local Portland skaters are proud and very protective of their skate park, as they should be. This is one of the most iconic locations in the history of skateboarding. Burnside paved the way for Portland’s famous Dreamland skateparks.
Burnside is also a great location for skating in the rain. It’s been on the property of an abandoned parking garage, so most of the area is covered even though it’s outdoors. This makes for a pretty cool setting when you’re grinding the rails at Burnside.
The Level Skatepark, UK
The center of this amazing skatepark consists of a bowl that is divided into three different sections. The north bowl is a good entry point for beginners. The second is a rectangle-shaped bowl that can be quite challenging, even for veteran skaters. The south bowl is one of the nastiest pools you’ll ever skate.
That’s not all The Level has to offer. There are rails galore as well as an off-park street plaza that many skaters use to skate illegally. You’ll also find a pyramid, curved banks, and plenty of ledges when you visit The Level.
Downtown Vancouver Skate Plaza, Canada
One of the largest skate plazas spans an area of over 20,000 square feet in the middle of downtown Vancouver. If you’re a street skater, this location could be the skate park of your dreams.
This skate park has enough handrails, ledges, and stairs to keep you busy for days. It’s not just the skating landscape that’s so impressive about this park, either.
The construction and design engineering of this area are incredible. The aesthetic factor alone draws visitors from all over the world to this scenic park.
Skatepark Los Reyes, Chile
This park made the list for several reasons. First, it’s one of the best bowl skating locations in the world. Second, the landscape of this park is breathtaking. Nestled next to the Machopo river, this skate park offers some of the most beautiful scenery a skater could ask for.
Finally, the layout of the park from overhead is in the shape of a snake. There’s a winding street-skating area that eventually forms the mouth of a snake as you enter the bowl area. There’s also a large bank area with plenty of handrails and a pyramid included in one of this park’s street skating courses.
This park is one of our favorites overall because of the mixture of cool designs. If you get the chance, you don’t want to miss out on a visit to this location.
Micropolis Skate Park, Finland
Micropolis skate park is located in the middle of Helsinki. The design elements of this park are incredible, despite its lack of size. The design, however, is breathtaking. Micropolis could easily be number one on a list of the most unique skate parks.
Local architect and professional skater Janne Sarrio had a large part in designing and building this skate park. He wanted sections arranged that would preserve the natural trees and grassland of the area.
The park is arranged in a perfect geometric form, giving riders a clear view from every angle. This gives them lots of time to plan their lines and stay one step ahead of the game.
Spaces between the obstacles meet to form a snake-like bowl. The smooth surface of the bowl is covered in zinc, which makes the rider able to glide across the surface effortlessly. The mixture of different metals and the rich greenery of this park give it a beautiful contrast of city and country.
This may be the most visually stunning park on our list. It’s one that’s certainly not to be missed. Street skaters around the world consider this one of the top skate parks in the world.
Notable Skate Parks
These skate parks are also worth mentioning:
- Denver Skate Park, Downtown Denver
- Lincoln Park Skate Park, Los Angeles, CA
- Lincoln City Dreamland Skateparks
Conclusion
The best skate parks in the world are found all over the globe, and they come with a variety of challenges for skaters to conquer. From indoor skateparks to outdoor ones that will make you feel like Tony Hawk himself, these spots have it all. If you ever get a chance to check out even one of them, you definitely don’t want to miss out.