10 of the best skate parks around Australia

Carla Grossetti Carla Grossetti
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Inspired by our Olympic champions? Here’s where to hit Australia’s best skate parks.

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.

1. Cairns Skate Park, Tropical North Queensland

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

2. Belconnen Skate Park, Canberra, ACT

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

Belconnen Skate Park in Canberra
The Belco Bowl hosts some of Australia’s largest skate comps. (Image: Manteena)

3. Pizzey Park Skate Park, Gold Coast, Qld

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

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4. Bondi Skate Park, Sydney, NSW

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

5. Prahran Skate Park, Melbourne, Vic

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.

Address: 276 Malvern Rd, Prahran

6. West Beach Skate Park, Adelaide, SA

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

7. Alex Skate Park, Alexandra Headlands, Sunshine Coast, Qld

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

Alex Skate Park
This beachfront park is friendly for beginners. (Image: Sunshine Coast Council)

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8. Scarborough Beach Skate Park, Perth, WA

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

Scarborough Beach Skate Park
Expect a crew of salty-haired surfers at Scarborough Beach Skate Park. (Image: DG Imagery)

9. Rosny Skate Park, Hobart, Tas

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

Rosny Skate Park
Land that kickflip you’ve been practising since 2014 at Rosny Skate Park.

10. Ltyentye Apurte Skate Park, Red Centre, NT

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
Ltyentye Apurte Skate Park is the first remote Aboriginal community-funded skate park in the Northern Territory. (Image: Wade Trevean + Nicky Hayes)
If you’re Sydney-based and looking for private skate lessons for your kids, book in with Little Rippers Skate Coaching.

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Carla Grossetti
Carla Grossetti has written across print and digital for Australian Traveller and International Traveller for more than a decade and has spent more than two decades finding excuses to eat well and travel far. A prestigious News Corp cadetship launched her career at The Cairns Post, before a stint at The Canberra Times and The Sydney Morning Herald gave way to extended wanders through Canada, the US, Mexico, Central America, Asia and Europe. Carla was chief sub editor at delicious and has contributed to Good Food, Travel & Luxury, Explore Travel, Escape. While living in London, Carla was on staff at Condé Nast Traveller and The Sunday Times Travel desk and was part of the pioneering digital team at The Guardian UK.
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Explore historic wine towns and sculpture trails on a 3-day self-guided Murray River cruise

    Ricky French Ricky French
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    Slow down and find your rhythm on a Murray River journey through time and place. 

    Trust is a funny thing. It seems not that long ago that my mother was insisting on pouring the milk into my cereal bowl, because she didn’t trust me not to slosh it over the table, and yet here I am on the Murray River at Mildura in far north-west Victoria, being handed the keys to a very new and very expensive luxury houseboat. 

    After a crash course in how not to crash, I’m at the wheel of the good ship Elevate – pride of the All Seasons fleet – guiding her upstream past red-ochre cliffs as pelicans glide above the rippled river and kookaburras call from reedy banks. There’s a brief moment of breath-holding while I negotiate a hairpin turn around a jagged reef of skeletal, submerged gum trees, before a cheer rings out and calm descends as the timeless river unfurls in front of us.    

    Murray River
    The Murray River winding through Yarrawonga. (Image: Rob Blackburn)

    Setting sail from Mildura 

    Murray River birds
    Home to a large number of bird species, including pelicans. (Image: The Precint Studios)

    A journey along the Murray River is never less than magical, and launching from Mildura makes perfect sense. Up here the river is wide and largely empty, giving novice skippers like myself the confidence to nudge the 60-tonne houseboat up to the riverbank where we tie up for the night, without fear of shattering the glass elevator (the boat is fully wheelchair accessible) or spilling our Champagne.  

    My friends and I spend three days on the water, swimming and fishing, sitting around campfires onshore at night, and basking in air so warm you’d swear you were in the tropics. The simplicity of river life reveals an interesting dichotomy: we feel disconnected from the world but at the same time connected to Country, privileged to be part of something so ancient and special.  

    Stop one: Echuca  

    19th-century paddlesteamers
    A historic 19th-century paddlesteamer cruises along the Murray River. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    The six-hour drive from Melbourne to Mildura (or four hours and 20 minutes from Adelaide) is more than worth it, but you don’t have to travel that far to find fun on the river. Once Australia’s largest inland port, Echuca is the closest point on the Murray to Melbourne (two hours 45 minutes), and you’ll still find a plethora of paddlesteamers tethered to the historic timber wharf, a throwback to the thriving river trade days of the 19th century. The PS Adelaide, built in 1866 and the oldest wooden-hulled paddlesteamer operating in the world, departs daily for one-hour cruises, while a brand-new paddlesteamer, the PS Australian Star, is launching luxury seven-night voyages in December through APT Touring.  

    The town is also a hot food and wine destination. St Anne’s Winery at the historic Port of Echuca precinct has an incredibly photogenic cellar door, set inside an old carriage builders’ workshop on the wharf and filled with huge, 3000-litre port barrels. The Mill, meanwhile, is a cosy winter spot to sample regional produce as an open fire warms the red-brick walls of this former flour mill.  

    Stop two: Barmah National Park 

    Barmah National Park
    Camping riverside in Barmah National Park, listed as a Ramsar site for its significant wetland values. (Image: Visit Victoria/Emily Godfrey)

    Just half-an-hour upstream, Barmah National Park is flourishing, its river red gum landscape (the largest in the world) rebounding magnificently after the recent removal of more than 700 feral horses. The internationally significant Ramsar-listed wetland sits in the heart of Yorta Yorta Country, with Traditional Owners managing the environment in close partnership with Parks Victoria. Walkways weave through the forest, crossing creeks lined with rare or threatened plants, passing remnants of Yorta Yorta oven mounds and numerous scar trees, where the bark was removed to build canoes, containers or shields.  

    The Dharnya Centre (open weekdays until 3pm) is the cultural hub for the Yorta Yorta. Visitors can learn about the ecological significance of the Barmah Lakes on a 90-minute river cruise, led by a First Nations guide, or take a one-hour, guided cultural walking tour along the Yamyabuc Trail.  

    Stop three: Cobram 

    Yarrawonga MulwalaGolf Club Resort
    Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Continue east to Cobram to find the southern hemisphere’s largest inland beach. Swarming with sun-seekers in summer, the white sand of Thompson’s Beach is shaded by majestic river red gums and dotted with hundreds of beach umbrellas, as beachgoers launch all manner of water craft and set up stumps for beach cricket. But the beach is at its most captivating at sunset, when the crowds thin out, the glassy river mirrors the purple sky, and the canopies of the gum trees glow fiery orange. 

    The region is also home to some fine resorts and indulgent retreats. Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort has two riverside championship golf courses, luxury apartments and self-contained villas. While not strictly on the Murray, the historic wine town of Rutherglen is rife with boutique (and unique) accommodation, including an exquisitely renovated red-brick tower in a French provincial-style castle at Mount Ophir Estate. Fans of fortified wines can unravel the mystery of Rutherglen’s ‘Muscat Mile’, meeting the vignerons and master-blenders whose artistry has put the town on the global map for this rich and complex wine style.  

    Stop four: Albury-Wodonga 

    First Nations YindyamarraSculpture Walk
    First Nations Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk is part of the Wagirra Trail. (Image: Carmen Zammit)

    Follow the river far enough upstream and you’ll arrive at the twin border cities of Albury-Wodonga. The Hume Highway thunders through, but serenity can be found along the five-kilometre Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk – part of the Wagirra Trail that meanders through river wetlands just west of Albury in Wiradjuri country. Fifteen sculptures by local First Nations artists line the trail, conveying stories of reconciliation, enduring connection to culture, local Milawa lore and traditional practices. It feels a long way from Mildura, and it is, but the pelicans and kookaburras remind us that it’s the same river, the great conduit that connects our country. 

    A traveller’s checklist  

    Staying there

    New Mildura motel Kar-rama
    New Mildura motel Kar-rama. (Image: Iain Bond Photo)

    Kar-Rama is a brand-new boutique, retro-styled motel in Mildura, with a butterfly-shaped pool and a tropical, Palm Springs vibe. Echuca Holiday Homes has a range of high-end accommodation options, both on the riverfront and in town. 

    Playing there

    BruceMunro’s Trail of Lights in Mildura
    Bruce Munro’s Trail of Lights in Mildura. (Image: Imogen Eveson)

    Artist Bruce Munro’s Trail of Lights installation, comprising more than 12,000 illuminated ‘fireflies’, is currently lighting up Mildura’s Lock Island in the middle of the Murray. Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA) is a hub for contemporary art, with a rotating roster of exhibitions, and is a major outlet for young and First Nations artists. 

    Eating there

    Mildura’s diverse demographic means it’s a fantastic place to eat. Andy’s Kitchen is a local favourite, serving up delicious pan-Asian dishes and creative cocktails in a Balinese-style garden setting. Call in to Spoons Riverside in Swan Hill to enjoy locally sourced, seasonal produce in a tranquil setting overlooking the river.