L8ER SK8ER!

Skateboarding has well and truly grown up from backyard ramps and car park sessions. With the next gen of homegrown talent like Arisa Trew and Chloe Covell now Olympic and X Games royalty, skate parks across our region have become community hubs — somewhere kids can build confidence, learn resilience and make friends who all speak the same language of 720s, kickflips, slappies and half cabs.

Whether your kid is wobbling through their first ollie or already eyeing off the big bowl, one thing is for sure: spring in the Northern Rivers and Gold Coast belongs to four wheels and a deck!

Here’s our roundup of the best skate parks to get the fun rolling, plus where to go if you want some proper coaching behind those tricks.

NORTHERN RIVERS

NIMBIN SKATEPARK

You might be surprised to realise, but Nimbin has earnt its place on the map as a skateboarder’s heaven after a fresh concrete pour and serious glow-up. A huge snake run opens out into a 10-foot bowl loaded with hips and lines to choose from, alongside two smaller, mellower bowls for those still finding their feet. The newest addition is a street section with a whoop-di-do, ledges, rails and banks, plus a 2-foot mini ramp that’s up there with the best in the country.

Where: 9 Sibley St, Nimbin

Good for: Confident bowl riders, with mellower bowls for beginners

Amenities: Parking, street section, mini ramp

BALLINA SKATEPARK

A long-time favourite shaped by extensive consultation with the local skating community, Ballina Skatepark offers a generous concrete surface with a 6 to 8-foot bowl with old-school steel coping, plus rails, ledges, stairs and half pipes scattered around the edges — plenty to keep every skill level busy. A large, covered seating area takes in river views (AKA the parent’s oasis), and there’s a covered children’s playground, public toilets, water bubblers and plenty of free parking close by, so it’s an easy one to turn into a full family outing.

Where: Kingsford Smith Drive Missingham Park Ballina

Good for: Beginners through to confident bowl riders

Amenities: Parking, playground, public toilets, covered river-view seating

LENNOX HEAD SKATEPARK

Shaped like a four-leaf clover and just as lucky to have around, this one’s built by Oasis Skateparks around a 5-foot clover-shaped bowl with classic steel coping, plus quarters, banks, ledges, rails and steps. Best bit? It’s also short stroll from the beach, so this one’s made for a full day out.

Where: Park Ln, Lennox Head

Good for: Bowl skaters and families wanting a beach-and-skate combo

Amenities: Parking, close to beach and cafes

BANGALOW SKATEPARK

Tucked between the bowling club and Byron Creek, this $180,000 park punches well above its size. A large kidney bowl with poolside-style coping, a double-flow bowl with a spine to fly off, and a street section with real character have made it a hit not just with skaters, but scooter riders, BMXers and rollerbladers too. There’s also a low flat bar for learning new tricks, plus a shaded structure and water bubbler for when little legs need a breather.

Where: 5 Bangalow Rd, Bangalow

Good for: Mixed-wheels families — skateboards, scooters and bikes all welcome

Amenities: Parking, shaded shelter, water bubbler, nearby playground

SUFFOLK PARK SKATEPARK

Opened in 2007 and given a growth spurt over the old basketball court in 2017, Suffolk Park is about as family friendly as skateparks get, with a small bowl, a ¾ bowl, ledges, rails, banks, a triangle and quarter pipes to suit every stage from wobbly beginner to confident flyer. It sits alongside tennis courts, soccer nets and a shaded playground, so non-skating siblings are well looked after too, and it’s just as popular with balance bikes and scooters as it is with boards.Where: 122 Beech Dr, Suffolk Park

Good for: Family-friendly all-ages riders — scooters, bikes, trikes and boards

Amenities: Parking, toilets, picnic and BBQ area, playground, tennis courts and soccer fields nearby

JARJUMIRR PARK

Built by Convic and opened in 2023, Byron’s $2.6 million Jarjumirr Park is the region’s showstopper. Beginners and intermediates get their own ramp and bowl area, while seasoned riders head straight for the 10-foot competition bowl, complete with a waterfall feature and granite coping, plus a plaza section with granite ledges to grind. It’s more than a skatepark, too — think climbing boulder, table tennis, a yarning circle and artwork by local Arakwal artists, with lighting to keep the fun going into the evening.

Where: 7 Middleton St, Byron Bay

Good for: All levels, from first timers to seasoned bowl skaters

Amenities: Toilets, parking, lighting, shaded seating nearby

MULLUMBIMBY SKATEPARK

Set opposite Mullumbimby High School, this park is a flow-lover’s dream, with bowl after bowl linking together as if they were always meant to flow that way. It also plays host to the annual Rukkus competition, and it’s the kind of layout that rewards a bit of patience — once your kid finds their lines, they can pump their way around the entire space without their feet ever leaving the board.

Where: Stuart St, Mullumbimby

Good for: Transition lovers chasing long, linked flow lines

Amenities: Parking, nearby town centre

BRUNSWICK HEADS SKATEPARK

Designed and built by Oasis Skate Parks, Brunswick Heads has a fun peanut-shaped bowl with hips and a deeper section for those chasing a proper drop, plus a solid spread of street obstacles tucked in between the ramps and quarters. It’s a small park with a big personality, serving up a great mix of street and transition in one spot.

Where: 37 Old Pacific Highway, Brunswick Heads

Good for: Skaters wanting both bowl hips and street obstacles in one park

Amenities: Parking, nearby beach and shops

CABARITA SKATEPARK

Cabarita wears its age well — a medium-sized open bowl with traditional steel coping and a few honest cracks that only add to the character. The renovated section adds some mellower, more forgiving features for beginners and street-loving groms, while the rest of the park keeps the old guard happy with banks, ledges, hips and a scattering of rails.

Where: Tweed Coast Rd, Bogangar

Good for: Beginners in the renovated section & old-school bowl riders

Amenities: Parking, close to the beach

TWEED HEADS SKATEPARK

Built by Convic Skateparks, this one has serious street cred. A standout bowl with steel coping and hips sits alongside eye-popping bright yellow street features that have made it a magnet for skate videos and Instagram reels alike. Perfect for skaters keen to mix bowl riding with technical street tricks.

Where: 18 Coral St, Tweed Heads

Good for: Intermediate to advanced skaters wanting variety

Amenities: Parking, nearby cafes and shops

JINGI WALLA SKATEPARK

Also known as Jack Evans Skatepark, this one sits right on the banks of the Tweed River with a laid-back charm to match. It’s a low-key set-up with a couple of quarters at each end and a handful of mellow street features, including some of the most popular slappy curbs in the area. Bonus: it’s just a short skate from Snapper Rocks, Australia’s most famous wave, so pack the wetsuit along with the board.

Where: 42 Boundary St, Tweed Heads

Good for: Street skaters and scooter riders after something low-key

Amenities: Parking, riverside setting, close to Snapper Rocks

GOLD COAST

TUGUN SKATEPARK

One of the Gold Coast’s original skate parks, Tugun has come a long way since its half-pipe beginnings in the 1980s. A 2015 extension added a street section with edges and rails, plus a smooth pool bowl with a proper drop-in for the brave ones. And here’s a fun quirk: sitting right under the Coolangatta Airport flight path means low-flying jets add a noisy, thrilling soundtrack to every session.

Where: Boyd St, Tugun

Good for: Street and bowl skaters who don’t mind a bit of wind

Amenities: Parking, shelters, benches, bubblers, public toilets, dog-friendly on a lead

ELANORA SKATEPARK

Elanora has serious pedigree — it was home to Australia’s first open full pipe, and world champions like Arisa Trew have skated its bowl over the years. It continues to host major bowl-skating events like BOWLZILLA, drawing crowds and serious talent alike. The eight-foot bowl has metal coping on one side and drops into a steep 12-foot vertical thrill ride through the full pipe on the other, this one rewards experience, so let the confident flyers go first.

Where: 1 Pines Ln, Elanora

Good for: Confident and advanced bowl skaters

Amenities: Parking, oval and grounds nearby

PIZZEY PARK SKA

TEPARK

The largest skatepark in Australia earns every bit of its reputation. With 2,600 square metres of skateable space, Pizzey Park has street-style obstacles like rails, hubbas and kickers, several bowls of different sizes, and even an iconic skateable sign spelling out its name — because why not skate the actual logo? It’s hosted major competitions and Olympic-level training sessions, so the bar is set high, but there’s plenty of room for beginners to find their feet too.

Where: Bardon Ave, Miami QLD 4220

Good for: Every level — Australia’s biggest skate playground

Amenities: Bubblers, shaded seating, shelters, benches, plenty of room to spread out

NERANG SKATEPARK

A long, snaking open-flow bowl with steel coping is the star of the show here, backed up by street features including banks, ledges and rails. Tall gum trees keep much of the park shaded — a genuine lifesaver on a scorching Gold Coast afternoon. With a playground, barbecues and toilets on site, and shops just around the corner, it’s an easy, breezy one for the whole family.

Where: Nerang Connection Road, Nerang

Good for: Families with riders of mixed ages and abilities

Amenities: BBQs, toilets, playground, shade, close to shops