The Taghzout Skatepark, Morocco: a rippable wave and a rippable park. Photo: Taghzout Skatepark
Surfing and skating have been linked since surfers started rolling around on wheels looking for kicks on flat days half a century ago. Sure the sports have diverged, but the fused DNA will never be removed. And if you want to surf quality waves, and skate world-class parks, here are the best options on the planet.
Banzai Skate Park
“The kids were flying around, surfing the bowl, doing fun lines and less technical tricks, but with a real fun feel to it,” Danish Pro skater Hugo Boserup told The Inertia. Boserup is known for his speed, style and fast, hard-charging style and also as surfer Frankie Harrer’s partner. When Frankie was surfing in the recent Vans Pipe Masters, Hugo would hit the skate park (when not looking after their two-year-old) that is just across the Kam Highway from the iconic wave. Locals like Evan Mock, Ivan Florence, Heimana Reynolds and Carson Hancock can be found shredding its pool copings and tiles. It isn’t exceptional, but with this location, it doesn’t need to be.
Taghzout Skatepark, Morocco
There may be better skateparks in the world, but there are none with a better view than Morocco’s Taghzout Skatepark. Built in 2017 it sits high on the escarpment that overlooks the town of Taghzout. From the bowl, you can make out the swells that wrap into the iconic wave of Anchor Point. Importantly this was part of the Make Life Skate Life program, a charity which makes skateboarding accessible by building skateparks and developing skate programs that positively impact the lives of underserved youth worldwide. With the waves of Taghazout attracting surfers from all over the world, this park is designed to aid a cultural exchange that transcends nationality, class, religion, and cultural background. It’s also damn fun.
Kona Skatepark, Florida
Sure, it’s 15 miles inland, but the combo of being both the oldest operating skatepark in the world and just a 20-minute drive to the beach means Kona has to get a start on this list. The park features several concrete hills, a winding snake run, mini-ramps, and a vert ramp. It is considered the birthplace of the modern vert ramps and has maintained a thriving skateboard community, spirit and culture for four decades. Post skate hit the Jacksonville Beach Pier, Atlantic Beach Huguenot Beach Park for some fun (but crowded) beachbreaks.
Bondi on a picture-perfect day for riding concrete and riding waves. Photo: Andrei J Castanha
Bondi Skatepark
Cliched? Maybe. But while Australia has a host of unknown, and underrated, coastal skateparks, it’s still impossible not to put Bondi skatepark at the top of the list. Located 100 metres above the high tide mark of one of the world’s iconic beaches, it has hosted several of Australia’s largest skate events. Its 10ft-deep skate bowl (with a smaller 5 metres shallow bowl) is the big drawcard, but its transitions, ledges and street skate features attract local rippers and international visitors. Built in 1991, and revamped in 2004, this bowl has history, high-tech specs and a spectacular view of the waves. What more do you need?
Biarritz Skate Park
This modern, huge, wooden 2,400-square-meter indoor park has hosted the last four French street skating championships and is the official Olympic hub for Paris 2024. Half of the terrain is dedicated to a Street Zone offering flow, rails, curbs and transitions. The rest consists of mini ramps and a flat section with purpose-built and adjustable obstacles. The park is within a mile of Biarritz’s famed Cote de Basque and Grand Plage surfing beaches, and a 40-minute drive of the world-class beachies at Hossegor. Open in all weather and all year round, and all for just €5 a visit.
You can feel the skate history in Venice. Photo: Robson Hatsukami
Venice Beach Skatepark, California
Located between Santa Monica and Marina del Rey, Venice Beach is one of the world’s iconic skate locations. It was here in the 1970s that giants such as Jay Adams, Tony Alva, Stacey Peralta and Jeff Ho, aka the Dogtown Boys, melded their surf and skate roots to develop a whole new youth culture. In 2009, local Pat Ngoho helped design the 16,000-square-foot skate park that is nestled into the sand, and fabric, of this original surf and skate hub. From the moment you step onto the park’s hallowed ground, you’ll feel the infectious energy and camaraderie that binds the skateboarding community together.
The Quebradillas Skatepark, Puerto Rico
The park is in the small town of Quebradillas, smack in the middle of Puerto Rico’s wave-rich northwest coast. It has a view of the Caribbean Sea framed by coconut trees and is a short drive to surf the hubs of Isabela and Rincón. No wonder then that it has a surfer’s feel, with a pill-shaped upper bowl that connects via waterfalls to increasingly vertical terrain. It flows smoothly from transition to transition and offers a variety of walls and bowls, some as deep as 12 feet. The park is on the site of Miguel Ramos’s legendary DIY wood and metal Roller Vertical Exploration Skatepark which was started in the 1980s. In 2009 designer Stefan Hauser, from Placed to Ride Skateparks, updated the park, kept its cultural legacy, and added its concrete silky surface, beautiful curves and vertical extensions.
