Belconnen Skatepark

Rebuilt in 2011 by the amazing folks at Convic (see the details here http://www.convic.com/projects/belconnen) this is truly one of Australia best skateparks. It all starts at the western end with the original 10ft keyhole bowl before descending quickly (via a big stair set) into an epic snakebowl of roiling, curving, taco-ing tranny’s that wrap up in a stunning 8ft bowl. You can get lost in these virtual waves before finally hitting the lip and the deep-end. Once you exit the bowl you are immediately greeted with a cracking 4ft mini with a couple of extension, sure it has some big coping, but its still rock solid and when its not filled with scooter kids you can have a lot of fun here.

On the lower level running alongside the snakebowl/mini is the eclectic street plaza. An inspired collection of stair sets, boxes, tacos, manual pads, ledges and various street bits – simply too much to try and detail here. Importantly tho it caters to skaters of all skill levels, weather you’re just learning you’re first ollie’s onto a manual pad or tray flipping a 7-stair, there is something here to keep you busy for hours. The surface is silky smooth and fast and all of the lips, edging and coping are in great condition given its only a couple of years old.

Apart from the awesomeness of the actual skatepark, one of the highlights of Belco is that its open and under full lights till 11:30pm every night – so you can really have a full day here. And you need it. The only downside is the scooters… lots of scooters everywhere, especially in the school holidays.

Heaps of food, parking and amenities around. There really is no excuse not to visit!

Tuggeranong Skatepark

When it opened in the late 90’s Tuggeranong Skatepark was one of the best in Australia, an epic collection of vert and street beautifully positioned on the edge Lake Tuggeranong. That was a long time ago and although its still a lot of fun to skate, its time for an upgrade. The surface is showing its age, the coping is well beat up and its all just a bit sad looking.

The eclectic setup starts with a couple of unique half-pipe relics that have a cement base but a metal surface. The large one is around 12ft and the smaller around 8ft and while they are fast and furious the surface is full of kinks and dents and edges that stick out. There’s also a decent amount of rust and gunk – just like the bark rings of of tree Im sure it has captured a rich history, its just not the best surface to skate on. The street section is a series of 5-6ft quarters (including a spine) scattered around the perimeter as well as a small central funbox. There’s also a fun 3ft mini hiding up the back and a weird snake run thing that ends with a mini half-bowl… eclectic right? If you’re in Canberra its worth checking out, but there’s a lot more on offer at Belco and Woden

Located with in the grounds of the luscious Tuggeranong Town Park there’s plenty of amenities around including BBQ’s, a Leisure Centre, playground and plenty of free parking. You could probably even go fishing if you were really keen. A 10 minute walk south east takes you to ‘downtown’ Tuggeranong where you can find a decent feed and also Trilogy Skateshop for all your skateboarding hardware needs.

Woden Skatepark

Review coming soon, in the meantime here are our photos.