12 Essex skateparks to visit this spring
Outdoor skateparks officially reopened on 29 March, and what batter way to celebrate than a trip to some of Essex's finest examples. We've done the hard work for you and listed the twelve best skateparks in Essex (in alphabetical order).
Fancy hitting them all in one day? We've mapped out the quickest route (except the DIYs - you'll have to find them yourselves):
Don't go empty handed! View our range of complete skateboards.
Brentwood
Located within King George’s Playing Fields, Brentwood Skatepark consists of a neat street course next to an L-shaped bowl. The street section is nicely put together, with a 4-stair, handrail, hubba, euro gap and brick bank to keep you busy. The bowl has metal coping throughout and is split across two levels of around 5ft and 6ft, plus a 7ft extension.
There’s a little bit of everything here, but it feels a bit unfinished. The park was redeveloped once in 2011, and extended in 2013. Fingers crossed there’s more to come.
Address:
19 Hartswood Road
Warley
Brentwood CM14 5AE
United Kingdom
Chelmsford
A simple yet effective park design. The concrete is super smooth, helping you to glide around the mellow hips and hubbas. At either side there are banks and quarter pipes of various size and steepness. In the middle there’s a perfectly sized pyramid-handrail for tricks on or over, and if that’s not enough there’s a tasty 6ft mini ramp to boot.
Address:
Central Park
Chelmsford
CM2 0FQ
Delside
Paul 'PC' Caroll's 'Delside' began life in 2013 as a simple concrete mini-ramp in the woods. Eight years of hard work later, and the result is nothing short of incredible. If you're feeling generous you can donate to the ongoing development of Delside.
Harlow
Harlow skatepark is notable for having no fewer than three different bank-to-ledge variations. There's also a chunky 4-block if you feel like throwing yourself down something. At the back there's a a single-level 5ft bowl with pool coping and a 6ft extension.
Harlow has the honour of being the only skatepark on our list with full CCTV and a 10pm curfew. Better not snake the locals...
Address:
Harlow Town Park
Off School Lane
Harlow
Essex
CM20 3QG
Harold Hill
Opened in 2014, Harold Hill Skatepark is a free-flowing combination of street and transition. The clover-shaped bowl is lined with pool coping and has endless possibilities, with varying depth and steepness throughout. The street section has some mid-sized stairs with a hubba, a separate handrail, euro gap and plenty of wide-open flat ground.
Overall the layout of the park is well thought out, the type of park where you’ll never need to put your foot down (if you’re good enough).
Address:
Harold Hill Skatepark
Central Park
Dagenham Park Drive
Romford
Essex
RM3 9DD
Leigh-on-Sea
We’re biased on this one, it’s our local park and we’ve put our heart and soul into the recent (and upcoming!) improvements. In 2014, June Store began the planning, coordinating and fundraising for the improvement of the existing 10-year-old skatepark.
The park now consists of an expansive, free-flowing layout with plenty of transition, street staples, and endless lines.
The extension owes its design and build quality to Daryl Nobbs of Betongpark Ltd and Graham Newton, who contributed massively and broke the ground with the help of local contractors. The LOS Skatepark upgrade has given a new lease of life to this once tired skatepark.
New to skateboarding or just a bit rusty? Book a skateboarding lesson at Leigh-on-Sea Skatepark.
Address:
Leigh-on-Sea Skatepark
Castle Drive
Leigh-on-Sea
Essex
SS9 2ET
Website: LOSSkatepark.co.uk
Rayleigh
Rayleigh skatepark celebrates its 10th birthday this year, and it’s still going strong. This tightly-packed park is split over three levels: an upper section with a quarter, mellow hubbas and a rail; a mid section with a euro gap, 2-ft quarter and steep flatbank; and a lower section centred around two hips and some more transitions of varying heights.
This is a really fun park, but the cracks are beginning to show and after 10 years it’s in need of some TLC.
Address:
Beacon House
1 Websters Way
Rayleigh
SS6 8JQ
Rom
What do Buckingham Palace, Battersea Power Station and Rom Skatepark have in common? They’re all Grade II listed as having “particular historic and/or architectural significance”.
Ok, so Romford is now part of London, but we can’t talk about skateparks in the South East without mentioning Rom. Originally built in 1978, it is one of the world’s oldest (and gnarliest) skateparks. Over the years many of the biggest names in skateboarding (Lance Mountain, Rune Glifberg, Tony Hawk etc.) have lost some skin on the rugged concrete.
Address:
Upper Rainham Rd
Hornchurch
RM12 4ES
Website: RomSkatepark.co.uk
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden’s ‘One Minet Skatepark’ was built in 2007 as a tribute to local skateboarder Andy Minet, who was tragically killed in a car crash. We haven’t put this list in order of best-to-worst, but if we did then One Minet would be a real contender for the top spot.
In the centre of the park are three bowls, of increasing size and difficulty. Around the edges is a flowing street course with ledges, hips, euro gaps and a 6-stair with handrail. A unique feature of this park is the dedicated beginner area, which is outside of the main skatepark.
Address:
Peaslands Rd
Saffron Walden
CB11 3ED
Website: www.oneminetpark.co.uk
Southend-on-Sea
Southend was long overdue a skatepark when the ‘Skatey McSkateface’ opened on the site of the old Warrior Square swimming pool in 2019. If you can look past the terrible name, you’ll find a decent park with hips, rails, hubbas, and plenty of transition. There’s also a split-level bowl, with a deep end to rival the original swimming pool.
Address:
Warrior Square
Southend On Sea
Essex
SS1 2JJ
Urbside
Urbside is famous for its location - tucked beneath a bridge on the A120. Built by Mark Radman and friends, it's an unlikely joint effort between both skateboarders and BMXers. Now in its 10th year, Urbside is Essex's longest serving DIY skatepark.
Waltham Abbey
Waltham Abbey Skatepark is one of the biggest parks on our list, having undergone an extension in 2015. The usual rails, ledges, hips and hubbas are spread out over wide areas of flatground, making this park perfect for a mellow Sunday session. At one end there’s an open-ended bowl to keep things interesting.
Address:
Waltham Abbey Skatepark
Brooker Road
Town Mead
Waltham Abbey
Essex
EN9 1RS
With so many skateparks in Essex, there's no reason to stay home this spring, but before you head out check out our latest decks, trucks and wheels.
Need to brush up on your skills? Check out LOSSkatepark.co.uk for skateboarding coaching.
