Make your own mini skatepark in your backyard

Ever dreamt about transforming your backyard to a mini skatepark? We have some useful tips, ideas, and resources on how to make it possible (without ripping out the garden or laying a tonne of cement). Here's a range of projects you and your mates (especially builder mates) might like to try out.

Outdoor swimming pools

Do you have an outdoor pool in your backyard? The easiest way to create a skate bowl or smooth surfaced area for skating would be empty the water from the pool in the months when the pool isn't in use. It's a trend that been popular since the 70s. A drought in Southern California during the late 70s led to a massive uptake in skateboarding. Youth were keen to make the most of the smooth hard surfaces of the evaporated swimming pools.

Not all of us have swimming pools in our backyards, so we have some more ways to create your own mini skatepark.

Building a mini ramp

If you're a tradie, handyman, or simply have done a few DIY projects how about building your own mini ramp? There are many easy to follow tutorials online to help to build a portable mini ramp. If you have the power tools (electrical drill, and saw) already the building materials should cost around $500 (NZD). Do check with your local hardware store for a closer quote.

As with all building projects do follow all health and safety protocol, and have an adult handle the tools.

Here's a good Youtube video on constructing a portable mini ramp:

Building a skate rail

Another fun D.I.Y project to transform your backyard into a skatepark is building skate rails. They are also easier and cheaper to build than the portable mini ramp so might be a good one to start with. There is a number of ways to make your own rails but a useful Youtube tutorial is the one below. Rub on the rails lots of skate wax to make it silky smooth.

Make your own grind box

Grind boxes are another fairly straightforward construction. They are also pretty cheap to build too. Ask nicely at your local hardware store and you might be able to be given the wooden pallet for free! You don't need many tools either for building a grind box. Here's a simple Youtube video to follow in building a grind box:

Build a skate ramp

How about adding in a skate ramp to your backyard skate park? A reasonably cheap DIY project which you will be bound to get a lot of use out off. Check with your local hardware store for the cost of the plywood and materials.

A added bonus is that it will be small enough to store away in the garage after you use it.

Here's a useful video tutorial to create you construct your own skate ramp:

Once you have created your backyard skate rails, grind box, skate ramp you may want to decorate with spray paint stencils and skateboarding stickers. We would love to seeing your creations, so tag us in your stories and posts on social media.