#1 – Church Skatepark – La Iglesia.

This has to be one of the coolest indoor parks ever built! Artist Okuda San Miguel (aka Okudart) was commissioned by Red Bull and the guys at La Iglesia Skatepark to paint the inside of an 100 year old historic church in Spain with some incredible murals. Churches have been an incredible setting for skateparks, we have one in the UK, Germany has one too… Keep scrolling and you’ll see ’em.

#3 – Glow In The Dark Skatepark – Everton Park Wheels Park.

As far as I know this is a ‘World’s First’ as far as skateparks go… I guess this one isn’t about the location as such, but more of the idea behind it. Korean artist Koo Jeong A who was responsible for the glow in the dark skatepark in Otro, France (above) decided to bring his idea over to the UK and worked his magic on a skatepark in Everton. I think it looks pretty trippy and would be a laugh to hit at night!

#4 – The Nike Pool.

Easily one of the coolest projects I’ve ever seen in BMX (apart from the Nike Tunnel Jam) – Who’d have thought an old derelict swimming pool in Dagenham would be able to look like this! Nike completely overhauled the place and created one of the craziest setups I’ve ever seen with bowls, quarters, ledges and a rail in a sick street section and everything just seemed to link up so well. They even kept a diving board in there for good measure… Top marks. Would have loved to ride this place!

#6 – The Lost Bowl.

Ruben Alcantara and his friend Hugo from Portugal heard rumors about a bowl that was hidden in the middle of nowhere, this bowl was like a quest for the Holy Grail for them and they decided to go and look for it, what they found totally blew my mind…

#7 – Red Bull Barge.

The Red Bull Barge was another mental location for a skatepark to be built, even if it was just a temporary thing I’d have loved to ride this thing. Drew Bezanson (above) busting out a flair on the quarter while cruising along…

#8 – Bowl/Skatepark in Goa, India.

Had this one sent over by Sanjay Singh Rajpurohit over in India, he sent a few over but this was my favourite D.I.Y lookin park of the three he sent. This one was made in Goa by Nick Smith a skater from the UK and looks like it’s in the middle of nowhere and it’d be sick to ride.

#10 – Buszy, Milton Keynes.

The ‘Buzsy’ is located in Milton Keynes and was formerly the central bus station, a few skaters built some bits in there and the council liked it, then decided to extend the place! Always great to see when local councils get involved and help out, they’ve even built a few extra bits for people to skate & ride. Nice one!

#11 – The Spot, Tottenham.

The UK’s answer to Burnside. ‘The Spot’ in Tottenham is a locals only affair, built around 15 years ago by locals in the scene and the owners of Volt BMX & Bicycle Union were among the founders of this hand built UK park and the place is forever changing. Such a unique place with tons of heritage! Had most of the info sent over by Mat Scods in our FB Group so cheers for that!

#12 – The Front, Weymouth.

A skatepark by the sea is always going to be amazing in the summer, but this one takes the cake! The sheer size of The Front in Weymouth made this one of the top contenders to be in the article. We had this picture sent over by one of our FB users Clive Tiddy with the comment below:

“Top notch for summer sessions but in the winter it’s nearly always closed. I live in the white buildings at the top right of this photo, the wind is unbelievable…”

#14 – The Pod Skatepark, Birmingham.

A skatepark that had been neglected and left to decay had a new lease of life back in 2012 and re launched as The Pod Skatepark. I’ve been told it’s in a typically rough ghetto area of Bordesley Green but projects like this are just what we need, a positive thing for the kids to do rather than hanging about on the streets and causing trouble. Loving the paint job too!

#15 – Louisville Mega Cavern.

Not quite a skatepark, but still… The Mega Cavern is one of the largest underground bike facilities in the world based in Louisville, Kentucky. This former limestone mine has been transformed to create an underground area to have fun, there’s a huge bike park with dirt jumps, doubles, step ups, pump tracks etc. and facilities to do zip lining too! This has to be one of the coolest spots on earth no doubt!

#17 – Cannabis Field Mini Ramp.

Nearly forgot about this one… The video I spotted on FB earlier where skaters were ripping up a mini ramp (not a half pipe as it says in the video) in the middle of a huge cannabis plantation. Random, but rad!

#18 – Skaterham, Surrey.

Churches make ideal skateparks, its a well known fact. Skaterham in Caterham, Surrey is a fine example, this place is incredible if you know of any other parks in churches we could maybe do a feature on em so send ’em over!

#19 – Skatehal Arnhem.

A late addition to the article, but I couldn’t miss this one out… Skatehal Arnhem in The Netherlands is also built inside of a church like a few we’ve seen featured in this article. We had a message from Sybren Planting who is a part of a group of volunteers who helped build the skatepark and he sent us a pretty rad pic of the place too! Cheers for this submission Sybren.

“Referring to the article about unusual skateparks: together with a crew of riders and skaters, I’m part of a group of volunteers who run a skatepark that’s located inside a church in Arnhem, The Netherlands. We’ve been building ramps for a few years now and the park is now more beautiful then ever. Over the years we’ve added a jumpbox, a spine, a step-up and a bank-to-bank with a hip. We are constantly changing the park to make it more fun to ride. If you guys want to do a feature or drop by some time to ride, just let us know! If you’re interested you can always contact me or find out more on http://www.skatehalarnhem.nl. The photo is rider Steijn Leijzer who volunteers as well, shot by Martin Ohliger for Freedombmx.”