The Best Public Skateparks in Buenos Aires

The city of Buenos Aires went from having no public skateboarding tracks, popularly known as skateparks, to having at least fifteen. If memory serves, the first was the one at Parque Centenario, which still stands today and was affectionately called "el Cenicero" (the Ashtray) back then, due to its small size and circular shape. That skatepark was inaugurated in 2007, and it was an anomaly. The direct precedent had been the failed construction of a track at Parque Sarmiento, which was abandoned due to a cocktail of bad design and corruption.

But the radical change came in 2011, when the Converse Skate Plaza was inaugurated at the intersection of Juramento and Figueroa Alcorta, with a whopping 1,180 square meters of pure polished concrete. Over these 13 years, 13 more tracks have been added, each with its own characteristics and particularities. Some very well executed, others not so much, some with complex bowl systems and others with a few disconnected quarters.

But without a doubt, the emergence and multiplication of skateparks in the city of Buenos Aires as well as across the entire country -- today every major city in Argentina has at least one top-quality track -- has brought skateboarding into a new era of training, competition, and professionalism.

But enough with the preamble: here it is, without further ado, a complete list of all public skateparks in the Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires, with geolocation and everything.

1. Parque Centenario

The first public skatepark is small but friendly. The transitions are very mellow: not too steep, not too tight. This allows you to calmly try out how a quarter pipe, a flat section, and a coping work. Over the years, the locals have been adding obstacles to give it more complexity. And you can go at any time, since it sits outside the park's fences.

2. Converse Skate Plaza

As we said: over a thousand square meters of pure polished concrete. A circuit that allows you to hit many lines, with obstacles of all kinds: pyramids, hubbas, gaps, and manual pads. A fully street-style circuit with perfect execution in both design and construction. A milestone among the city's public parks. The one that truly started it all.

3. Plaza Houssay - Skatepark Facultades

When the Correo Central entered the renovation that turned it into one of the most beautiful cultural centers in Latin America, all the skaters who used to gather on its stairs on weekends had to find new destinations. The Plaza Houssay had just been remodeled, facing the UBA Schools of Medicine and Economics, leaving behind a series of very attractive obstacles. It soon became the nerve center of Buenos Aires skateboarding. After a few years, the plaza was renovated again and an adjacent square was used to build a track and get the skaters out of Houssay. The result is a small but fun park, with quarter pipes, rails, and manual pads, well suited for all kinds of fun.

4. La Fosa

This tremendous skatepark is in the Barracas neighborhood, near the border with Constitucion, alongside the Frondizi Highway (9 de Julio Sur). It consists of a series of somewhat scattered obstacles, but with a clear main attraction: the massive bowl in the middle. It is among the well-built and well-executed parks.

5. Parque Deportivo Costanera Norte - Pacha Park

Located on the banks of the Rio de la Plata and next to where the infamous Pacha nightclub used to operate, you will find perhaps the best skatepark in the city. Or at least one of the two best. A huge track with several differentiated sections: one with obstacles sized for beginners, then an intermediate area full of ramps, quarters, and gaps, ending in an open bowl with some of the smoothest, most enjoyable transitions in the country's skateparks. Additionally, near the main skatepark there are some minis and a whole path you can ride with your board. The cherry on top: you can land a kickflip while watching planes touch down at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery. Not even in our wildest dreams did we imagine something like that.

6. Skatepark Plaza Haiti

Right across from the side of the Hipodromo, on Avenida Bullrich, sits the Plaza Republica de Haiti. At the edge of what is known as the "bosques de Palermo" (Palermo woods), surrounded by vegetation and Larreta-era plazas, stands the eponymous skatepark. Very close to the Costanera Norte park, the Converse, and the Vans bowl. This area has the highest concentration of parks in Buenos Aires, and does so in an environment full of greenery. A marvel. The skatepark itself has several tall ramps that allow you to go from side to side, with obstacles in the middle for landing tricks using the ramps' momentum, a short but deep bowl, and a new section featuring quarter pipes, pyramids, and hubbas. A gem.

7. Skatepark Vans

In the middle of what used to be the old velodrome of the city of Buenos Aires sits a massive bowl, with enough depth to include a vertical section, built jointly by the Ciudad de Buenos Aires and the shoe brand Vans. The setting, on a sunny day, easily reminds you of some peripheral neighborhood in Los Angeles. However, the bowl seems to have had some construction problems. The area, very close to the river, appears to be flood-prone, and the track often has persistent water seepage. You can see the limescale marks on the walls, as if it were an abandoned swimming pool. On one hand, it is a shame, but on the other it makes for a spectacular post-apocalyptic skater setting. Very typical of this culture as well.

8. Skatepark Nunez - El Poli

Next to the Polideportivo Manuela Pedraza, on the border between Nunez and Saavedra, stands the Poli skatepark. In the same vein as the Houssay one, it is a chill track with good back-and-forth flow, Plaza Haiti style, that lets you ride without pushing and with obstacles in the middle for fun. It is everything you would expect from a park of this size.

9. Skatepark Mataderos

We leave the city's northern corridor and head south, to the glorious Mataderos neighborhood. Born around the same time as the Converse -- if I am not mistaken -- the Mataderos skatepark was a novelty in its day and a great track for the sport. Plus, it has a super active community of locals who have organized classes, tournaments, and a whole lot more. A great spot in the city, in the middle of a great neighborhood. A real treat.

10. Skatepark de Villa Luro

The crown jewel. Neck and neck with Pacha to see which is the best, the skatepark inaugurated in 2023 in Villa Luro is the product of the hustle of a group of kids who pressured the Ciudad de Buenos Aires into building something decent under the crossing of Avenida Juan B. Justo and the Autopista 25 de Mayo. It truly is a work of art in polished concrete. It has everything, and in depth. A small bowl for beginners, a section of ramps with obstacles in the middle for advanced practice, and then two or three connected bowls, a 360-degree pipe in the middle, and vertical. It really is insane, a total luxury. On top of that, it sits under the highway, which brings back memories of the beloved (and now defunct) Backside, one of the first private skateparks in the Ciudad de Buenos Aires, and an endless meeting point. The only truly baffling thing is why, just six or eight months after its opening, the city government decided to fence it in. On one hand, making some parts of the circuit very dangerous, and on the other, breaking the organic flow with the surrounding passageways that gave it a truly brutal aura of sophistication. Anyway, as my friend Farfan says, "they can't stand seeing you do well."

11. Skatepark Villa Real - Pombo Park

Perhaps the weakest of all. Located in a new plaza built on a vacant lot in the Villa Real neighborhood, it is a series of disconnected quarter pipes and ramps. Even so, it is a nice place for little kids to learn to skate and for neighborhood teenagers and students from nearby schools to hang out. The unofficial name is Pombo Park, in honor of a local skater who passed away before the park was finished. I played basketball with Pombo in 1999 at the GEVP club: he had the highest ollie I have ever seen in my life.

12. Skatepark Roffo

My skatepark. Although it is a bit rough around the edges, I love it. It was installed in a plaza right at the tip of Villa del Parque, next to the San Martin train tracks. The small square is named after Elena Roffo, a scientist who researched cancer medicine. The Roffo hospital (named after her husband) is about ten blocks away. The park is not perfectly designed: it has very tall ramps, a super steep half bowl, and some nearly impossible obstacles. Still, for me its existence is a comfort to the soul, because when that plaza was just a small football pitch, I used to go skate there. Also, that is where I learned to ride bowls and drop in without dying. The fact that it is so steep means that riding any other bowl becomes easier. It is like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber from Dragon Ball Z, but for skating.

13. Skatepark Garrahan

For years, Hospital Garrahan was one of the crucial skate spots in Buenos Aires. But with changes in government, skating was eventually banned at the hospital's entrance. It seems the GCBA finally decided to honor that tradition and set up a couple of obstacles across the street, in the park that Farfan baptized as "el campito de la muerte" (the little field of death). Excellent city spot. I have not tried the park yet. I promise to post an update.

14. Skatepark Pompeya-Riachuelo

Almost on the banks of the Riachuelo and as part of the improvements to its waterfront, the GCBA built a skatepark. It also appears simple but well-structured, with its quarter pipes, ramps, and obstacles. I have not yet had the pleasure of visiting it.

15. Skatepark Puerto Madero

From its multiple renovations to the creation of the Paseo del Bajo, Puerto Madero has been a place where countless spots have appeared -- specific points in the city that allow you to do tricks. From the Plaza Reina de Holanda to the ramps of the Paseo, passing through the small plazas, there has always been skater activity in the area. It seems the city government also decided to make it official and went all out with a park that looks, from the photos, on par with the Converse Skate Plaza. It remains to be visited for better conclusions.

16. Skatepark Huergo

Located right under the Balbin highway, right at the boundary separating Puerto Madero from La Boca, a few blocks from La Usina del Arte and across from the Colonia Express terminal, you will find this new and small park with great flow.

And that is all: an exhaustive list of the 16 skateparks in the Ciudad de Buenos Aires, with a promise to keep improving the reviews as we get to visit the ones we have not yet tried.