Snake Run | |
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![]() A drone shot taken in 2023 with the start of the Snake Run in the bottom left | |
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General information | |
Type | Skatepark |
Location | Albany, Western Australia |
Coordinates | 35°01′10.2″S 117°53′52.3″E / 35.019500°S 117.897861°E |
Type | State Registered Place |
Designated | 17 May 2016 |
Reference no. | 1972 |
The Snake Run, also known as the Albany Snake Run, Albany Skate Track and Hare Street Skate Park, is a skatepark in Albany, Western Australia. [1] The park is the oldest community funded skatepark in Australia and the second oldest in the world. [2] [3]
The impetus for a dedicated skatepark came following the death of a skateboarder in Albany's main street in the mid-1970s. [4] In 1975 a group of students from Albany Senior High School formed a committee with the idea of building a skatepark. The group started fundraising and soon accumulated A$3,000. The Albany Town Council donated 3 acres (1 ha) of land that was once a gravel quarry and donated A$10,000 to the project. [5]
The track was opened in February 1976 by the American skateboarder Russ Howell. [5] [6]
The run is made from concrete and is 140 metres (459 ft) in length running downhill. [4] The track is curved downward and lipped with a wall on first turn with lower rises on the next two turns and finishing with a drained bowl at the end.
The park was heritage listed in 2016, making it one of the only three skateparks in the world that have heritage status. [3] [4]