Skater’s paradise: Designing the ultimate backyard skate ramp

Whether you’re a newbie, experienced skater, or former “skatehead” considering coming out of retirement, having a skate ramp in your backyard is the ultimate dream come true.  

As it happens, building a backyard skate ramp has also been a long-held dream of our Endeavour Foundation Prize Team, and for our 2023 Christmas Prize Home, they’ve finally been able to make it happen. 

With an ambitious vision, and a very healthy budget, our team reached out to pro skatepark builder and designer, Keijo Ruuven, of KO Ramps based in Tweed Heads to create a backyard skater’s paradise.

Having been involved in building competition courses for some of the biggest extreme sports festivals in Europe, Keijo was well and truly up for the task.  

“We wanted to make something really special,” Keijo said.

One of the biggest backyard projects KO Ramps has ever taken on, the skate ramp took about five days to install on the Glass House Mountains site after months of planning and work behind the scenes.

“We designed and manufactured all of the parts in our workshop,” Keijo said.

The final result is an epic backyard skate park valued at over $50,000 that has to be seen to be believed, with quarter pipes at both ends, plus extra features in the middle like handrails for an extra challenge. 

“We designed it so you can skate around it and do endless lines,” Keijo explained. 

“We wanted to create something where you could keep going and going and you didn’t have to stop.” 

KO’s tips for creating your own skater’s paradise

If our Prize Home skater’s paradise has got you pumped to put in a skate ramp at your place, we asked Keijo for some tips on what you need to consider to bring your dream to life:

What do you need to think about if you’re keen on having a skate ramp in your backyard?

“The most important thing is to consider the space that you have for it. You need a nice level flat area for it. If you have a sloped backyard, it’s quite difficult to build.

“Normally the smaller half pipes are 3 metres wide by 7 metres. That’s a good starting point.

“I would also recommend not positioning your skate ramp under trees. You don’t want to put it in the shade where it doesn’t dry out. And if you put it under trees, the trees will drop tree sap on it or leaves, and then it can get slippery.”

What’s the most popular ramp for backyards?

“We have different heights for the backyard ramps, but the most popular one is the three-foot ramp which is about 90cm high. That’s a good, medium size for the kids, or even for the skaters that are quite experienced, they can still do a lot of different, technical tricks.

“Some of the smaller ramps, the kids can get bored quite quickly, but the three foot is a good ramp that kids will enjoy for a long time.

“Of course, we can add things like handrails and step ups too. It just depends on your budget.”

If you don’t have the space, or the budget, for a backyard half pipe, what else can you set up at home so the kids can have some fun and get some practice in?

“We have a whole range of different small skate ramps and portable modular ramps. We also have different sized quarter pipes.

“They all come in a flat pack and anyone handy can put them together with a drill. The pack has all the parts in it, all the screws. 

“Once you’ve put it together, you can store it in the garage out of the weather, and then, whenever you want to skate, you can just wheel it out onto the driveway or onto the street and do your tricks there.

“It saves going to the skatepark all the time and the kids can have fun and practice at home.

What would be a good simple set up for a beginner?

“For the beginners I would recommend a smaller quarter pipe and then something like a kicker. We have different sized kickers. Kids want to progress quickly, and they want to start doing the jumps, so the kicker is something they feel confident with, and they can start doing the jumps.”

Are back yard skate ramps just for kids? Or do the grown-up kids use them too?

“It’s mostly for the kids, but there are also these middle-aged guys or skater Mums, that have always wanted to have a skate ramp in the backyard because it was their childhood dream. 

“A lot of these guys don’t go to the skate park anymore and they don’t want to be there with lots of kids and they want to skate in privacy and do their tricks and practice.”

Are there any other uses for a home skate ramp?

“The smaller kids always use them as slides. If people have more kids, they buy the ramps for their older kids to learn to skate and then the little kids will want to get on and use them as slides.”

Get your ticket to skater’s paradise

If you can picture the kids (or yourself) popping ollies in the backyard of our Christmas Prize Home, make sure you snap up a $10 ticket to win this amazing $2.35 million package.

To explore this fully kitted-out family home in person, you’ll find directions to the Glass House Mountains and address details here. 

Or if you just can’t wait, take a virtual tour now.