| Snake Run | |||||||||
| Map Dot Label: | Snake Run | ||||||||
| Location: | Albany, Western Australia | ||||||||
| Coordinates: | -35.0195°N 117.8979°W | ||||||||
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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 3,000. The Albany Town Council donated 3acres of land that was once a gravel quarry and donated 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 140m (460feet) 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]