A Glimpse Into Santiago's Epic Skate Scene

Santiago’s skate scene is big. Thousands of kids grab their decks each day to hit the city’s many skate parks or take advantage of its awesome freestyle terrain. But things haven’t always been so great for the skater in Santiago, with an oppressive military dictatorship and a lack of infrastructure making life difficult in years past. Let’s take a look at history of the scene as well as the city’s best skate parks, shops and most legendary local shredders.

Santiago’s scene first kicked off in the early 70s as enthusiastic skaters returned home from living in the United States, bringing their passion for the sport with them. The scene quickly blossomed, particularly with the opening of the legendary Parque Bustamente in 1979, but it largely stopped in its tracks as Pinochet’s regime took over. When the dictatorship finally ended in the early 90s, Chile underwent an economic boom. Its new vibrant free-market economy saw the implementation of large scale infrastructure projects including a number of high quality skate parks throughout the city.

Parque Bustamente is Santiago’s oldest major skate park, located right in the heart of the city center next to the metro of the same name. The huge complex of some 32,000f2 (3,000 m2) has several bowls plus plenty of pipes, rails and ramps to keep punters happy. Although it wasn’t the first skate park in the city, Bustamente commands respect for its pivotal role in kicking off the scene. Parque de los Reyes is a crowd favorite for its vibrant atmosphere, back-to-back bowls and stacks of street skating obstacles. Competitions are often held here which regularly pull in the city’s biggest names. Other smaller neighborhood parks can be found scattered throughout the city.

Skatepark Parque Bustamante, Providencia, Chile, Santiago

Parque de los Reyes, Pdte Balmaceda, Santiago, Chile

Skate competition in Parque de los reyes

Freestyle street skating has really taken off thanks to Santiago’s wide, mostly flat, well-paved streets and avenues. Obstacles abound for practicing tricks although security guards and policemen don’t tend to approve. One of the great things about street skating in Santiago is that public transport easily whisks riders up to hilly suburbs from where they can cruise downhill for miles on end.

The skate culture in Santiago’s streets is more inclusive and friendly than other big cities. It’s common for strangers to dish out advice on the best spots to go or give pointers on how to land that impossible trick.

More and more skate shops are opening up as the sport continues to gain momentum. Diamond Skateshop is a local favorite run by a crew of skaters who really know their stuff, offering self-branded gear at affordable prices. The ever popular Rapside Skateshop has an awesome variety of gear from all the best brands and gets especially crowded when they offer 2-4-1 specials on skate shoes and snap backs. Finally, Homies Skateshop was created with the intention of being a hangout for skaters to meet up and socialize. Stacks of locally produced skate videos are premiered here and their equipment is pretty good too.

Diamond Skateshop, Avda Providencia 2198, Santiago, Chile

Rapside Skateshop, Ahumada 85, Santiago, Chile

Homies Skateshop, Av. Nueva Providencia 2210, Providencia, Chile

As for identities, Santiago boasts a bunch of world class skaters who have become legends at home and abroad. Check out the following clips of the city’s best shredders doing their thing in Santiago and around the world.

Christian Elizondo

Mathias Torres

Stavros Razis

Tony Sarroca

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.