Pumptrack do Parque Urbano da Malhada

Ílhavo, the seafaring town just south of Aveiro, opened its first pumptrack in 2024 in the Parque Urbano da Malhada. The track was built where an old minigolf course had fallen into disuse, as part of a wider makeover of the park that also renewed the ball courts, planted more green space and added a padel court. The council inaugurated the finished park on 6 August 2024 and made a point of saying that the new pumptrack and padel court are free for anyone to use.

The park is squeezed between the Piscina Municipal de Ílhavo and the Pavilhão Adriano Nordeste, the sports hall where the local basketball club, Illiabum, plays. That makes it easy to find and easy to combine with a swim.

A pumptrack is a closed loop of paved track made of rounded bumps, called rollers, and banked curves, called berms. Ílhavo’s tourism site sums up the idea: riders move forward using only the swing of their body. Instead of pedalling or pushing off the ground, you push down as you roll into each dip and lift as you go over each bump, and that movement keeps you going.

The first laps usually feel slow and bumpy. Once a child finds the rhythm, they can get round without pedalling, and the same skill helps later on bigger skate parks and bike trails.

The council describes the track as suitable for skateboards, BMX and roller skates. The sources don’t list scooters or ordinary children’s bikes by name. In practice pumptracks in Portugal are ridden on all of these, but look for any signs at the entrance.

• Ages 4 to 7 on a balance bike, small bike or scooter can roll slowly round the loop at a quiet time. It helps to have an adult walking alongside for the first laps.
• Ages 8 to 12 are the ideal age. Most can learn to pump a full lap in one visit.
• Teenagers can push for speed and try to link the bumps without a single pedal stroke.

Toddlers don’t have much to do here besides watch. The sources don’t mention a playground in the Malhada park.

Around the track are two multi-sport courts for basketball and football, two tennis courts and a padel court. Ílhavo’s tourism site says all of them are free and don’t need booking: if a court is empty, you can use it. Everything is lit until about midnight, which helps on summer evenings when it’s too hot to ride earlier.

Just past the pool the tourism site lists an outdoor fitness area for older people, a picnic area and a dog park. It also points out that the park makes a good rest stop for anyone walking or cycling the Grande Rota da Ria de Aveiro, the long-distance route around the lagoon.

The sources don’t publish rules for the track, so bring a helmet and gloves as a minimum, and knee and elbow pads for beginners and skaters. Everyone rides the loop in the same direction, so teach children to look before they drop in, not to stop on the track and to step off to the side if they fall. Faster riders turn up after school and in the evening, and weekday mornings in the holidays are calmer.

Ílhavo has two more free skate spots. Its tourism site describes a skatepark in Gafanha da Nazaré, next to the municipal pools there, the EMER road-safety school and the campsite, with wooden ramps that mix street obstacles with halfpipes for skateboards, inline skates and BMX freestyle, and easy parking. In August 2024 the council also showed off a new skatepark at the northern end of Praia da Barra, beside the beach.

Pair a ride with the Museu Marítimo de Ílhavo, with its tank of live cod and a 1940s trawler to walk through, or head to the coast to see the Farol da Barra, Portugal’s tallest lighthouse. The Piscina Municipal de Ílhavo is next door for a swim. For a bigger skate park, try the Skate Park de Aveiro in Aveiro’s city park, or the pump track and jump lines at the Águeda Bike Park.

Is the Ílhavo pumptrack free?

Yes. It’s free and you don’t need to book.

What time does it close?

The tourism site says the park is lit until about midnight. It doesn’t publish closing times.

Can you ride a scooter on the pumptrack?

The council lists skateboards, BMX and roller skates. Scooters aren’t mentioned, so check the signs.

Is there parking?

The tourism site doesn’t mention parking at the Malhada park. It does say the Gafanha da Nazaré skatepark has easy parking.

Is it suitable for young children?

For children who can already ride a balance bike or small bike, yes, at quiet times. There’s no playground listed in the park.