The best public parks for kids in Singapore

Gardens by The Bay

Spanning 101 hectares, Gardens by the Bay definitely does not lack in play and leisure spaces for the kids and the whole family. There's plenty of open spaces and green lawns to set up your picnic mat, an amazing water play area for kids, flora and fauna to take in, the convenience of clean toilets, shops and eateries for snacks and beautiful trails and views within the park to see. What can we say? Gardens By The Bay is the ultimate park in Singapore. 

Labrador Nature Reserve

Part of the 10-kilometre Southern Ridges Walk, Labrador Nature Reserve is the perfect retreat by the coast that provides sun, sea and WWII history in equal measure. Take the kids up the hill to marvel at guns, battlements and tunnels left behind by the British, before going for a breezy walk along a new nature and coastal walk. If you're lucky to catch low tide conditions, you and your family can spend some time on the Bukit Chermin boardwalk spotting crustaceans, seagrasses and other marine life. 

Fort Canning Park

Fort Canning Park's Jubilee Park is a wonderland for children. Here, kids can choose from a myriad of slides, swings, nets, and more – some charmingly worked into the park's hilly landscape. They'll have tons of fun speeding down the slides built into the slopes, or navigating across a rope bridge. Jubilee Park also has a wooden obstacle course, seesaws and wobble boards for them to have fun to their heart's content. 

Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve

A great day out for both kids and adults, strap on your best walking shoes and trudge through the swamps of Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. Follow well-marked trails with defined footpaths (in case you're worried about the kids getting lost) and learn more about the flora and fauna that call this mangrove forest home. There is also a Junior Wetlands area if trekking the entire park is too overwhelming.

Weekly, volunteer-led tours – they regularly change – introduce the plants, birds, insects and other indigenous species found in this ASEAN Heritage Park (Singapore has two, the other being Bukit Timah Nature Reserve). Take a spot at observation hides or rent binoculars to bird-watch. You might be lucky to spot some monkeys, snakes and crocs swimming in the river. 

The 3.5-kilometre Changi Airport Connector allows you to cycle, skate, run, jog, and walk to Jewel Changi Airport and the terminals from East Coast Park or any of the Park Connector Network (PCN), and vice versa. It’s also home to the city’s largest permanent outdoor display of life-sized dinosaurs Changi Jurassic Mile, as well as pit stop facility Hub & Spoke where you can rent bicycles from GoCycling, cool off with a pay-per-use shower after a sweat session, and dine under the stars at Hub & Spoke Café which offers a menu that captures a colourful, multi-cultural variety – from toast and kopi to eggs Benedict and bubble tea.

Jurong Eco Garden

Hidden in the industrial CleanTech Park in Jurong is a tranquil eco-garden located next to the Thow Kwang Pottery Jungle. Go on an educational journey at this five-hectare park that covers over four main zones – the Summit Forest, the Wildlife Corridor, the Stream Ravine and the Freshwater Swamp Forest. There are also some installations around the park that showcase ecological efforts and ideas like recycling rainwater, composting, and more so the young ones can pick up good habits about living in an urban green city. What's a park without some art and sculptures? Go on a stroll to check out the ceramic art around the trails and climb up the viewing platform to get a vast view of the entire park. The eco-garden is also home to plenty of flora and fauna like several butterfly species, birds, and dragonflies.

Admiralty Park

Take a wild ride down any one of the 26 slides at Admiralty Park, a 27ha park in northern Singapore situated on a hilly terrain with Sungei Cina river running through it. Don’t mistake it for just any regular park – because of its undulating terrain, the park is fitted with unique slide designs and is loosely separated into three main play areas: Junior Play, Adventure Play and Family Terracing Play.

The young and the young-at-heart can slide down Singapore’s longest and tallest tube slide at 23m long and 9m high in a public park. But that’s not the longest one in the park yet – that title goes to The Curved Roller Slide, a 34m long outdoor slide lined with black tubes similar to that of a conveyor belt for easy sliding. Besides the slides, there’s an inclusive playground fitted with a wheelchair swing and merry-go-round to support play between children with and without needs.  

Hindhede Nature Park

If you're looking for a leisurely hike with the family, head to Hindhede Nature Park located next to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve which has easy trails and well-defined footpaths perfect for families, children and hiking beginners. Scenic and serene, it is also an excellent spot for wildlife watching as it is home to inhabitants like the banded woodpecker, clouded monitor lizard and plantain squirrel so it pays to keep your eyes open when taking a walk. The main highlight is the picturesque Hindhede Quarry which is located at the end of the park. 

Lakeside Gardens

Lakeside Garden is specially landscaped and designed for families and the community to come together to play, learn and bond. The waterside park features many play areas for children – adults, feel free to join. Clusia Cove is a water playground where children can experience water movements that mimic tidal patterns, surface ripples and directional currents similar to those at actual coastal shores. Drawing inspiration from animals that live in the wild, the Forest Ramble playground offers many interesting play stations that let you see and feel what it is like to be an otter, crab, hero, frog and other creatures.  

Clusia Clove is temporarily closed due to Covid-19 restrictions

Singapore Botanical Gardens

This family-friendly spot was established in 1852 and are a tranquil respite from the city buzz. Pack a picnic with the fam and sit on the lawns by the magnificent swan lake where kids can run free and then feed the black Australian swans.

During weekends, tours to its rainforest patch are available, while outdoor concerts are often held at Symphony Lake. And with the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden, where children can run wild and explore the farm, orchard, and forest which has its own stream and ponds, this nature spot is family-friendly.

Pasir Ris Park

Which other park allows families to carve through water on a kayak and then explore a 6-hectare mangrove forest? And that’s not even mentioning the playground here, one of the largest in town. 

The PA Water-Venture branch (125 Elias Rd) takes full advantage of the park’s location overlooking the sea. You can pick up kayaking and laser sailing (you gotta be above 12) or, for those 13 and up, abseiling and sport climbing. 

Also venture to the western tip of the park and embark on the Mangrove Boardwalk. The trail leads to the Bird-watching Tower – remember to pack a pair of binoculars and keep an eye out for monitor lizards. Oh, and Pasir Ris Park also allows camping. All you have to do is to apply for a permit at an AXS station on the day itself.

Punggol Park

Clocking in at 5 hectares, Punggol Park’s pond is ideal for waterside jog with the family. But if you guys have brought food, Punggol Park has a few designated picnic spots, too.

If the little ones have too much energy to expend, take them to the various play areas around the park or head to the bicycle kiosk, which can be found at the north-western tip of the park. The route around the central pond may not be long and winding, but that makes it perfect for kids who are only starting to learn how to skate or ride.

HortPark 

It may be the smallest on our list, but HortPark’s has many garden sections that will be a great learning experience for kids. Take them on a quick trip to the Balinese gardens, get them fascinated with the light-reflective plants at the Silver Garden or you can even make them work at the gardening resource centre. The centre is a treasure trove for those with green thumbs: it regularly organises activities, some specially for kids, held across its 21 gardens.

Changi Beach Park

The beach, one of the oldest in Singapore, is located so far away from the city centre that it has remained relatively undeveloped. And that’s a good thing.

Unlike East Coast Park, Changi Beach Park has a distinct kampong vibe. You’ll feel it the moment you sink your toes into the white sand. In fact, we daresay that this park is your best bet if you want to escape the weekend throngs. Rent bicycles for the family and hit the nearby Park Connectors, or book one of the 20 barbecue pits across the entire park – and since most people flock to its cousin on East Coast, it’s relatively easier to score one here.