There's something very charming about Pasir Ris Park. The coastal park, which opened in 1986, is an eastie's best-kept-secret. Since its beginnings, the park has been a place for recreation and nature appreciation for residents of Pasir Ris. Tucked away in the park is a mangrove forest, kitchen garden and butterfly garden. Bird enthusiasts can also observe the birds from the three-storey high bird watching tower located within the mangrove forest.
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Pasir Ris Park's history goes back to 1986, when the 70-hectare park was built mainly on reclaimed swampland stretching from Pasir Ris Beach in the west to Sungei Loyang in the east. Most of the early settlers in Pasir Ris lived in kampongs along Sungei Api Api. These villagers worked in the plantations close by. The kampongs were featured in several Malay films of the 1950s and 1960s including P. Ramlee’s Pendekar Bujang Lapok (1959).
Pasir Ris Park is labelled as an eastie's best-kept-secret for a reason. A fact unknown to many is that Pasir Ris Park is home to a wide range of biodiversities, such as herons, hornbills, otters and jellyfish.
Explore the beauty of the dense 6-hectare mangrove forest from the Mangrove Boardwalk. It's an easy 1.5km walk, but there are loads to see. There's also a three-storey Bird Watching Tower, perfect for bird enthusiasts to observe birds in their natural surroundings.
Those with green thumbs can learn more about the medicinal and culinary uses of plants at the Kitchen Garden. There are plants most are familiar with like mint and lemongrass, alongside other interesting finds like the Fishwort Plant and the Sugar Leaf plant. The garden is run and looked after by dedicated volunteers who sustain the garden, so be respectful of the place and do not pluck or remove any plants from the garden.
Did you know you can also find horses at Pasir Ris Park? Well, not the wild kinds. At Gallop Centre, you can interact with, feed the horses or go for riding lessons. If the kids love rabbits, there are also bunny feeding sessions on Tuesday to Thursday mornings from 10am to noon.
Pasir Ris Park is also famous for its adventure playground, one of Singapore's largest. It opened in 1986 and features swings, slides, hills and bridges, where the kids can run wild. There's also a seven-metre-tall netted rope pyramid for a bigger challenge.
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