TGIF, am I right? Parents, if you’re scratching your heads trying to figure out where to bring your kids this weekend, ONE Intervention has (as always) got your back. By now, we’re sure that you’ve tried most – or if not all! – of our June Holiday Ideas, and are hoping for more exciting green spaces that you can bring your little ones to. So, we’ve prepared this list of family-friendly parks just for you!
Whether you’re looking for a park with a heritage trail for some extracurricular enrichment for your kiddos, or a goold old giant playground for your hyperactive toddlers, there’s bound to be something on the list for you. Just read to the end to find out more. Alright, ready? Fantastic! Without further ado, we have first on our list…
The Jacob Ballas Gardens
This is absolutely the gold standard for a family-friendly park. The Jacob Ballas Gardens is Asia’s largest garden meant for kids and more than lives up to the hype that it’s gotten in recent years. The gardens are a lush paradise of greenery with a variety of exciting play areas for children of all ages, making it suitable for both your little tot and your teenager.
Most notably, the Jacob Ballas Gardens has undergone a recent expansion for its waterplay area. It now spans approximately 500 square meters and is an immersive, splashy flashy way to introduce your kids to the importance of the water cycle. Besides, your children are sure to enjoy the refreshing dip in the paddle pool – not to mention, they’ll definitely have fun playing under these towering water spouts!
This family-friendly park also features a huge treehouse playground for your kids to relive their inner Tarzan. Let them run wild and clamber around the intricate treehouses for a bird’s eye view of the entire park. And once they’re tired, they can dig and play in the sand pits to their heart’s content.
For some extra enrichment, you can also take your kids on the carefully curated trails marked out in the Gardens. There are three types, each catering to a specific interest – ‘Adventurer’, ‘Gardener’ and ‘Naturalist’. Each of these will lead your child along a thrilling exploration path related to the theme of the trail. For example, the ‘Adventurer’ trail features a suspension bridge and nature play areas. It’s the perfect way to spend a day out!
Propnex Family Zone
This hidden gem is located in the heart of the family-friendly park of Singapore: None other than the iconic Gardens By The Bay (check out Kid Activities In Singapore: The Latest You Need To Try! for more ideas on what to do at our favourite garden!) . Propnex Family Zone is a great family-friendly park to visit because it was specially designed to be an outdoor social area. It features lots of vibrant green spaces and a landscape of carefully sculpted flora that’s sure to delight even the grumpiest kid in your family.
Highlights of the Propnex Family Zone include the Family Playground. Remember our article on the Physical Quotient? Well, there’s no better place to get some exercise in than this sprawling, exciting playground. It boasts a unique set of equipment, including a bowl-shaped swing and a simply gigantic see-saw. There are also staggering 9m tall wooden towers that your little daredevils can clamber up, then race down via the giant slides.
If there’s anyone with green fingers in your family, you might want to drop by the Community Garden as well. This garden is lovingly tended to by volunteers, and grows fresh fruits and vegetables. Yummy! Take a moment to admire the volunteers’ hard work and enjoy a leisurely self-paced tour in this quiet corner of the Propnex Family Zone.
Lastly, don’t forget to check out the musical playground in this family-friendly park! If any of your kids are mini-Mozarts, they’re sure to fall in love with this place. Here, the playground equipment is all designed after a type of musical instrument. There’s the xylophone, drum set, and other percussion instruments – each one actually able to produce music, and scaled up to a larger-than-life size. While you’re at it, why not have your whole family try their hand at creating a blend of your very own musical soundscape?
Bidadari Park
Bidadari Park is a fairly new park, but it definitely makes the list for the best family-friendly parks that you should visit. Why? This quaint park is charmingly inspired by the childhood classic Winnie-the-Pooh! The entire park has been designed to resemble the Hundred Acre Wood where our silly little bear got up to all of his memorable adventures.
The 13-hectare lush greenery of the park has a rustic feel that simply whisks you away from the bustling rush of city life. If you’re looking for a quiet activity, your family can enjoy a serene stroll by the massive Alkaff Lake. There’s a footpath that traces the entire enormous body of water – 1.8 hectares large – and you can see the little Rain Tree Island at the heart of the lake from the footpath.
If your kids are feeling restless, there’s no better place to take them than the Adventure Playwoods in the Bidadari Park. This is a massive adventure playground that boasts a one-of-a-kind bird’s nest structure for your fearless child to climb and play in. Standing at 5m tall, the tower is truly a worthy test of your kid’s adventurous spirit. They’ll have to clamber up via a spiralling passageway to get to the top of the tower, and to get down, your kid can enjoy a whiz down an enormous metal slide.
Bidadari Park is also built on land that has a rich history. Why not take your kids on the educational Heritage Walk to appreciate the story behind this special park. There are sign boards summarising its history all around the Sang Nila Utama Boulevard, which is the main throughway that cuts through the park. If you want, you can also bring your family to visit the Memorial Garden, which pays tribute to the history of the Bidadari Cemetery.
Bukit Gombak Park
This family-friendly park is built up against the slope of a hill, which makes it perfect for a quick trek that you can take your kids on. The trek is fairly manageable, paved with stairs to make the climbing easier for your younger ones. In total, there are just 108 steps that lead up to the summit.
The Bukit Gombak Park is perfect for a peaceful family day out and features a butterfly garden for your little budding lepidopterists. This is located at the top of the hill, as a sweet reward for having made all the way up. At 45m high, the plants grown in this butterfly garden are able to attract a flurry of these pretty winged creatures. Your kids are sure to be amazed by just how many butterflies there can be in this simple garden!
For our four-legged friends, the Bukit Gombak Park also has a special dog run – a fenced area located about two-thirds up the hill. Here, your kids can let loose and run wild with Fido, and maybe even make a new furry friend or two! (Psst! If your child especially enjoys animals, ONE Intervention has an article for that as well – 5 Secret Kid-Friendly Places For Animal Lovers In Singapore!)
And of course, Bukit Gombak Park also features its own playground for your little monkeys – ahem, children. This playground features a good old wooden obstacle course, a pair of swings and a slide. It’s much less glamorous than some of the other playgrounds mentioned on this list, but hey, there’s absolutely no shame in the classics!
Woodlands Waterfront Park
Of course, we can’t complete this list of family-friendly parks without the popular Woodlands Waterfront Park. This tranquil park features a 400m refurbished waterfront jetty dating from 1920. Spend the afternoon with a leisurely stroll across the waterfront promenade while taking in the breathtaking sight of the Johor Straits and enjoying the sea breeze on your skin! If you’ve got the patience for it, you can grab some fishing gear and fish along the jetty.
The Woodlands Waterfront Park also features an adventure playground and a Sky Walk that is sure to satisfy even the most adventurous spirit. Standing at 2 stories high, the Sky Walk consists of six crow’s nests, interlinked by mesh bridges. Older children can scramble back and forth these precariously swinging nets and race each other across the sky.
Escape to this park for a little bit of respite away from city life to enjoy the sea. And while you’re at it, let your kids live out their wildest dreams in their thrilling adventure playground – ahoy, land-lubbers!
Did we miss out on any of your favourite family-friendly parks? Have you visited any one of these before? Well, drop us a comment below – we’d love to hear from you 💬👇
