East Coast Park

East Coast Park runs for about fifteen kilometres along land reclaimed from the sea in the 1970s, and it is the most used park in Singapore: a continuous cycle and skate path the whole length, barbecue pits booked out every weekend, campsites, a lagoon for watersports, and seafood centres where chilli crab is eaten with the container ships anchored offshore in view. It is where the city goes on Sunday.

Background

The park covers 185 hectares, all on reclaimed land, and is the largest in Singapore. Work started in the middle of 1971, and it opened in October 1972 while still under construction, to take weekend crowds off the Changi and Tanah Merah beaches. A swimming lagoon costing S$4 million followed in May 1976 and drew over 70,000 people in its first week. The Big Splash aquatic centre, with an 85 metres slide, opened in July 1977, and Singapore's first golf driving range arrived in August 1978. Today the park is split into eight areas, A to H from west to east, and receives 7.5 million visitors a year.

Source: Wikipedia, "East Coast Park"

What's there

• The cycle path - fifteen kilometres of continuous seafront track.
• The seafood centres - chilli crab and barbecued stingray eaten by the water.
• The barbecue pits - hundreds of them, booked out most weekends.
• The anchorage - container ships lying offshore, the constant background.

When to go

Year round; early morning and evening are coolest. Weekends are extremely busy and the barbecue pits must be booked ahead. Afternoon storms clear the park.

Things to know

It is entirely artificial, built on reclaimed land, and the water is not for swimming. Weekend crowds are heavy and parking fills. There is no MRT station and access is awkward without a bicycle.

Nearby

Changi is east, and Marina Bay is west.

Key facts