East Coast with kids: wheels, water and wings

East Coast is long, flat and will happily swallow a whole family. Stay on one stretch.

The half-day we'd give a family with one child still learning to ride and another who would rather climb: three stops on one stretch of East Coast Park, effort first and dinner last. The compromise is Mondays, when the water play and the Vertical Challenge close for maintenance (public holiday Mondays excepted). Start around 3pm, bring the bikes and pack a change of clothes for every child.

Cyclist Park. Before anyone attempts a coastal track of more than 15km, there is a 280-metre loop built for wobbles. Small riders practise without dodging serious cyclists, and the grown-up who usually runs alongside holding the saddle gets the afternoon off.

Coastal PlayGrove. The tower from the 1977 waterpark survived the bulldozers and now holds Singapore's tallest outdoor slide. Add water play, the Vertical Challenge for climbers and a nature playgarden, so each child can find their level. Water play closes at 8pm, which is why the plan starts at 3pm and not later.

East Coast Lagoon Food Village. The hawker centre at the end of the cycle path, for charcoal wings and banana-leaf stingray as the light goes. It is outdoors and casual, nobody minds damp hair, and it doubles as the place to wait out a storm. Stall days and hours vary, so check any favourite.

Weekend afternoons in the school holidays suit it best, on a day with a kind forecast. Keep everyone on the one stretch; East Coast is long and flat enough to swallow a family that sets off pedalling bravely towards nowhere.

The plan

1. 3pm · Afternoon: Cyclist Park

   A 280-metre practice loop for new riders before the long coastal track.

   Hours: Open 24 hours

2. 4.30pm · Late afternoon: Coastal PlayGrove

   Tallest outdoor slide in Singapore. Water play runs 8am–8pm and the Vertical Challenge 8am–10pm, both Tuesday to Sunday; closed on Mondays except public holidays.

   Hours: Water play 8am–8pm Tue–Sun and PH Mondays (closed Mondays for maintenance; when a public holiday falls on a Monday, closed that Tuesday instead); Vertical Challenge 8am–10pm Tue–Sun and PH Mondays; slides 8am–10pm daily; nature playgarden 24 hours

3. Evening: East Coast Lagoon Food Village

   Charcoal wings and banana-leaf stingray. Stall days and hours vary, so check any favourite before you go.

   Hours: Mon–Thu and Sun 11am–10pm; Fri–Sat 11am–midnight