Forest Ramble

It used to be a car park. Now it is thirteen ways to be a swamp animal.

Forest Ramble is the west's standing answer to "where can the children run until they're tired?", and it still works, but two of its big draws are shut. Heron Play, the zipline strung between two “nests”, and Snake Play, the tall wooden tower with tube slides, are closed for maintenance until further notice. Go anyway if your children are happy with trampolines, swings, logs and water channels; check the official page first if the zipline is what they have been promised all week. It is closed on Mondays.

Why it works

The 2.3-hectare playgarden at Lakeside Garden sits on the site of the old Chinese Garden car park, and NParks bills it as the largest nature playgarden in the heartlands. Each of its 13 adventure stations borrows a movement from an animal of the freshwater swamp forest, the habitat the wider park is restoring: gliding like a grey heron, leaping like a squirrel, splashing like a smooth-coated otter. So the playground has a story, and a child who has spent an hour as a frog has absorbed rather more ecology than they realise. The designers used wood and natural materials throughout, so it sits in the greenery rather than shouting over it, and it was built with inclusive play elements so that children of different abilities can play together.

What is open

Frog Play has sunken trampolines shaped like lily pads. Otter Play is a climbing jumble of recycled logs, a giant game of pick-up sticks, with wooden channels where children pump water along. Butterfly Play is the swing zone – basket swings, a four-way swing and slides – with a hammock area nearby. Squirrel Play tests balance on platforms and hideouts, Monkey Play is a low ropes course, and Crab Play hides peek-a-boo windows in wooden crates. Ant Play brings out big foam building blocks, but only on certain days.

How to do it well

Go early, before the heat climbs, and bring water and sun protection. Let the children roam at their own pace rather than ticking off stations, build in shade breaks, and keep any adult agenda modest: a short lakeside stroll afterwards is realistic; a full tour of the Chinese and Japanese Gardens is optimistic. Jurong East is the MRT. On the way home, ask which animal was hardest to copy (expect a long answer about otters).

Good to know Forest Ramble is in Lakeside Garden, Jurong Lake Gardens; times are in the hours, and it closes on Mondays for maintenance. Heron Play and Snake Play are closed for maintenance until further notice; check the official page for updates, and bring water and sun protection.

Want more ways to fill a day out west? Here’s our west-side family day.

Forest Ramble | Jurong | Nearest MRT: Jurong East