Kallang Riverside Park

Singapore's longest river, an 1862 gasworks and smooth-coated otters, and most people see none of it from the bridge.

Do a late-afternoon loop, on foot, bike or skates, and stay until the stadium lights come on. Kallang Riverside Park is a five-hectare strip along Kallang Road, Stadium Road and Crawford Street where Singapore's longest river slides into the Kallang Basin, and it rewards anyone who likes some history and a chance of otters with their exercise. The compromise is that the wildlife is never guaranteed and the park is easy to pass through without really arriving, so start at the Gas Holder and give it an hour. You have probably driven over it a hundred times, on Sir Arthur's Bridge or Merdeka Bridge, without once looking down.

The history hides in plain sight. The Kallang Gas Holder is what's left of the Kallang Gasworks, which NParks describes as the first site dedicated to making street-lighting gas from coal, set up in 1862. The works sat on the Rochor River so coal could arrive by water, and kept supplying piped gas for cooking and hot water long after the street lamps went electric, until production moved to Senoko in 1997 and the site was decommissioned the following year. The steel frames of the old gas tanks still stand, a skeletal drum that looks almost sculptural against the stadium across the water. A sculpture built from salvaged gasworks parts, Spirit of Kallang, once stood by the Rochor River too, but had gone by January 2024. Historical markers along the west-bank walkway fill in the rest, including the area's Bugis past.

Then there is the wildlife, which is the real reason to bring a phone with a decent zoom. Smooth-coated otters are the headline act: NParks says they often sunbathe and play along the bank, and Stadium Link, near the allotment garden, is where they are most often spotted. From September to March, migratory little egrets and grey herons stalk the water's edge. Look up, too, for the sea grape trees, whose round, berry-like fruit hangs in long chains.

It is a working river as well as a pretty one. Dragon boaters and canoeists train on the water, and from the west bank you get a clean view of the National Stadium with paddlers sliding past. There are fishing zones on both banks, a community allotment garden on the east side, a disc golf course and an eco garden near Merdeka Bridge on the west, and murals painted under the bridge itself. NParks rates the tracks smooth enough for cycling and inline skating, and Gourmet Park Kampong Bugis brings a garden-style, pet-friendly food spot right into the park.

How to do it well: Kallang and Lavender are the closest MRT stations, and the paid Kampong Bugis Carpark is the nearest parking. The park is wheelchair accessible, though NParks notes there are no accessible toilets, and dogs are welcome. Come once the heat eases, start at the Gas Holder, read the markers along the west-bank walkway, then head towards Stadium Link and watch the bank. If the otters don't show, the paddlers will, and the stadium lights across the basin are a fair consolation.

Good to know Kallang and Lavender MRT stations are closest; the paid Kampong Bugis Carpark is the nearest parking. Otter and bird sightings are never guaranteed, so check the NParks park page before you go.

Kallang Riverside Park | Along Kallang Road, Stadium Road and Crawford Street, Singapore