Lakeside Garden Opens To the public

Dubbed Lakeside Garden – the 53-hectare western section of Jurong Lake Gardens – is the first national gardens within the heartlands.

The first phase of the 90-hectare Jurong Lake Gardens has opened to the public on 27 April.

Dubbed Lakeside Garden – the 53-hectare western section of Jurong Lake Gardens – is the first national gardens within the heartlands.

It is developed with an emphasis on nature, play and community, and comprises Jurong Lake Gardens West and the former Jurong Lake Park.

“The garden has been developed sensitively to retain the serenity of the area whilst incorporating spaces for the community and recreational needs,” revealed the National Parks Board (NParks).

It includes a 2.3-hectare play area for children aged between five and 12 years old. The largest nature playgarden in the heartlands, Forest Ramble has 13 different adventure stations for children.

There is also a water play area for visitors as well as an eco-pond and a cafe. Located at the northern portion of Lakeside Garden, Clusia Cove “adopts a closed-loop circulation system that includes water being cleansed through a natural plant filtration system before cascading into a shallow tidal pool and sand-based ripple pool for children and families to enjoy”, said NParks.

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A boardwalk, called Rasau Walk, brings visitors through a restored freshwater swamp forest with about 50 species of plants, including Rasau trees, Sealing Wax and Nibong palms. Rasau Walk is linked to the adjacent Grasslands and wetland trails, where a vast variety of fauna, such as oriental pied hornbills, grey herons and smooth-coated otters can be found.

To celebrate the opening of Lakeside Garden, the inaugural SGF Horticulture Show, which is an offshoot of the Singapore Garden Festival (SGF), was held at the garden during its opening. The biennial SGF Hort Show will run until 5 May.

To mark the opening of PAssion WaVe @ Jurong Lake Gardens, the first waterfront facility within the west by the People’s Association, was also held on 27 April. The facility offered “programme try-outs ranging from arts and food and beverage to fitness and health and wellness”.

Meanwhile, Sport Singapore also opened an ActiveSG Park within the garden, featuring “a swimming pool and gym with a publicly-accessible covered pavilion and rooftop lookout deck that integrates the facility with the garden landscape”.

NParks said it will proceed “with the next phase of development by calling the construction tender for Chinese and Japanese Gardens, and Garden Promenade”.

It noted that the remaining sections of Jurong Lake Gardens will open progressively from 2021 onwards.

While Jurong may not be at the top of many Singaporean’s wish list when it comes to discussing ideal residential locations, we expect this to change with the government’s ambitious plan to transform Jurong into Singapore’s second CBD. Find out more with our AreaInsider guide.

Fiona Ho, Digital Content Manager at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories, email fiona@propertyguru.com.sg