Sembawang Park is one of the most verdant parks that you will come across in Singapore. With wide open spaces along with the amazing Sembawang Park battleship playground and other features, including a beach, it is no wonder that that this park is one of our favourites.
With its faraway location, the park may seem hard to get to but that is probably also one of the reasons why it retains its charms. When you visit on a weekday, it feels like an escape from the rest of urban life in Singapore. It is a place to get away and just imagine that you are away from it all.
One thing that we appreciate about Sembawang Park is how quirkily it is themed. There are multiple maritime and nautical themed elements throughout the park. These include a compass rose near the playground that points to different parts of the park. The foot reflexology path also has nautical elements such as anchors built into its design.
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The other iconic design at Sembawang Park is its dice motif. We are not sure why dice were chosen as a motif for the park but you can find them everywhere. They can be found at the shelters and the benches all throughout the park. Personally, we like it because it gives the park some character.
Did you know that Sembawang Park has much to offer? Here’s our ultimate guide to Sembawang Park.
Guide to Things to See and Do at Sembawang Park
1. Sembawang Park Battleship Playground
If there is one playground in Singapore makes us go “Wow” aloud, it would have to be the battleship playground located in Sembawang Park. On clear blue skies days, it is amazing to pay a visit to this Sembawang Park playground. Travelling to the northern point of Singapore means more space, more greenery and more fun for us!
The battleship playground at Sembawang Park, in its nautical glory, pays tribute to the naval history of the area.
Sembawang Naval Base used to be the docking for British warships, with many of its senior military personnel living in the many black and whites you see in the area. Today, Sembawang Naval Base has been converted to Sembawang Shipyard and you can still hear the sounds of ship building and repair works coming across into the park from the neighbouring wharves.
The Sembawang Park playground is a majestic looking one with the entire structure modelled after a warship. Don’t miss the gun turret, smokestacks, propellers and rudder.
There are plenty of climbing structures – a rock wall, monkey bar, nettings, fireman poles to tire the little explorers out.
Don’t be surprised if the children ignore your commands, they have good reason to since there is tons to explore! Even adults will find the ship a joy to navigate.
To get onto the sloping deck, the mutineers can try different routes. One through the porthole – it might take teamwork to get the sandy feet onto the “rigging”. Or climb up the ropes like great pirates do, use one of the nettings or scale up the rock wall or either sides of the battle ship.
The children will definitely want to try the slides which are curiously supported by a pair of hands each. To get to the slides, one must climb up either towers which resembled the crow’s nest.
Balance is required as the deck of the ship are purposely sloped to resemble the motion of the ship on the sea.
To get off the deck, the children can either choose to slide down using the poles or slides.
Another fun bit of the battleship playground is the hull of the ship, also known as its forward. Climb up the slopes with climbing holds and then slide down the pole to exit the ship.
Don’t forget to scale the naval flagstaff right next to the battle ship.
Unfortunately, there are some sections of the Sembawang Park playground that are in need of repair as of October 2024. Orange netting marks of parts of the playground structure. Nonetheless, the Sembawang Park battleship playground is still a fun must-visit.
2. Sand Play and Pendulum Swings for the Little Ones
For the younger ones who are not too keen on climbing, they can enjoy the sand at the playground. The sand pit at the Sembawang Park playground area is great for digging a pit or making sandcastles. Do bring some repellent along as there may be sand flies at the playground.
The little ones will definitely enjoy the pair of pendulum swings!
The red climbing structures makes it feel as if you are scaling up the mast of a tall ship. The nets leads up from one side and then it droops down before going up again. It is a fun challenge for young kids and even perhaps older ones too.
3. Sembawang Park Nature Playgarden
For even younger kids, there is the nature playgarden at Sembawang Park. Just a stone’s throw away from the battleship playground, the Sembawang Park Nature Playgarden has a Forest Island with a little tunnel that feels like it belongs in a hobbit’s village. It invites kids to have a time of exploration, as well as three separate areas that have been specially curated for kids with special needs in mind.
Young children can explore the Natural Playscape are where there are natural elements such as boulders, wooden tepees, log clusters and wooden balancing beams. Read more about the Sembawang Park Nature Playgarden for younger kids.
4. Therapeutic Garden
Across from the nature playgarden area, there is a cul-de-sac that is known as the Calming Corner. This is part of the Sembawang Park Therapeutic Garden and a bubbling fountain provides a sense of serenity for those who may just wish to enjoy the plants and natural environment of the park. Read more about the Sembawang Park Therapeutic Garden.
5. Pétanque Court
Pétanque is a ball game where teams take turns to throw balls closer to a small wooden ball, known as the jack. The team wins by throwing it closer than their opponents. It is both a mental and physical game. You can find it a Pétanque court at Sembawang Park. If you want to try out the sport, you will need to bring along your own equipment. There is no booking required and availability is on a first come first served basis.
6. Sembawang Jetty & Fishing
Another activity that you can try at Sembawang Park is to head over to the jetty to try fishing. You can cast your lines at Sembawang jetty to get some exercise and soak up some vitamin D, or even set up crabbing equipment to try to catch flower crabs and mud crabs. Did you know that the 30-metre-long jetty was built by the British in the early 1940s and then completed by the Japanese during the occupation of Singapore. Nowadays, it is a popular spot for fishermen.
7. Sembawang Beach
Just beside the Sembawang jetty is a small beach. What is remarkable about the Sembawang beach is that it is a natural beach. What’s more, it is the only natural beach in the north of Singapore that is open to the public. We enjoy heading down to the beach and looking out across towards Malaysia. It is an alternative spot from the sand play area at the playground for kids to take their buckets and sand equipment to play in the sand.
8. Dog Run
Because of its wide open spaces, Sembawang Park is a popular park with dog owners. You will often find the four legged friends taking a walk around the footpaths at the park. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that there is also a dog run at Sembawang Park. This is an area where doggies can be let off their leash to enjoy the freedom of running around and interacting with other dogs. The Sembawang Park dog run is located just between the battleship playground and the nature playgarden.
However, do take note that it was closed for repair works when we visited at the start of October 2024 with the repair works expected to only be completed at the end of October 2024.
9. Beaulieu House & Restaurant: Dining at Sembawang Park
If you get hungry while visiting Sembawang Park, you can make your way down to Beaulieu House. Beaulieu means beautiful in French and the architecture of the old house is simply amazing. It also commands a view out towards the Sembawang Jetty and the Straits of Johor beyond that.
Beaulieu House houses a restaurant that serves both Chinese and Western cuisine so you can get to dine in the house! It feels nostalgic inside with old style furniture and timbered accents on the wall. You can almost imagine that you are a guest visiting the building when it used to be a residential home. We highly recommend stopping by for a meal if possible. You can find out more about the restaurant at Beaulieu House here.
There is even a heritage marker in front of Beaulieu House where you can learn more about the history of the house.
10. BBQ Pits at Sembawang Park
For a more DIY food option, there are barbecue pits that you can book at Sembawang Park. These are located not too far from the car park, making it easy to haul in all the food that you need to prepare. The barbecue pits need to be booked before using them.
Enjoying Sembawang Park
Sembawang Park is one of our favourite parks in Singapore. Besides all the various features mentioned above, what we also enjoy about the northern park is its verdant greenery. It is a chance to take a walk amongst the mature trees of the park and it always feels like a nice spot to escape and get away from the cares of life. Taking a walk through the park is a chance to clear the mind or a simple way to enjoy being together with the ones that you care about.
How to Get to Sembawang Park
Sembawang Park can be reached by traveling along Sembawang Road. There are two car parks at the park. Drivers who wish to the playground should park at Carpark C1. You can also take bus 882 to Sembawang Park. The closest MRT stations are either Sembawang NS11 or Canberra NS12 but they are far distance from Sembawang Park.
If you enjoyed this story about Sembawang Park, we think that you will also enjoy these stories about two other parks at the northern sections of Singapore: Admiralty Park and Woodlands Waterfront Park.
