Coney Island Park
Besides being rich in history, Coney Island Park houses a wide variety of habitats, including coastal forests, grasslands, mangroves, and casuarina woodlands. It is home to a wide variety of fauna and flora, some of which are critically endangered. Some plants at the park are presumed nationally extinct in the wild.
Try spotting one of 80 species of birds on Coney Island Park, including the resident male Baya Weavers weaving their large and intricate nests from flowering Acacia trees. Hear the Oriental Magpie-robin’s songs from the forest, or follow the flocks of parakeets flying through the forest canopies. The different habitats in the park allow for a high diversity in bird species, thus making the park an ideal location for birdwatching. With its rich biodiversity in a rustic setting, Coney Island Park offers much to explore for bird and nature enthusiasts.
The rustic Coney Island Park is an ecologically sustainable park with many environmental initiatives. It focuses on conserving energy and water, recycling and retaining the natural elements in the park. The timber from uprooted Casuarina trees were collected and recycled into park signage, seats, benches, boardwalk, and exhibits at Casuarina Exploration.
Start exploring the forest and mangrove habitats on the newly built boardwalk and move on to the beach which can be accessed at five locations. You may also ride through the island along the 2.5 km Coney Island Park Connector, taking in the beautiful promenade view of the Serangoon Reservoir.
Coney Island, Singapore Overview
Located off the northeastern coast of Singapore is the picturesque island of Pulau Serangoon, or as it is more popularly known, Coney Island. A beautiful little island, Coney Island is known for housing a wide variety of flora and fauna, thanks to the vast diversity of habitats that are found here, such as coastal forests, woodlands, grasslands, and mangroves. These habitats are also ideal for birds to thrive and grow, and thus the Coney Island is also a bird watcher’s delight.
This ecologically sustainable park is the perfect place to hang out, enjoy at the beach, enjoy cycling, take some photographs, and explore the nearby areas. The Casuarina Exploration area, which has recycled timber from uprooted trees, is also an interesting place to explore while at the beach. The charm of Coney Island lies in how undeveloped it is, and the only way to find out is to pay this charming island a visit!
Guided Walks
Guided walks are a perfect way to explore Coney Island, and to spot some exquisite wildlife on the way. These walks are conducted by the NPark volunteers, who brief visitors about the unique biodiversity of the park as well as its history during the tour.
The guided walk lasts for two hours, and takes place on selected Saturday mornings only, in June, November, and December; so make sure to check out with the authorities beforehand.
Tips to keep in mind if opting for a guided walk:
There is no piped water available at the island, so carry lots of water along since walking around for two hours will leave you parched.
At places, the terrain is rugged and really rough. Thus, make sure that you wear good walking shoes.
It is advisable to wear long pants and full sleeves to protect yourself from insect bites.
Things to Do at Coney Island
Bird Watching: The major attraction of Coney Island Park are its lovely birds. Use the bird hides or wait quietly along the various trails of the park to spot the various kinds of birds. Some of the endangered birds which can be seen at Coney Island Park are the Spotted Wood Owl, the Red Jungle Fowl, the Grey Heron and the Rusty Breasted Cuckoo.
Cycling: Rent bicycles from Punggol Point Park to cycle through the beautiful Main Path of the Park. The Main Path is around 2.4kms long, runs through the entire length of the park and connects its Eastern and Western Ends. It is made of dirt and gravel and although several other paths lead away from it, cycling is not allowed on them.
Bicycles can be rented from either of the two places:
Jomando Adventure & Recreations at Punggol Settlement
Go Cycling at the Punggol End Road
The charges for renting these bicycles are SGD 8 for 2 hours.
Nature Photography: Coney Island Park is famous for the gorgeous natural environment it provides for its visitors. The lovely beach, the exotic mangrove and the rolling grasslands provide great photo opportunities for nature lovers.
Nature Walks: Visitors to Coney Island Park can either take a guided walk around the Park or stroll around by themselves and discover the magnificent biodiversity that the Park has to offer. Guided Walks are conducted on select Saturday mornings during the months of June, November and December. The Walks are around two hours long, during which the participants are taken around by volunteers and shown the rich and unique flora and fauna of the park.
Horse riding: A horse ride at the Punggol Stables costs SGD 10, and lasts for around 10 minutes. Buy some carrots from the counter inside the shop and then have fun feeding them to the horses.
Go relic and beach hunting: There are numerous relics scattered at different places all over the beach, and it is absolutely fun to go around looking out for them. Other than that, there is also a ‘secret beach’ at Coney Island, which is not included in the official A-D beaches that have been marked out by the authorities; so see if you can find out about this secret beach!
Visit the obstacle course at the Casuarina Exploration Playground: The Casuarina Exploration Playground has been constructed exclusively out of uprooted and recycled Casuarina trees and makes for an amazing natural playground for kids and adults alike.
Coney Island Highlights
Casuarina: Casuarina trees can be found in abundance all over Coney Island Park. Tourists can take a lovely walk along the Casuarina Exploratory, which winds along the magnificent Casuarina trees and is situated at the Western End of the park. The park strives to be ecologically sustainable, and as such, has used all the fallen Casuarina trees to make the benches, signs, seats, boardwalks and exhibits at the Casuarina Exploratory. This area is full of wooden bridges, stepping stones and triangular log fences, and even serves as an interesting playground for children.
The beach: the magnificent beach areas at Coney Island Park are themed and can be accessed from the main path. They have been named Beach Areas A, B, C, D and E and they look out towards Pulau Ubin. The themes that have been given to these beach areas are Back Mangrove Trees, Beachfront Shrubs and Coastal Climbers, Rare Coastal Trees, Coastal Hill Forest Trees and Beach Front Trees. Some of the unique plants which tourists can spot here are the pink-eyed Pong Pong plants which have brilliantly coloured red and pink flowers and the rare Dungun tree which is well-known for its ellipsoid shaped fruit.
Mangrove boardwalk: Several sections of Coney Island Park have been planted with mangrove trees in an attempt to create a diverse environment. A newly built boardwalk runs through this mangrove forest and leads to the Beach Area C. It is in this mangrove forest that visitors can spot an array of different birds and animals like monkeys.
Promenades: The eastern and western ends of the Park have paved promenades which look out onto the sea. The cool sea breeze, the magnificent views of the shoreline and of the various ships dotting the waters make the promenades the perfect place for tourists to spend a lovely afternoon.
Tips
Cycling is allowed only along the main path.
Camping is not allowed.
Fishing is not allowed.
Visitors are instructed not to feed the monkeys, the Long-tailed Macaques and to keep to the designated paths.
Carry water and insect repellent.
Wear appropriate and comfortable clothes and shoes, which are suited to the rugged terrain.
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