Click ‘+’ to zoom in and ‘-’ to zoom out. You can click and drag the map to move around. Mount Faber path can be seen in the larger map.
I decided to try the full-length Southern Ridges walk one morning with Steel Wool. We started from West Coast Park after breakfast. (No prizes for guessing where we ate.) The walk took us through five parks (West Coast Park not included as it was just the start point), one university and a science park.
The press said that this walk is about 9km. My GPS logger listed the distance travelled as almost 15km. I think 9km is the map distance, not taking into account elevation.
We were more or less alone from West Coast to NUS. Around the South Bouna Vista/Kent Ridge junction, we met a couple, a pair of ladies and a father-son duo - all clutching maps of some sort! It turned out they all needed some help with directions.
At Kent Ridge Park, there were even more couples as well as family groups. HortPark, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Mount Faber Park were full of couples, groups and families, all eager to experience Alexandra Arch and Henderson Waves. It seems that Singaporeans are quite keen on this new trail.
So, I’ve compiled a visual guide of the Southern Ridges from West Coast Park to Harbourfront.
Why not the other way, as suggested in ST’s infographic?
A few reasons (some are personal):
- Prefer to walk towards a place with more food choices.
- Prefer to walk to an end point where it’s easier to get home.
- Prefer to walk away from my workplace.
- Prefer an easier incline to start (I cannot verify until I’ve tried the opposite route though).
- Familiarity: the NUS/Kent Ridge sector is in the same direction as Pasir Panjang Heritage Walk.
My suggestions:
- Start early! It gets really hot, really fast. So start early while it’s a little cooler. Set aside
threefour hours to complete the whole walk at a moderate pace. More if you want to take in the sights. - Please bring: water (I needed 3 litres but I’m a water barrel), snacks, sunblock, a cap. Wear good walking shoes and clothes you can perspire in.
- Remember: You can choose to stop any time. There are many places where you can deviate from the route and get public transport.
- Feel free to explore: My route is not the ‘correct’ route. This is not a definitive guide. There are many alternatives, especially within each park. So, explore the options. Don’t worry about getting lost. It’s part of the fun. =)
Ok, enough preamble, let’s get to the guide.
The guide is available in different sections as individual sets in Flickr. Click the links or the photo to get to the set. Each set explains the route using photographs of major landmarks along the way and comes with relevant maps and information panels.
These were mostly taken during the walk from the many panels available along the walk. The Bridging Ridges infographic is a terrific overview. Unfortunately, it glosses over road names, which are essential for certain parts of the walk. You can also get maps of the parks from Nparks website.
West Coast Park to Clementi Woods Park
Getting to West Coast Park - Buses 175 and 176.
This short starting stretch is mainly on pavement. It involves walking from West Coast Highway via West Coast Link to West Coast Road, where Clementi Woods Park is located.
Clementi Woods Park is a small park bounded by West Coast Road and Clementi Road. The is a gradual uphill slope towards Clementi Road. There are two options here: come out by the car park or take the walking path that will lead you straight to the overhead bridge. You will have to cross this bridge to NUS.
NUS to Kent Ridge Park (via Science Park 1)
This is probably the most tricky part of the entire route. At the top of Kent Ridge Crescent in NUS, you will have to take the red-brick stairs up to Kent Ridge Road, which is partially hidden behind a lecture theatre.
At the other end of Kent Ridge Road, you have to turn to South Buona Vista Road and then cross the road to walk along Science Park Drive towards Kent Ridge Park.
Here, there are two options. This guide shows the shortcut. The other way is to walk to the end of Science Park Drive, where there is a path which will lead you to Kent Ridge Park.
At Kent Ridge Park, there are a few ways to get to Car Park B, where you will continue walking to the canopy walk. At the end of the canopy walk, there is a connector leading to HortPark.
HortPark to Telok Blangah Hill Park via Alexandra Arch
From Kent Ridge Park, you will reach the rear of HortPark. You can choose to explore HortPark on your way to Alexandra Arch or you can walk along Hyderabad Road, which is surprisingly the more shady option. This guide goes via HortPark.
Telok Blangah Hill Park to Mount Faber Park via Henderson Waves
Once across Alexandra Arch, you will be on the forest walk. There is just one main elevated pathway, with options for earth trail detours. At the end of the forest walk, you will see Car Park 1. Walk to Car Park 3 where there is a small ramp leading to Henderson Waves.
Mount Faber Park to Harbourfront MRT
From Henderson Waves, keep on walking uphill to the top of Mount Faber. You will then find Marang Trail which is a downhill section leading to one of the Harbourfront MRT entrances. Of course, you can cross the road to VivoCity or Harbourfront for a nice meal.
Enjoy the walk!
Southern Ridges walk KML file (right click, save as) | for Google Earth
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wow..I guess you are the first few to complete the route. A good overview in yr post. BTW how long did it take u?
I started at about 0830 hrs at West Coast Park and reached Harbourfront just before 1230 hrs. Four hours total at a moderate pace, including some rest stops here and there.
Will try an evening/night walk some time, just like you did.
Thanks for the overview. At least now there is a better guide then the one in the Straits Times.
My wife asked me to cut out the ST article for a guide. I think your site is good enough. But I don’t think I will attemp the entire route in one go. 15 km is too much for me. Thanks.
So which bit of the trail can I actually cycle???
West Coast Park to Clementi Woods Park
No problem cycling in this sector.
Clementi Woods Park to NUS
Within the park, the slope is stepped towards Clementi Road. You might have to carry your bike up the path for a short bit.
NUS to Kent Ridge Park (via Science Park 1)
This whole sector is a very nice ride. Following the trail, which I highly recommend, you have to carry your bicycle up the red-brick stairs at the top of Kent Ridge Crescent to continue on Kent Ridge Road. The rest of the trail can be done on the bike. Alternatively, from Kent Ridge Crescent, turn to Lower Kent Ridge Road at the roundabout and head towards NUH. Eventually, you will be able link up with South Bouna Vista Road, where you can re-join the trail along Science Park Drive. This map should help. I suggest going all the way to the end of Science Park Drive. There will be a short path leading to Kent Ridge Park.
Kent Ridge Park to Harbourfront MRT
You can cycle through Kent Ridge Park all the way to the canopy walk. From the canopy walk onwards, you have to dismount and push the bike a lot of the time. Any time you are on a bridge/boardwalk you have to dismount for everyone’s safety. Kent Ridge Park has a nice mountain bike trail. You might want to check that out instead!
Places I am sure you have to dismount and push:
I think the Marang Trail, which leads from Mount Faber to HarbourFront MRT, is not suited to cycling either. Too many stairs.
For those stretches, you can ride along the roads to get to the next destination.
Thanks for the tip on cycling! I was trying to figure this out from the downloadable PDF map from NParks, then I found your comment. Well done!
By the way, how did you draw out the blue path in Google Maps? Did you do it manually?
The blue path - I carried a GPS logger with me. The programme it comes with generated a Google Earth KML file, which can be imported into Google Maps too. Wish it does is as one whole line though. For whatever reason, it breaks up the trip into sectors - that wasn’t my doing!
Hi,
My friends and I are going to try the walk this weekend, and we were a little lost as to how to go about it (no thanks to the uninformative NPB website).
Really glad we found your blog..
Thanks very much for the comprehensive guide
Hello!
If let’s say my friends and I wanna skip the section on Kent Ridge Trail and just embark our journey directly with Canopy Walk, where our destination is Harbor Front MRT right, how should we make our way to the Canopy Walk?
Is there any public transport that can bring us there?
Thank you very much for the help!
If you want to start the walking from the canopy walk, you have to get to Kent Ridge Park. There is only one bus which stops near Kent Ridge Park: 200 from Buona Vista Terminal. You will alight at the National Community Leadership Institute (NACLI), then walk towards Vigilante Drive. It’s a steep road. Right at the top, you will be in Kent Ridge Park’s Car Park. Then follow the signs to the canopy walk.
I’ve created a map showing the rough location of the bus stop and the canopy walk. It looks like there is no connection between Vigilante Drive and the canopy walk, but don’t worry. It’s a park! It is paved all the way to the canopy walk.
My advice? Take a cab to Kent Ridge Park. Tell the cabbie, South Buona Vista Road and look out for the brown signboard indicating Kent Ridge Park. To save cost, get a cab from Buona Vista MRT.
hey there!
thanks lots for the comprehensive reply! im embarking my trail tmr haha..hope to see some squirrels along the way!
Hi
I need to know how long it takes to go from Alexandra Arch to HarbourFront. Any idea?
@ redfragrance I reckon it would take 2 hours at very most, even at a leisurely pace.
Hello again,
Just thought to let you know that my friends and I did go for the walk 2 weeks back, and it was really great!
We’re glad we followed your route and walked towards Harbour Front, coz seriously, if we had started from Harbour Front, i think those steps at the very beginning would have killed whatever motivation we had, and we’d probably have ended up taking the cablecar back to HF
Thanks again, and happy weekend
Thanks for your advise, info and photos.
Will be going tomorrow and glad I found ur blog.
Hi, thanks for your comprehensive guide! We followed your route and we’re really glad we did it coz like wribbit said, the stairs at the Marang Trail would’ve totally dampened our spirit and going home from Harbour Front is so much easier! We had such a great time!
hey hi! is the moutain biking trail at kentridge park opened? i called nparks few days ago and they said its closed or something.
Hi acroamatic
Thanks for your advice. Will try the walk next Saturday with friends :).
@ Frank Oh, the Kent Ridge MTB has been open for at least a year. Perhaps it’s closed for maintenance?
Hi, and thanks for your very informative site!
1. Would you say that the path is accessible with a baby stroller, considering there are sections with stairs? Or can you recomment just a shorter segment that would be suitable?
2. That GPS logger sounds like a nifty device. Do you have any suggestion what i should look for? Is it an add-on to a PDA or handphone, or is it better to go for a standalone unit?
Thanks again!
Oh, the GPS logger was meant for my camera. It’s the GiSTEQ PhotoTrackr. Just have to switch it on and it’ll start logging. Then connect to a computer to download the log once you’re done. More steps involved if you intend to geotag your photos. The software provided is a bit buggy though. Perhaps, it is just my computer.
Hey Ken, only now I recognize you!
My wife my sister-in-law talked me into starting at Harbourfront, so we ended up carrying the baby stroller all teh way up to the top. Some 100m altitude difference. That was a good workout!
So it can be done if you donät mind sweating it…
Hey, thanks so much for gathering the info! Just what i needed. (My friends and i completed till Kent Ridge (from Harbourfront) and are going to finish the rest next week. I was think how do i continue till i saw your guide. It’s great! Thanks so much!
Hi
We are thinking of walking the ridges this saturday. However, we are thinking of starting from Hort Park. Any suggestions on how we can reach hortpark?
On another note: Your blog is really informative.
Thanks for the compliment about my blog. =)
My friends and I walked the Southern Ridges, starting from Mount Faber! Oh man, because we only had an A4 map we got lost at the Kent Ridge area! We did walk pass the Science Park, but after coming out of it, we took the curvy South Buona Vista road instead of the other. It felt like the Singaporean Initial D route. HAHAHA. And now looking at this map that you gave again, that South Buona Vista road took us A HUGEEEE ROUND! Really huge round. But we just kept walking and walking and walking (we didn’t even pass Clementi Woods, instead, we passed by the old Haw Par Villa) but we eventually arrived at West Coast Park, erm, around 5 hours later. But it was a great experience! Everyone who’s in for an adventure should try this. And get lost like us!