Complete Guide to Visiting Lower Peirce Reservoir, Singapore

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Located along Old Upper Thomson Road, Lower Peirce Reservoir is the second oldest reservoir in Singapore (the oldest is MacRitchie). Lower Peirce Reservoir sits at the central of Singapore, next to MacRitchie Reservoir and Upper Peirce Reservoir.

Built in 1912, it was originally named Kallang Reservoir because it was built across Kallang River and served as the upstream source for Kallang River. Ten years later, in 1922, it was renamed as Peirce Reservoir in recognition of the services of Robert Peirce, the municipal engineer of Singapore between 1901-1916. Later, it became Lower Pierce Reservoir in 1975 when Upper Peirce Reservoir was built.

The Lower Peirce Reservoir may be the smallest in size compared to MacRitchie and Upper Peirce, but it has its own unparalleled beauty.

Visitor can enjoy the beauty at Lower Peirce Reservoir by visiting Lower Peirce Reservoir Park and/or walking the 900-meter Lower Peirce Trail.

TABLE OF CONTENT

1. Opening Hours
2. How to get to Lower Peirce Reservoir
3. What to Bring
4. What to Wear
5. Facilities
6. Things to do in Lower Peirce Reservoir
7. Suggested Routes
8. Trails of Lower Peirce Reservoir
9. What not to do in Lower Peirce Reservoir
10. Nearby Parks
11. Nearby Food
12. FAQ

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Opening Hours

The opening hours of Lower Peirce Reservoir Nature Reserve (including Park and Trail) are from 7am to 7pm daily. Entering or remaining in the park after 7pm is not allowed.

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How to get to Lower Peirce Reservoir

There are 3 main entrances to Lower Peirce Reservoir:

1. Lower Peirce Reservoir Park
2. Jacaranda Entrance
3. Casuarina Entrance

I DO NOT recommend entering from Jacaranda Entrance (Entrance 2) because is not very accessible; it’s far from bus stop and there are no parking lots nearby.

I do recommend entering via Lower Peirce Reservoir Park (Entrance 1) or Casuarina Entrance (Entrance 3) because both of them are very accessible via public transport and both have carparks. Personally, I prefer to enter via Lower Peirce Reservoir Park, but NParks recommends entering from Casuarina Entrance. So, it’s up to you which one you want to enter from.

Ways to get to Lower Peirce Reservoir Park:

• By MRT: Take MRT to Upper Thomson Station, take exit 5, take bus 163, 167, 855 or 980 and alight at “Bef Adana at Thomson” bus stop. Walk about 400m to Lower Peirce Reservoir Park.
• By bus: Take bus 163, 167, 169, 855, 980 and alight at “Bef Adana at Thomson” bus stop (bus stop no 56011) or “Bef Ang Mo Kio Ave 1” bus stop (bus stop no 56019). Walk to Lower Peirce Reservoir Park.
• By car: Drive to Old Upper Thomson Road (location on Google Map). There’s a carpark at Lower Peirce Reservoir Park which you can enter via Old Upper Thomson Road, but take note that parking lots are very limited.

Ways to get to Casuarina Entrance:

• By MRT: Take MRT to Upper Thomson Station, take exit 5, take bus 163, 167, 855 or 980 and alight at “Bef Yio Chu Kang Rd” bus stop. Walk about 350m to Casuarina Entrance.
• By bus: Take bus 163, 167, 169, 855, 980 and alight at “Bef Yio Chu Kang Rd” bus stop (bus stop no 56031) or “Aft Yio Chu Kang Rd” bus stop (bus stop no 56039). Walk to Lower Peirce Reservoir Park.
• By car: Drive to Casuarina Road (location on Google Map). There are 2 carparks, one at the junction of Old Upper Thomson Rd & Casuarina Road, and the other one along Old Upper Thomson Road.

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What to Bring

Given that the park and the trail are quite small, there is no need to overpack your bag, unless you’re visiting other parks as well.

Generally, here are the things that you can consider bringing, although I feel that all of them are optional:

• Water. There is no water fountain at Lower Peirce Reservoir. You can bring your own drinks, or you can buy them from the petrol stations (Caltex/Esso/Shell) located near Entrance 1 (Lower Peirce Reservoir Park Entrance), or from one of the restaurants along Casuarina Road (near Entrance 3 – Casuarina Entrance).
• Umbrella/raincoat. There are not many shelters in Lower Peirce Reservoir, if you’re planning to spend a long time there, do bring umbrella or raincoat.
• Sunblock. The Reservoir Park is mostly unsheltered, do wear sunblock to protect your skin if you’re planning to spend a lot of time at the park. Meanwhile, the trail is mostly sheltered, so sunblock is just an added protection.
• Fishing gears, if you’re planning to go fishing there.
• Picnic mat and gears, if you’re planning to picnic there. Just make sure you don’t bring the things in plastic bags, because there are so many monkeys.

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What to Wear

Lower Peirce Reservoir is quite a well-developed place. The path at Reservoir Park is well-paved; and the path inside the trail is mostly boardwalk. I think it’s alright to wear pretty much anything.

Do take note that the boardwalk is slippery when it’s wet, so it’s best to wear footwear with good grips, especially if you visit during rainy season.

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Facilities

2. Toilet. There is only 1 toilet and it’s located near Entrance 1 (location on Google Map).

3. Water fountain. There is a water fountain just beside the toilet. However, given the current situation, I recommend that you bring your own water.

4. Playground. There’s a playground at Reservoir Park (location on Google Map) near Entrance 1.

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Things to do in Lower Peirce Reservoir

1. Walk the trail

The Lower Peirce Reservoir Trail is 900m long, thus it’s suitable for people from almost all walks of life. There are 5 trails. I’ll write about them in details in the “Trails of Lower Peirce Reservoir” section below.

I recommend walking the trail, not jog or run, because the trails are pretty narrow and they can get pretty slippery when wet. Hence, walking is a safer activity than running or jogging. Of course, you can run/jog when it’s dry, just be careful not to bump into other people.

2. Watch sunset

Lower Peirce Reservoir Park is a great place to watch spectacular sunset. I mean, look at this.

3. Watch sunrise

Besides sunset, Lower Peirce Reservoir Park is also a wonderful place to catch sunrise. If you’re a morning person, you don’t want to miss this.

4. Walk to the Kallang River source

Kallang River source is located at the south region of Lower Peirce Reservoir. From the Reservoir Park, walk towards the south via the promenade.

The great thing about the walk to Kallang River source is in the journey, not the destination. Throughout this short walk, I felt awed, inspired and humbled by the beautiful scenery. Words can’t justify how I felt, so I hope these pictures can.

5. Fishing

At Lower Peirce Reservoir Park, there is a designated fishing ground, located between the Pavilion and the Trail. Do note that only artificial baits are allowed in order to maintain reservoir’s water quality.

6. Picnic

Picnic is one of the activities that I’ve seen families doing near the fishing ground. The pros of having a picnic here: amazing scenery, tranquil environment, can be combined with fishing activity.

The cons of having a picnic here: not many sheltered spots and there’s always a risk of monkey encounter (or attack).

7. Playground

If you children loves playground, there is a mini playground with 1 slide. Yes, just one. You may want to avoid it during noon, though, because it’s unsheltered.

8. Photography

Because of its beauty, Lower Peirce Reservoir is a popular place for wedding photoshoot. If you love photography, I’m sure you can spend hours here.

9. Enjoy the present moment

Sometimes, when you travel, you don’t really need to do something. Sometimes, the best thing to do is to do nothing and just enjoy the present moment. Soak in the atmosphere, embrace the weather, have a conversation with your companion (if any), or just get lost in your own thoughts.

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Suggested Routes

If you’re planning to explore the entire Lower Peirce Reservoir, there are 2 routes you can consider.

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Trails of Lower Peirce Reservoir

The trails at Lower Peirce Trail brings you through one of Singapore’s last remaining mature secondary forests and along the edge of Lower Peirce Reservoir. Here are the 5 trails at Lower Peirce Reservoir.

Oncospermum Trail

At 500m long, Oncuspermum Trail is the longest trail at Lower Peirce. It is also my favorite trail because it offers an astounding view of the reservoir and it makes you feel like you’re deep in some jungle.

Costus Trail

Costus Trail is a very short trail connecting Jacaranda Trail and Oncospermum Trail.

Bamboo Trail

Bamboo Trail is another short trail that connects Oncospermum Trail and Cyathea Trail.

Cyathea Trail

Cyathea Trail is my second favorite trail because of the unique stairs. Cyathea Trail connects Bamboo Trail and Casuarina entrance.

Hevea Trail

During my visit, Hevea Trail is the monkeys’ favorite trail. There were so many of them hanging out at Hevea Trail and Casuarina entrance.

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What not to do in Lower Peirce Reservoir

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Nearby Parks

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Nearby Food

Casuarina Road. There are several restaurants on Casuarina Road, 300m from Casuarina entrance. They are Casuarina Curry, Ming Chu Chair Lao Ban, Casuarina Bistro, Tamako Meal, Chui Xiang Kitchen and Ban Leong Wah Hoe.

Sembawang Hills Food Center. If you want a more budget food option, you can visit Sembawang Hills Food Center, which is 300m away from Lower Peirce Reservoir Park entrance.

Jalan Leban and Jalan Kuras. Also 300m from Lower Peirce Reservoir Park entrance, Jalan Leban and Jalan Kuras are home to several restaurants, such as Sin Ming Roti Prata, Plum Village, Springleaf Taiwan Porridge, Thus Coffee and Ice Cream Chefs.

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FAQ

Is there any restaurant at the reservoir? No, there is no restaurant at Lower Peirce Reservoir.

What’s the nearest MRT to Lower Peirce Reservoir? In terms of walking distance, the nearest MRT is Mayflower Station (1.7km walking distance). However, in terms of public transport accessibility, Upper Thomson Station has the most number of direct buses to Lower Peirce Reservoir.

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