Commons Lake

Features and Amenities

Oakland Common is a 350+ acre land grant from King George III to the residents of Oakland in 1773. This beautiful lake is a fantastic site for birdwatching.

As you travel along the trail, you will arrive at the old siding, an access where dynamite was brought by rail from the CIL plant in Montreal and then transferred by truck to small freighters at the Dynamite Wharf, now Heron Point Road.  Explosives had to bypass Halifax, due to the city’s new restrictions of handling explosive cargo after the Halifax explosion of 1917.  Oakland provided safe anchorage until this mode of transportation stopped in the 1980’s.

Continue East toward Chester and you will pass an impressive Beaver dam, until you reach the Oakland Road Parking area.  Or, go West to the picturesque Town of Mahone Bay, a delightful seaside town with many amenities and warm, friendly people.

Oakland Common is a 350+ acre land grant from King George III to the residents of Oakland in 1773. This beautiful lake is a fantastic site for birdwatching.

As you travel along the trail, you will arrive at the old siding, an access where dynamite was brought by rail from the CIL plant in Montreal and then transferred by truck to small freighters at the Dynamite Wharf, now Heron Point Road.  Explosives had to bypass Halifax, due to the city’s new restrictions of handling explosive cargo after the Halifax explosion of 1917.  Oakland provided safe anchorage until this mode of transportation stopped in the 1980’s.

Continue East toward Chester and you will pass an impressive Beaver dam, until you reach the Oakland Road Parking area.  Or, go West to the picturesque Town of Mahone Bay, a delightful seaside town with many amenities and warm, friendly people.