Clayton Park is located on the edge of Halifax city towards Bedford. It is about a 10 minute drive with no traffic to downtown and
20 minutes on peak times. It is very well located for commuting to downtown Halifax. Access to the 102 highway is a few minutes away as is the Bedford Highway. MAP of AREA
When people talk about Clayton Park they are often also referring to several areas that adjoin Clayton Park such as Rockingham Ridge, Wedgewood, Cresthaven and Sherwood Heights .Technically Clayton Park does not include these areas although the lines between the various areas is not visible. The Clayton Park area does however include two different areas, the original Clayton Park and Clayton Park West. The original Clayton Park was developed in the 1970's while Clayton Park West was developed in 1990's. As a result the housing available in each area is quite different. Older more established housing is available in old Clayton Park and newer houses including brand
new homes are available in Clayton Park West.The dividing line is Dunbrack Street. The original Clayton is located between Dunbrack and the Bedford Basin and Clayton West is located above Dunbrack Street between Dunbrack and #102 Hwy.
The Clayton Park area has a large population for the area it covers. The density is one of the highest in metro particularly in the Clayton Park West area. There is a mixture of single family,semi-detached, townhouse, condominiums and rental apartments throughout the area and the result is many thousands of people live in a fairly small area. This is not necessarily a negative. The planning has been well done and the area is very nice.
The area has many amenities. Shopping in particular is excellent. Bayer's Lake
Park is located next to Clayton Park. This park has become one of metro's most popular shopping areas. Big box stores such as Costco, Staples, Old Navy, HomeSense, Linen and Things,Winners, Futureshop,Walmart and several others anchor this booming park. Anything you need you will find
here including an Empire Theater movie complex with 12 movie theaters as well as an Imax theater. Major Shopping malls such as Halifax Shopping Center and West End Mall are a short drive away. Several strip malls are also found in the area. Shopping is not a problem when you live in Clayton Park
Recreation facilities are excellent in the area and are soon to get even better. There is currently a small indoor pool at Northcliff Community Center which also has an indoor tennis facility. The Mainland North Common area of Clayton Park is destined to be one of the provinces best recreation areas. Soccer Nova Scotia has built an indoor soccer center and adjoining it are two year round artificial turf soccer fields. The area also has beach volleyball section and a grassed outdoor field. In 2010 the major indoor recreation center called the Mainland Common Center will be built on the site. This is a 176,000 square foot facility that includes an 8-lane, 25-metre indoor pool leisure pool (with 3 - 25 metre lanes),11,500-square-foot health, fitness and wellness centre ,52,000-square-foot field house, indoor 200 meter, 6-lane track ,four full-sized gymnasium courts ,youth centre,multi purpose rooms ,dance/Arts studio room ,café and community meeting spaces. Once complete the Mainland North Common area will be the best recreation location in HRM.
Parks and walking trails are numerous in and near Clayton Park. Hemlock Ravine Park is a pleasant 197 acre wilderness getaway within the Regional Municipality. There are 5 trails networked together for a variety of abilities,ages, and time allowances .Another popular park is actually a walking trail of 4.5 kms in length called, Mainland North Linear Parkway or Kearney Lake Trail. It runs through much of the Clayton Park area. Several smaller parks are also scattered throughout the area.
The area has all the amenities that one would ever need.
The type of housing found in the area is varied. Everything from smaller semi-detached to large executive houses can be found in the area. There is also a mixture of age of housing. Housing that is 30 years old or more can be found here right up to brand new houses. Some houses have fairly large city lots while others have smaller 30' x 100' lots. The area has something for everyone.
There are several public schools in the area. See my Clayton Park Schools page for more details. One of the largest public libraries in Nova Scotia, Keshen Goodman Library is also located in Clayton Park
In summary Clayton Park is a centrally located community with many amenities. You should consider it when moving to the metro area.