A new walking trail in Dartmouth's Shannon Park opens to the public this morning.

The 1.2-kilometre Canada 150 Trail ends at a lookout near the MacKay Bridge with great views of the Halifax Harbour in both directions.

Officials held a dedication ceremony at the trail on Oct. 26, but it remained closed after that as some of the fencing had to be replaced before the trail could be regularly used, the head of the project said.

"The railings on the inner part of the deck were wooden," explained Chris Millier, of Canada Lands, a Crown corporation that sells or develops surplus federal land. "We now have matching metal railings."

Local connections to the land and the harbour will also be commemorated along the trail. (Ekistics Plan and Design/Canada Lands)

The public will be able to use the trail from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily until Dec. 3. After that, its reopening will depend on the weather.

"With crusher-dust trails, the ground needs to be stable," said Millier. "If we have a warm, dry spring, then I think we'll open it earlier than if we have a cold, wet spring."

The Canada 150 Trail begins across from the Shannon Park Elementary School.

Officials have previously said the trail will morph in the coming years as the rest of Shannon Park — an abandoned military enclave spreading more than 30 hectares on the waterfront — is redeveloped in phases.