Our Location & Directions

The Neighborhood

Milk Lake is located a few minutes off Exit 16 on Highway 103, about half way between Halifax and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia’s southernmost port.

The former dairy farm forms an arc on the shores of Five Island Lake (re-dubbed “Dragon Lake”), one of many picturesque lakes in the area.  The Atlantic coast, just a 15-minute drive to the east, offers beaches, nature preserves and a number of public resorts.

The historic towns of Lunenburg, Liverpool, Bridgewater, and Mahone Bay are all within easy driving distance, and the Kejimkujik National Park is about 40 minutes away.  Of special interest to Shambhala Community members, Mill Village, where Chogyam Trungpa spent 1984 in retreat, is just down the road.

Visitors to Nova Scotia can enter the province by three main routes:

  • Airplane
    • Arrive by air through Stanfield International Airport, about 45 minutes north of Halifax (one hour and 45 minutes from Milk Lake). Cars may be rented at the airport.  Drive south to Halifax on Highway 102, link up with Highway 103 just south of Halifax, drive about an hour, and turn right at Exit 16.
  • Driving
    • Drive in from New Brunswick on Highway 102 (Trans-Canada Highway) and switch to Highway 102 south at Truro.
  • Ferry
    • Take the car ferry from St. John, New Brunswick, to Digby on Nova Scotia’s west coast. Take Highway 101 north from Digby and turn east on Highway 8, which takes you across the province to Highway 103 on the east coast at Liverpool.  Turn left on 103, drive about 15 minutes, and turn left at Exit 16.


Shuttle Service

A shuttle service travels daily between Stanfield airport and Yarmouth, with stops in Halifax.  Go to the Cloud Nine Shuttle website to arrange for pickup at the airport or in the Halifax Region.

Directions from Halifax

Milk Lake is in the village of Middlewood, slightly more than an hour southwest of Halifax on Highway 103.

Turn right at Exit 16 (there is a flashing yellow light over the intersection) and follow the winding road for exactly 1.3(?) km.

As you come to the top of a rise, you will see a group of mailboxes on the right with a sign saying “Milk Lake Farm  (blue letters on a white background) attached to one of them.

Turn into the driveway, driving slowly and keeping to the right past the small brown house on the left a short way up the driveway; keep going for several hundred metres (yards) until you see the Milk Lake Shambhala Retreat Centre sign.

Park in the open space just to the left of the sign, walk a few metres to the large house on the left (do not go to the retreat cabin on the right).


Contact us:

Email: [email protected]

73 Wilfred Rd

Middlewood, NS B4V 6J3, Canada