During the late 1960s the Nova Scotia Department of Housing acquired much of the land
surrounding the Sackville lakes for future residential development. In 1970, Murray V. Jones and Associates prepared the Sackville Lakes Development Plan for the Nova Scotia Department of Housing. Although the Plan was for continued urban housing development, it recognized the ”tremendous potential for a variety of recreational opportunities.” The Metropolitan Planning Advisory Committee (MAPC) further supported this opportunity in 1971, when they identified the area as having important ecological, aesthetic and recreational potential. In 1971, during his assessment of the intrinsic values of the natural environment around greater Halifax-Dartmouth, P. B. Dean, Wildlife Biologist, Department of Indian Affairs and Wildlife Development, in his Natural Environment Survey, included the lands around Second Lake. He noted a variety of deep rich soils, and streams and marshes that introduce variety into the landscape and support special habitats for a large number of plant and wildlife species.

The Sackville Chamber of Commerce, during the 1987 Sackville Civic Status Review, conducted a survey where residents identified their important long-range plan for more parks and recreational areas and environmental planning. The Department of Lands and Forests’ Preliminary Report, Provincial Park Proposal for Second Lake, (1987), identified “a remnant old growth forest stand which represents an excellent interpretive opportunity for the Metro area.” Their preliminary review concluded, "a provincial park at that location could provide a wide range of outdoor recreational and outdoor educational opportunities" for the Metro area. In 1988, Lake District Recreation Association prepared a submission for the Municipal Plan review for Sackville, supporting a provincial park at Second Lake. The 1990 study, Examination of Sources of Bacterial and Chemical Contamination: First Lake, Halifax County, N.S., W. C. Hart and D.H. Waller, from The Centre for Water Resources of the Technical University of Nova Scotia, found Second Lake as being “typical of an undisturbed lake in Nova Scotia.” In 1992 the Department of Housing tasked environmental planning students, of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, with a study of future development potential of Second Lake lands. The students concluded that a highway and housing development had environmental limitations and consequences, and that the area would provide education as well as aesthetic opportunities.

Efforts to protect the Second Lake lands for parkland became anchored in the community in 1990 with the establishment of a Second Lake subcommittee by the Sackville Rivers
Association. In response to the focused community efforts, the Sackville Community Committee of Halifax County Council passed a motion in December 1991 supporting the transfer of all provincially held Second Lake watershed lands to DNR for designation as a park reserve. In February 1992, the N. S. Department of Transportation hosted a community open house on plans for a highway in the area. The resultant evaluation of 226 questionnaires indicated 80% of the respondents opposed highway construction at Second Lake and identified their main concern as environmental protection. Acknowledging that “the community had significant and legitimate concerns,” the Provincial Government established the Second Lake Land Use Committee (SLLUC) in 1992. This committee, ten senior provincial staff and the five elected Sackville Municipal Councillors, met intermittently over a period of sixteen months, “with a mandate to include housing, highway and parkland” and released their report, Land Use Around Second Lake, in 1993. Although the SLLUC Report proposed a plan for 158 hectares (390 acres) of parkland and 162 hectares (400 acres) for housing and highway construction, the Province took no action to transfer parkland or change the land use designation. In 1994 the Sackville Community Council of Halifax County Council formed the Second Lake Advisory Subcommittee “to review the SLLUC report for accuracy and completeness and examine the issues as they related to a park at Second Lake.” In effect, municipal representatives wanted to determine the level of support for the SLLUC report within the local community. Conclusions from that review were presented at a public meeting prior to the merger of the Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996. The subcommittee concluded that housing, a four-lane collector highway and park were not compatible uses for the land, given its configuration and features. They also
described the park type desired as a large-scale “passive recreation” park.

During 1993 and 1994, the Halifax County Municipality prepared amendments to the Sackville
Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS), pertaining to the 158 hectares (390 acres) identified for
parkland, which referenced the “strong community support for reserving lands in the Second Lake watershed for a park.” These amendments recognized the "significant community resource" and the long-term preservation through passive parkland development. To address the known environmental sensitivities, the Halifax County Planning Department developed a Park Conservation Designation for the Sackville MPS. Although the municipality endorsed the amendments, the province that acted to retain the 1982 residential zoning did not approve them.

Community groups, residents and elected officials continued to press for preservation of the Second Lake lands as parkland. Additional support came in 1995 when Sackville Recreation, a committee of Lake District Recreation Association, and Halifax County Municipality, presented the Recreation Implementation Strategy for Recreation in Beaver Bank-Sackville, prepared by Environova and UMA Group. The strategy identified the Second Lake lands as a top priority in future planning considerations for passive recreational open space.

In the spring of 1998 SLRPA was formed representing the surrounding communities of
Sackville, Beaver Bank, Windsor Junction, Fall River, Waverley and Bedford. The membership
has and continues to act on behalf of the community to provide leadership on issues related to Second Lake Park, including environmental protection, promotion of the development and management of passive recreation opportunities, public participation, and community stewardship.

In February 1999, the Government of Nova Scotia, under Premier Russell McLellan, announced the transfer of approximately 267 hectares (660 acres) of land at Second Lake, from the Department of Housing to the Department of Natural Resources, for designation as park reserve. In December 1999 an additional 12 hectares (29 acres) was transferred to bring the Parkland acreage to 283 hectares (700 acres). Between 1999 and 2000 a series of meetings organized by SLRPA led to that organization adopting a “park realization strategy” which has since guided their park planning and management initiatives.

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In December 2004, an additional 24 hectares was added to the Park by the Government of Nova Scotia. The land is bisected by First Lake Drive and will be the location for the main Park entrance.