Cole Harbour is the name for a

natural harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be moored. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

located in the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

province of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. It is located in central Halifax County, with the mouth of the harbour located 6 kilometres northeast of

Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural har ...

. The entrance to Cole Harbour is protected by Rainbow Haven Beach, a

barrier beach Barrier islands are a coastal landform, a type of dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a few is ...

which forms a lagoon on the inland side. Measuring approximately 4 kilometres east to west and 3 kilometres north to south, the harbour is shallow and rocky. Virtually the entire shoreline and the harbour itself are protected by the provincial government as the Cole Harbour - Lawrencetown Coastal Heritage Provincial Park. The centre of the harbour is divided by a man-made feature; during the late 19th century a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

was constructed from Dartmouth to Musquodoboit Harbour and crossed the width of Cole Harbour on a 3 kilometre

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

. Rail service was abandoned by

CN Rail The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

during the 1980s and the corridor has been converted to a

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

as part of the

Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the Arctic Ocean, Arctic oceans. The trail extends over ; it is now the longe ...

. Part of the western shore of Cole Harbour was dyked during the 19th century to provide land for farmers. These structures were destroyed in the early 20th century and are now occupied by several residential homes along the Cow Bay road. This park features 7 main trails (7.9 km total) which highlight the area’s heritage and natural flora and fauna, as well as woodlands, fields and salt marsh shoreline. The trailhead and parking lot are located at 256 Bissett Road in Cole Harbour. The trails running from this main trailhead interconnect; each trail has its own character. The trails are open year-round (no winter maintenance) for all to explore the area’s wildlife, including bird watching, while hiking, cycling, skiing, and snowshoeing along the trails. The rails to trails corridor, Trans Canada Trail passes through Cole Harbour Heritage Park. The Cole Harbour Parks and Trails Association maintain the trails at the Cole Harbour Heritage Park and a portion of the Trans Canada Trail.

Communities

Communities along the shores of Cole Harbour from west to east include: * Cow Bay * Cole Harbour * Upper Lawrencetown * West Lawrencetown * Naugle

References

{{coord, 44.663, -63.437, type:waterbody_region:CA, display=title Geography of Halifax, Nova Scotia Ports and harbours of Nova Scotia