Cow Bay

Cow Bay

• Population: 1,224 (2021) Statistics Canada

Cow Bay is an unincorporated rural community within Halifax Regional Municipality Nova Scotia on the Eastern Shore on Route 322 along the Marine Drive scenic route.

The community was named after Robert Cowie who, with Roger Hill, received a land grant in the area in 1763. In the 1840s, the latest known ancestors of Cow Bay are the Myers and the Moshers.

Silver Sands Beach extends for a kilometre and a half was a popular destination for people from Dartmouth area by 1850. In the 1930s, a dance hall and canteen were built. Over time, the Silver Sands Beach was destroyed by the removal of sand for construction of the container piers in Halifax Harbour and to build the runway at CFB Shearwater Airport. Removal of sand left the beaches vulnerable to the erosion of the tides until the Nova Scotia Government decided to step in and pass legislation to protect sand from beaches from being removed. 

Besides being an ocean community, Cow Bay also has 3 lakes: Bissett Lake, Cow Bay Lake, and Car Wash Lake. The Cow Bay River cuts through the centre of the community which consists of a number of small waterfalls before it enters Cow Bay Lake. Cow Bay is also famous for its jogging/ walking/ bicycle trails such as the Salt Marsh Trail and Shearwater Flyer trail which follow an abandoned rail line known as the Dartmouth Eastern Railway. In 1959 a large concrete moose statue by Winston Bronnum was constructed and still remains a landmark. The moose is along Cow Bay Road, at Silver Sands Beach Park. There is a small parking lot, a couple of picnic tables and grills, and a boat launch. Cow Bay is known as a very popular surfing destination.