Cole Harbour is the name for a

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

located in the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

province of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. 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 harbo ...

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

barrier beach Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a ...

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 that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

was constructed from Dartmouth to

Musquodoboit Harbour Musquodoboit Harbour is a natural harbour in Canada on the Eastern Shore (Nova Scotia), Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. Physical harbour Located east of Petpeswick Inlet and west of Jeddore Harbour, Musquodoboit Harbour is a 10 km long estuar ...

and crossed the width of Cole Harbour on a 3 kilometre causeway. Rail service was abandoned by

CN Rail The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

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

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on 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 right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

as part of the

Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail, officially named The Great Trail between September 2016 and June 2021, is a cross- Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans. The trail exten ...

. 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.

Communities

Communities along the shores of Cole Harbour from west to east include: * Cow Bay * Cole Harbour * Upper Lawrencetown * West Lawrencetown * Naugle {{coord, 44.663, -63.437, type:waterbody_region:CA, display=title Geography of Halifax, Nova Scotia Ports and harbours of Nova Scotia