The Musquodoboit River country to the east of Halifax had French settlements fully half a century before the first British settler arrived at what is now the great stronghold and capital city of Nova Scotia.
Crossing to Dartmouth on the ferry a pleasant road leads to the Dartmouth Lakes. This beautiful chain of lakes is part of a system of waterways intended to be made continuous from Halifax and Dartmouth to the Bay of Fundy, at Maitland and Cobequid Bay, by means of the Shubenacadie River. A canal was to have connected the lakes and river, but the project fell through. The ruins of the old locks at the Dartmouth end are well worth seeing. Excellent views may be enjoyed from Dartmouth and Prince Arthur Parks. Many camping parties are found on the shores of the first and second lakes, and boating is there a favorite recreation.
Another pleasant road is that to Cow Bay, where a fine beach and good bathing may be enjoyed.
Regetta Day, Halifax
“I leave the town with its hundred noises,
Its clatter and whir of wheel and steam,
For woodland quiet and silvery voices,
With a camp of bark by a crystal stream.