Forming part of the Trans-Canada Trail, Salt Marsh Trail in located within the Cole Harbour estuary and is approximately 12 km due east of Halifax (Figure 1). The Salt Marsh Trail is 6.5 km long and it bisects the Cole Harbour estuary, running along a 3.2 km long causeway that is the abandoned rail-bed of the Musquodoboit Railroad. The rest of the estuary is generally undeveloped save for the community of Upper Lawrencetown along the innermost (northeast) shore of the estuary. The mouth of the estuary is a natural (un-jettied) inlet bounded by Rainbow Haven Beach (a provincial park) to the west and Conrods Head to the east. The causeway is roughly 2 km inshore of the mouth of the inlet and is largely protected from waves coming from the open Atlantic Ocean.