thumb|right|250px|Cove Mills factory of the Stamford Manufacturing Company. The factory burned down on February 19, 1919, in a spectacular fire on the site of Cove Island Park.

Cove Island Park is an 83-acre park, beach and recreation area in the Cove section of Stamford, Connecticut, located on Long Island Sound.

Access to the park requires a parking pass. The city's Park Commission charges Stamford residents with valid Stamford car registrations can buy a season pass for $25 at Government Center, the non-resident fee is $225.

Facilities for recreation

  • The park features the following amenities:
  • Beaches
  • One-mile walk/run trail
  • Playground
  • Roller blade/cycling path
  • Near the park's entrance is the Terry Conners Ice Rink, where children may skate in the winter, take skating lessons, or reserve the rink for special occasions.

Geography

The area known as the Cove consists of the peninsula bordered by on the west by the Shippan neighborhood of Stamford and on the east by Holly Pond, which, along with the Noroton River, divides Stamford from Darien, Connecticut. Cove Island is detached from shore on the East end of the Cove. It is linked to the mainland by two bridges, one of which is accessible by motor vehicles. The park's parking lot is located on the Cove peninsula, across from Cove Island, and the western part of the park surrounds the parking lot.

The park contains a diversity of habitats: roughly 30% estuary, 20% pond/lake, 10% deciduous forest, 10% shrub, 10% grassland, 10% salt marsh, 5% field, and 5% non-tidal freshwater marsh.

Points of interest

Stamford's September 11th Memorial is located within the park.

thumb|SoundWaters Coastal Education Center

Since 2000 the park has been the headquarters of SoundWaters, a nonprofit environmental education organization that offers a free small aquarium, music, canoe trips, school trips, and family activities on land and aboard an schooner.

Wildlife sanctuary

The Audubon Society considers the park to be an Important Bird Area (IBA), one of 27 in the state. The park is known to contain a wide diversity of wildlife, including over 50 species of butterfly and 287 species of birds. The City of Stamford and conservation groups have worked with national experts on a comprehensive long-term plan for the park in light of environmental risks.

In 2015 the jogging trail was the scene of a sexual assault. The incident led to the installation of an emergency phone and security cameras at the park.

In July 2018, mosquitos at the park tested positive for West Nile virus.

Trivia

The movie Reservation Road was filmed at the park, including the opening scene of an outdoor concert and a climactic scene near the end. Weed Avenue, just north of the park, was used in two scenes where a character jogs.

References

  • Cove Island Park - City of Stamford
  • Famous Cove Mills Perish in Stamford's Biggest Fire Article on manufacturing at the site of Cove Island Park (Stamford Historical Society newsletter)