Hammonds Plains, a suburban area of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada, is located 20 km northwest of Downtown Halifax. Established in 1786 as a settlement for United Empire Loyalists, the area was named after the popular outgoing Lt. Governor Andrew Snape Hamond. The settlers voted to name the road running from Birch Cove on Bedford Basin to St. Margaret's Bay after him.
The settlement saw further growth with the arrival of disbanded soldiers from the Napoleonic Wars and Black Refugees from the War of 1812. Hammonds Plains was also the eastern end of the Old Annapolis Road, intended to create a settled corridor and transportation link between Halifax and Annapolis Royal. Although the Annapolis Road never fully developed, the settlement opened up a modest amount of viable farmland and developed many saw mills.
In the 1950s, Hammonds Plains was considered as a potential location for a new international airport for Halifax. However, the airport was ultimately built in Goffs, just south of Enfield, Nova Scotia.
The Government of Nova Scotia defines Hammonds Plains as adjacent to Bedford-and-Lucasville to the east; Upper Sackville-and-Middle Sackville to the north; Stillwater Lake, Timberlea, and Upper Tantallon to the south; and Upper Hammonds Plains to the west. The community is situated along the isthmus of the Chebucto Peninsula with its centre located along Highway 213 (Hammonds Plains Road).
The Hammonds Plains region is rich in small lakes and serves as a dormitory area for Halifax. Many homes lie on large unserviced lots, with the exception of the Kingswood subdivision where 90% of the units have municipal water service. The population grew rapidly in the 1990s, particularly in subdivisions at the western end of the Hammonds Plains Road. Halifax's water comes from Pockwock Lake which lies north of Hammonds Plains. The landmass of Hammonds Plains is approximately 3,331 ha (8,230 acres).
Hammonds Plains is home to several residential subdivisions including Brookline, Cedarwood, Glen Arbour, Highland Park, Kingswood, Kingswood North, Maplewood, Perry Pond, Uplands Park, Voyageur Lakes, and White Hills.
Hammonds Plains offers a variety of activities for residents and visitors alike. The Glen Arbour Golf Course, an 18-hole private championship golf course, hosts many tournaments, including the 2005 LPGA Canadian Women’s Open and the Telus World Skins Game in 2012. Hatfield Farm, a venue that contains a petting zoo and horseback riding, is a popular spot for weddings and other functions. In 2021 and 2023, it was the site of Splashifax, a large inflatable water park. Atlantic Splash Adventure, another water park, contains nine slides and several flat rides. An annual cycling event called Close To Home: The Tour of Hammonds Plains links the earliest settled areas with the new subdivisions.
Hammonds Plains is a well-established community. However, the demographic information available from Statistics Canada pertains to the settled area ("retired population centre") of Hammonds Plains Road, not the community of Hammonds Plains. The settled area of Hammonds Plains Road had a population of 1,819 people living in 595 of its 602 total private dwellings as of 2021, a decrease of -2.2% from 1,859 people in 2016. Hammonds Plains Road had a population density of 572 people per km2. Including the subdivisions, the population is approximately 12,000.
Halifax Transit's route 433 serves Hammonds Plains. This route travels from Tantallon, passes through Hammonds Plains, and continues to the Lacewood Terminal in Clayton Park. At Lacewood Terminal, passengers can transfer to buses destined for other areas of Halifax.
