The Park is not only unique in its number of habitats, but also its rareness in the Stamford area. There are no similar local habitats. Similar but not as diverse habitat may be found at Greenwich Point Park (5 miles to the southwest), Sherwood Island in Westport (20 miles to the northeast) and Pelham Bay, New York (30 miles to the south). These long distances are critical after a night of migration for migratory songbirds. Flying longer distances could mean death for numerous birds. Many species return year after year during the spring and fall migrations since the park is situated on the coastal migration paths. This is readily evident looking at the checklist, which lists 287 species documented over the last 15 years. Holly Pond provides foraging habitat for wading birds in the nesting, and post-nesting seasons, it also provides habitat for many waterfowl and gulls in the winter and migration seasons.

Cove Island Park has it all, including recreation facilities such as a one-mile walk/run trail, a playground, a rollerblade/cycling path, an expansive lawn area, BBQ grills, two softball fields, a tennis court, a basketball court, a picnic shelter, and two sandy beaches. The Cove Island Wildlife Sanctuary is also one of only 27 recognized important bird areas in the state by the National Audubon Society. The park is known to contain a wide diversity of wildlife, including over 50 species of butterfly and 309 species of birds.

The 83-acre park is owned by the City of Stamford. The park offers swimming, boating, walking, biking, roller-blading, picnicking, ice skating, birding, photography, and fishing. The remarkable thing about Cove Island Park is the diversity of habitats within the park. These include, sandy and rocky beaches, salt marsh, mud flats, estuary, a large pond (Holly Pond), the last undeveloped sand dune in Stamford, woods, cut lawn, fresh water wetlands, meadows, brushy areas, and a planned butterfly garden (29 species of butterflies have been identified here).

The AllTrails website has a description and map of a hike at Cove Island