Ch’ax̱áy is the Squamish name for Horseshoe Bay. Long before Europeans arrived, Squamish peoples would camp in the area when travelling back and forth from Squamish. It was a popular place to go fishing for herring and cod, and to hunt birds and other animals. According to August Jack, Ch’ax̱áy means “sizzling noise” and it comes from the sound that could be heard in the area when hundreds of small fish would gather and wriggle around just under the water’s surface.