| Lake Winnipesaukee | |
|---|---|
 Lake Winnipesaukee from the summit of Mt. Major | |
   | |
| Location | Belknap andCarroll counties, New Hampshire |
| Coordinates | 43°36′N71°20′W / 43.600°N 71.333°W /43.600; -71.333 |
| Primary inflows | Gunstock River;Merrymeeting River;Melvin River;Red Hill River;Lake Waukewan canal |
| Primary outflows | Winnipesaukee River |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Max. length | 20.8 mi (33.5 km) |
| Max. width | 9.0 mi (14.5 km) |
| Surface area | 71 sq mi (180 km2) |
| Max. depth | 180 ft (55 m) |
| Shore length1 | 288 mi (463 km) |
| Surface elevation | 504 ft (154 m) |
| Islands | 258[1] |
| Settlements | seearticle |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Lake Winnipesaukee | |
| 1 Shore length isnot a well-defined measure. | |
Lake Winnipesaukee (/ˌwɪnɪpəˈsɔːki/) is the largest lake in the U.S. state ofNew Hampshire, located in theLakes Region at the foothills of theWhite Mountains. It is approximately 21 miles (34 km) long (northwest-southeast) and from 1 to 9 miles (1.6 to 14.5 km) wide (northeast-southwest), covering 69 square miles (179 km2)—71 square miles (184 km2) whenPaugus Bay is included[2]—with a maximum depth of 180 feet (55 m).[3] The center area of the lake is called The Broads.[4]: 31
The lake contains at least 264 islands,[1] half of which are less than 0.25 acres (0.10 ha) in size, and is indented by several peninsulas, yielding a total shoreline of approximately 288 miles (463 km). The driving distance around the lake is 63 miles (101 km). It is 504 feet (154 m) above sea level. Winnipesaukee is the third-largest lake inNew England afterLake Champlain andMoosehead Lake.
Outflow is regulated by the Lakeport Dam[5] inLakeport, New Hampshire, on theWinnipesaukee River.
The nameWinnipesaukee (often spelledWinnipiseogee in earlier centuries[6]: 27 [7]) comes from theAbenaki nameWiwninbesoki, meaning "the land that surrounds the lake".[8] Earlier etymologies suggested the name meant either "smile of the Great Spirit" or "beautiful water in a high place".[6]: 19 At the outlet of the lake, the Winnipesaukee people, a subtribe of thePennacook, lived and fished at a village called Acquadocton. Today, the site is calledThe Weirs, named for theweirs that were noted by the colonists when first exploring the region.
Lake Winnipesaukee has been a popular tourist destination for more than a century, particularly among residents ofBoston andNew York City.
Winnipesaukee is aglacial lake but an unusual one, since the last glaciation actually reversed the flow of its waters. Draining the central portion of New Hampshire, it once flowed southeast, leaving via what is nowAlton Bay toward theAtlantic Ocean. When glacial debris blocked this path, flow was redirected westward throughPaugus Bay into the Winnipesaukee River. The latter flows west from the lake and joins thePemigewasset River inFranklin to form theMerrimack River, which flows south toMassachusetts and into the Atlantic.
Center Harbor witnessed the first intercollegiate sporting event in the United States, asHarvard defeatedYale by two lengths in the firstHarvard–Yale Regatta on August 3, 1852.[9] The outcome was repeated 100 years later when the schools celebrated the centennial of the race by again competing on Lake Winnipesaukee (Harvard winning by 2.7 seconds).[10]
The communities that surround the lake, clockwise from the southernmost town, are:
The lake consists of a wide, relatively open central region known as the Broads, surrounded by several largebays, as well as many smaller inlets.
The daytime speed limit for boats on the entire lake is 45 miles per hour (72 km/h).[11]
The main sections of the lake are:
The Broads are a wide portion of Lake Winnipesaukee largely inBelknap County and extending slightly intoCarroll County.[12] It is a large island-free zone occupying the center of the lake.[4]: 31
Running along the main axis of the lake, the northwestern tip of the Broads is at the town ofCenter Harbor, while the southeastern end lies between the towns ofAlton andWolfeboro.
Meredith Bay lies at the western edge of Winnipesaukee. At the northern tip of Meredith Bay is the main village of the town ofMeredith.Paugus Bay branches off to the south of Meredith Bay atWeirs Beach, near to where Meredith Bay joins the main body of the lake. Meredith Bay is separated from the Broads by a relatively narrowstrait bordered byGovernors Island to the south and Stonedam Island to the north. The northeastern shore of Meredith Bay is a long peninsula known as Meredith Neck.
Formerly a hydrologically distinct lake, Paugus Bay became joined to Winnipesaukee when the dam atLakeport was constructed, raising the surface of Paugus Bay to be contiguous with Winnipesaukee. Paugus Bay joins the main lake in Meredith Bay, running south from a narrow channel connecting it to Meredith Bay. At the northern end of Paugus Bay, where it joins the main lake, isWeirs Beach, the largest and most visited public beach on the lake. At the other end is the village of Lakeport. Both Weirs Beach and Lakeport are villages within the city of Laconia. The eastern shore of the bay is closely followed byU.S. Route 3, and has numerous motels, hotels, inns, and bungalow complexes. The western shore is much less developed.
Alton Bay is a narrow bay which runs due south from the southern corner of the main lake. It lies entirely within the town ofAlton. The village ofAlton Bay lies at the extreme southern tip.
Wolfeboro Bay is a relatively small wide bay lying in the town ofWolfeboro, creating a small northerly bulge in the shoreline to the eastern edge of Winnipesaukee. A series of smaller lakes and streams connects Wolfeboro Bay toLake Wentworth.
Winter Harbor is a Y-shaped bay with two branches, separated from the Broads by Wolfeboro Neck and Tuftonboro Neck. Winter Harbor is surrounded by many quiet resort communities in the towns of Wolfeboro andTuftonboro. It also has panoramic views of theBelknap Mountains and looks out towardRattlesnake Island.
The longest bay on Winnipesaukee is Moultonborough Bay. It is connected to the Broads by some narrow straits running between a cluster of islands including Long Island (the largest island in the lake), Cow Island, Little Bear Island, Sandy Island, and dozens of smaller islands and islets. The 7-mile-long (11 km) Moultonborough Neck separates the length of the bay from the main axis of the lake, and theSuissevale development in the town ofMoultonborough is at the northern tip of the bay.Melvin Village, the main lakeside village of the town of Tuftonboro lies along the northeastern shore of the bay, closer to where it joins the Broads.
There are at least 258 natural islands on Lake Winnipesaukee that are at least 3 feet (0.9 m) above lake level and contain vegetation, about 130 of which are over .25 acres (0.10 ha) in size.[1] 26 of these are 25 acres (10 ha) or larger:
Six islands are connected to the mainland by bridges (Black Cat, Governors, Long, Oak, Christmas (or Plummers) inPaugus Bay, and Worcester),[13] and another eight (Bear, Birch, Cow, East Bear, Jolly, Loon, Three Mile, and Sandy) are served by the U.S.mail boatM/VSophie C.
Along with the rest of New Hampshire'sLakes Region, which also encompassesLake Winnisquam,Lake Wentworth,Squam Lake,Newfound Lake, and numerous other smaller lakes and ponds, Winnipesaukee has been a vacation community for at least a century, particularly drawing people from the Boston region. The area is home to numerous summer theater troupes and offers a variety of land and water recreational activities. There are numerous hiking trails in and around the surrounding mountains, which include theOssipee Mountains to the east, theBelknap Range to the west, and Red Hill to the north.
The paddlesteamerMS Mount Washington, named after the highest of New Hampshire'sWhite Mountains, was launched in spring 1872 to carry mail, goods, and passengers on Lake Winnipesaukee, under the flag of theBoston and Maine Railroad. With a hull length of 178 feet (54 m) and a beam of 49 feet (15 m) she appeared as a typical representative of the North American sidewheelers around the second half of the century and was the largest steamer on the lake at that time. The huge paddle wheels were driven by a single-cylinder steam engine of 450 hp (340 kW) at approximately 26 rpm. The power was transferred from the vertical single cylinder to the wheel shaft by the walking beam, high above the upper deck, oscillating in the frequency of the paddle wheels. Known as "The Mount", her kitchen and restaurant service became famous.
On December 23, 1939, a nearby railroad station caught fire from an overheated stove. The fire soon spread to the ship, tied at the dock, and destroyed it. Efforts to cutMount Washington loose were to no avail as it was a time of extremely low water and the hull was stuck fast in the mud of the lake bottom. Soon after, a local company was formed to build a new ship. Since Europe was already at war, and the US was stocking steel in a pre-war munitions build-up obtaining steel was impossible. Instead, they purchased an old sidewheel vessel on Lake Champlain: theChateaugay, a 203-foot (62 m), iron-hulled sidewheeler that was being used as a club house for the Burlington yacht club. It was cut into sections by Boston General Ship & Engine Works and transported to Lake Winnipesaukee on rail cars. A new twin-screw vessel was designed for the hull being welded back together at Lakeport.[14] Powered by two steam engines taken from another ocean-going yacht, the new MSMount Washington made her maiden voyage on August 15, 1940.
Two years after her launch, the newMount Washington's engines and boilers were removed for use in a navy vessel during World War II. After the war,Mount Washington returned to the water. The ship was a success in the post-war tourist boom.[15]
In 1982,Mount Washington was cut open and extended with an additional 20-foot (6.1 m) hull section to add larger lounge and food service facilities.[14] Still popular, she makes one or two round trips on the lake per day during the summer season, as well as numerous dinner dance cruises in the evenings.
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The M/VSophie C. is the oldest, and one of only two currently operating, floatingUnited States Postal Service post offices.[16][17] Floatingpost office service was started on Lake Winnipesaukee in 1892, and currently delivers mail daily to eight of the lake's islands between June and September. TheSophie C. was built by Boston General Ship & Engine Works in 1945 to temporarily replace theMount Washington, whose engines and boilers had been commandeered by the Navy duringWorld War II,[14] and she took over the mail route from theUncle Sam II in 1969.[18]
As a floating post office,Sophie C. delivers mail Monday-Saturday, sells postage, and collects and postmarks outgoing mail.Sophie C. also operates as a sightseeing boat, carrying up to 125 people on her two cruises a day as she delivers mail, and sells ice cream and snacks to residents of the islands she serves.[19] In 2018 and 2019, the M/VDoris E. replaced theSophie C. as mail boat while the latter was undergoing repairs.[20][21]
The steamshipDover, 150 feet (46 m) in length, captained by Winborn Sanborn, operated by the Cocheco Railroad, traveled the lake in the 1850s. TheDover was lengthened to 162 feet (49 m) and renamed theChocorua and sank in the late 1860s. She was refloated, but by the 1870s the newMount Washington had replaced her.[22]
TheAlton Bay Seaplane Base is a state-owned, public-useseaplane base inAlton Bay, the southeast arm of the lake. In the winter it is the only FAA-approved ice runway in thecontiguous United States, conditions permitting.[23]
Average summertime on or next to the water brings days around 80 °F (26 °C), with overnight lows around 65 °F (18 °C). Less than one-half mile (800 m) away from the water, days can be warmer and nights cooler by several degrees. Summer's most extreme temperatures away from the water may be as high as 100 °F (38 °C) and as low as 50 °F (10 °C). A typical winter day brings a maximum of 28 °F (−2 °C) with overnight minimum around 15 °F (−9 °C). Typical wintertime extremes are 50 °F (10 °C) and −20 °F (−30 °C) but even greater extremes have been recorded nearby.
The water temperature typically reaches the upper 70s F (around 25 °C) in late July and cools into the 60s (around 18 °C) in September. Several days of hot, humid weather at the height of summer can bring the water temperature well above 80 °F (26 °C). It normally freezes during the last week of December. Ice thickness during a typical winter can be in excess of 18 inches (460 mm) in many parts of the lake.
Lake Winnipesaukee is known for its annual Ice-Out Contest, in which people try to guess the earliest date that theMount Washington can safely leave her port inCenter Harbor and motor to four other ports (Weirs Beach,Alton Bay,Wolfeboro, andMeredith). Since records began in 1851, ice-out has happened as early as March 17, in 2024 and as late as May 12, although 90 percent of the time it is declared during April. This official ruling is made by David Emerson of Emerson Aviation.[24]
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| National | |
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