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Lake Winnipesaukee
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The largest Lake in New Hampshire , Lake Winnipesaukee is the sixth largest natural lake lying within the United States. It is approximately 26 miles long (north-south) and from one to ten miles wide (east-west), covering 72 square miles (186 km²), with a maximum depth of 212 feet (64.6 meters). The lake contains some 253 islands ( list of islands ) and is indented by several peninsulas, a combination which yields a total shoreline of some 288 miles. The driving distance around the lake is 63 miles. The lake is 504 feet above sea level.


HISTORY

Lake Winnipesaukee has been a tourist destination for more than a century, especially for residents escaping the summer heat of Boston and New York City . The Native American name "Winnipesaukee" means either "smile of the Great Spirit" or "beautiful water in a high place".

Winnipesaukee is a Glacial lake and an unusual one at that, 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 now Alton Bay toward the Atlantic Ocean . When glacial debris blocked this path, flow was redirected westward through Paugus Bay into the Winnipesaukee River . The latter flows west from the lake and joins the Pemigewasset River in Franklin to form the Merrimack River , which flows south to Massachusetts and into the Atlantic.

Lake Winnipesaukee is known for its annual Ice-Out Contest, in which people try to guess the earliest date that the ''Mount Washington'' (aka ''The Mount''), a large cruise ship that carries tourists around the lake, can safely leave her port in Center Harbor and motor to four other ports ( Weirs Beach , Alton Bay, Wolfeboro , and Meredith ). Since records began being kept in 1851 , ice-out has happened as early as March 29 and as late as May 12, although 90 percent of the time it is declared during April.


CITIES AND TOWNS

The communities that surround the lake, clockwise from the southernmost town, are:
  • Alton

  • Gilford , home to Gunstock Recreation Area, noted for its skiing and hiking.

  • Laconia , surrounding Paugus Bay, is the main commercial city on the lake. Included in Laconia is Weirs Beach , the largest public bathing area on Winnipesaukee.

  • Meredith , whose picturesque harbor lies on the northwestern reach of the lake.

  • Center Harbor

  • Moultonborough

  • Tuftonboro

  • Wolfeboro , which bills itself as the "oldest summer resort in America."



LAKES REGION

Along with the rest of New Hampshire's " Lakes Region ," which also encompasses Lake Winnisquam , Squam Lake and Newfound Lake , 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 the Ossipee Mountains to the east, the Belknap Range to the west, and Red Hill to the north.


POPULAR CULTURE



REFERENCES

The New Hampshire State Almanac


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