Lake Winnipesaukee

A great lake in a part of the country deprived of Great Lakes. Not that New England — and particularly the White Mountains region of New Hampshire — has anything to complain about regarding drawing the short straw when nature’s beauty was being divvied up, but massive signature lakes are not a conspicuous characteristic of the region.
But Lake Winnipesaukee is the very happy exception. Like any large tourism magnet, it has its share of kitsch, but the lake is largely resistant to being subsumed by ice cream shops, miniature golf courses and roadside motels, though, you won’t have to look very hard to find shining examples of each.
Nonetheless, this is a beautiful area to explore in any number of ways — four wheels, two wheels, outboard motor, sail, ice skates, and even skis, in the case of Gunstock Ski Resort, whose trails tower above the southern shores of the lake.
Though there’s nothing equivalent to Crater Lake’s rim drive in Oregon, the network of highways and country roads encircling the lake afford frequent and fantastic peeks at the sparkling waters and verdant hills surrounding it. And due to the highly irregular shape of the lake — it sits on a diagonal axis running from northwest to southeast, with opportunities to cross it at some of its chokepoints — the roads girdling the shoreline never grow predictable or monotonous. Laconia, Alton Bay, Wolfeboro, Meredith, Center Harbor. .. these are all good-​sized towns on the banks of the lake, which, nonetheless amount to isthmuses, with significant water to be found in multiple directions within each town.
The real magnificence of Lake Winnipesaukee resides, however, on the lake itself. These fresh, clean waters are nestled within some of New England’s most lovely natural terrain. And the lake does a fair amount of encircling in its own right, with countless islands ensuring that the views don’t carry on uninterrupted for very long. Additionally, there are as many coves and bays as there are necks of land jutting away from the settled areas for a dip in these cool, but not inhospitably so, waters. In other words — a boater’s paradise, particularly if your orientation in the captain’s chair is toward exploration.
Chances are, you’ll discover opportunity after opportunity to enjoy your favorite outdoor activities at or on Lake Winnipesaukee. And the lake has so many different pockets to it that it might just take a lifetime of summers there to feel like you’ve found them all.

My favorite hike! Can make it to the top in 45 min if you don’t stop. Most beautiful view of the lake that wraps around the mountain.

Whatever I write about this, however vividly I describe this place will not do any justice. Hiked up Mt. Major Saturday morning of the Labor Day weekend to end up at this breath-​taking summit. The hike was a good 3 miles and there were parts where sweat was literally dripping off my face (sorry, not sorry for the description). It took me about 2 hours to get up to the top and every possible drop of sweat and every heavy panting breath was totally worth it.
If you want more evidence, check out my Instagram page.
Sweet Mother Nature I love this beautiful f****** planet.

Seth and I celebrated our anniversary at the lake aboard our friend’s Cobalt 26. What a gorgeous setting. The scenic vistas were amazing. There seems to be something for everyone from sandy pristine beaches to arcades and activities. We chose the low key side of lake living this weekend. We had a blast on the lake. We’ll be back.