From my grandparents’ places on Melody Island and in Wolfeboro, to my parents’ places in Alton and Meredith, my family has been visiting and living on Lake Winnipesaukee for my whole life. It’s the largest lake in New Hampshire, measuring 21 miles long and anywhere from one to nine miles wide. As this week of perfect weather continues, and without a lot of work yesterday, I decided to take a ride all the way around the lake, just for old-time’s sake.
I started right here in Meredith, where I’ve been visiting my parents all week. This area is always quite congested with traffic, but after turning onto Route 25 I managed to pull off at the aptly named Scenic Park to take in the view a bit.
I continued down 25, and before long pulled off in Center Harbor for another perspective on the lake. Most of the time I’ve spent here has been on the south side of the lake, so it was interesting to check it out from different points of view along the way.
I rode on to Moultonborough, then turned right onto Route 109. There were more great lake views from Melvin Village, but no public parking that I could find to stop and take pictures, so I had no choice but to move on.
The same was not true of Tuftonboro and the village of Mirror Lake. While an actual lake called Mirror Lake also exists, this is the view back toward Lake Winnipesaukee from near a small beach right along Route 109.
I pulled into Wolfeboro from the north, the opposite side I’m used to coming in from. This is where I returned to familiar territory, which I’ve been visiting since I was a kid. I remembered this small public parking lot by the water, and was pleasantly surprised to find a bit of reserved motorcycle parking here as well. I couldn’t resist an ice cream cone from Wolfeboro Dockside Grill and Dairy Bar while watching the boats go by.
There is a public dock here, so between boat, car, and foot traffic, this place is always hopping with activity. The first time I ever drove any kind of vehicle was my grandfather’s Boston Whaler when I was probably about 14. One week I stayed with them on the island, he’d have me drive him into town and under this bridge each morning to pick up his newspaper.
After my blast from the past, I continued down 109 to Route 28, which took me down the east side of the lake. I took a detour on Route 28A, alongside Alton Bay through a highly populated area, but much more scenic and interesting than the main drag.
I got onto Route 11, then paused to wander around Alton Bay a little bit. During the winter, this becomes the only official plowed ice runway in the continental US. They hold snowmobile drag races here, too, with the Alton police seeing how fast you can blast through their radar trap just for fun. Boats and seaplanes buzz in and out of here during warmer weather.
There’s a nice overlook along Route 11 about halfway up Alton Bay, where I stopped and snapped these pictures.
Here I found the most creative set of skid marks I’ve ever seen, drawing a smiley face on the pavement. Somebody clearly had a little bit of creative fun during Bike Week.
I continued down Route 11 and took a quick cruise through my parents’ old neighborhood. I crossed into Gilford, then turned onto Route 11B to continue along the lake. Most of the lakeside property here is privately owned, without a lot of overlooks or public access.
Finally, I arrived at Weirs Beach, the hub of Laconia Bike Week. There are even fewer remnants than when I was here a few days ago. I even managed to find parking to shoot a few pictures this time.
That was when I heard the horn of the Mount Washington pulling into Weirs Beach. Two ships of this name have taken passengers on cruises around the lake since 1872. The original paddleboat burned in 1939, and this ship, its replacement, was launched here in 1940. She’s been a fixture of Lake Winnipesaukee ever since. I’ve taken a few rides myself.
It was a short ride back to my parents’ place in Meredith after that. Naturally, I took Rollercoaster Road, because why not? Then I let Lister take me for a walk around the yard. He slept well last night after all that exploring wore him out.
Smokey Da Van 