Lake Winnipesaukee

Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in New Hampshire and the busiest inland boating water in northern New England — roughly 70 square miles, a couple of hundred islands, and a shoreline that runs from the arcades at Weirs Beach to quiet coves in the northeast corner that see almost no traffic.

The lake is navigated by markers, not by eye. Winnipesaukee is genuinely rocky, with ledges that come up fast in open water well away from any shore, and the state's marked channel system is the reason boats stay off them. New arrivals should get a current lake chart before leaving the dock; a plotter alone is not the local practice.

Service and fuel cluster around Laconia, Meredith, Gilford and Wolfeboro — that arc holds most of the lake's slips, most of its dealers, and effectively all of its haul-out and winter storage capacity. Gas is widely available at dockside pumps; diesel is uncommon and worth calling ahead for.

The season is short and hard-used: ice-out is usually somewhere in April, docks go in through May, and most marinas are pulling boats by mid-October. July and August weekends on the Broads are as busy as boating gets in New England.