Lake Winnisquam and Newfound Lake

[feb]

I've had a place on Winnisquam for 15 years now and absolutely love it. I was born in Laconia so I was familiar with all of the lakes and chose Winnisquam for its quietness and somewhat "On Golden Pond" atmosphere.

Yes, the sandbar, noted above, is a nut house. In my 20's I loved that. In my 40's I love just watching it. If you're young and rowdy there is a place for you there. If you're any age and like to people watch there is plenty to look at. But its only 1 acre of the 4200 acres available.

I was surprised to read the comment on Winnipesaukee being cleaner. Maybe it is, haven't been "on" Winnipesaukee in years. But I do know on a sunny day, I can easily see 15' down from my raft to my anchor. Its by no means dirty or unclear like a pond.

In my opinion there are different "sections" of Winnisquam. In some locations the houses are spread out and it seems more relaxed. In others, they are right on top of each other, like oceanfront, and to me, seems less relaxing.

What you get is a quieter lake (weekends are still very busy). What you give up is the ability to do anything by boat (restaurants, arcades, site seeing). Its truly a compromise. I will say that after 15 years the lake is becoming a little small, I'm getting a little bored of boating around the same houses, going the same routes. But waking up with coffee and loons puts it back into perspective.

Watch out for the tax rates, they vary quite a bit among the different towns.

[Dad sold the C * C]

I had the luck growing up to spend a lot of time on Winnisquam and Newfound lake, and have been back too both in recent years. The other poster’s are correct on water quality and boat traffic. One thing about Newfound is the main part of the lake is very open and the winds come off the mountains and can make it quite rough; 2 -3+ foot swells. I think this is the reason for more moorings and that much of the shore is shallow entry and rocky. I don’t have facts, but there seem to be less true “Waterfront” homes on Newfound, at least that was my observation during my house search. Not sure on the marina status as the one I used on the north end is now a nature preserve.

Since Winnisquam is long and thin you can almost always go out in the boat. My understanding is the Family Tree Restaurant has more slips this year and has opened a bar; they are in the cove with Jay’s Marina. One reason we just bought on Winnisquam is that we wanted the “smaller lake” feel and closer to MA. It is getting harder to find an “un-touched camp”, but it sounds like you are looking for something bigger. We feel lucky with the property we found and hope to enjoy it for many years to come. ….And yes, the taxes vary between towns.

[LadyJane]

I believe the water quality of Newfound is the best.

[jogator1]

You may want to give Lake Waukewan a look. Although it doesn't come close to comparing in size to the above mentioned lakes it has it's advantages. It is the town water supply so it's monitored regularly. You are in walking distance to Winni with easy boating access if you choose to boat on Winni. We keep a boat at Meredith Marina. Waukewan is a great family lake and fantastic for water sports and fishing. You can probably get more for your money and still enjoy Meredith/Winni.

[BroadHopper]

All the lakes in this region has pros and cons. Depends on what you are looking for! I maintain a day cruiser on Winnipesaukee. I have seadoos on Winnisquam. The crafts complement the lakes very well. I don't enjoy boating on Winnipesaukee on weekends in season because it is a total zoo! I prefer to boat on Winnisquam. I move from Winnipesaukee to Winnisquam because of taxes. Tax Valuation is a lot lower.
For fishing, my favorite is Waukewan, nice quiet atmosphere with plenty of fish. For scenery, Squam has it hands down, if you can stand being snubbed by the Squam Lake Association.
As for sandbars, Winnisquam, like Braun Bay, can get a little rowdy on weekends. I've seen Newfound get a bit much on holiday weekends but more spread out.
'Whatever floats your boat!'

[polarisman14]

It seems as if real estate on both newfound and winnisquam is pretty affordable especially when you compare similar properties with what's available on the big lake. I personally like Winnisquam more as it is a much larger lake (Almost double the acreage if I remember correctly) and is very, very easy to navigate. In just about all areas, staying to the center of the lake is safe. There are plenty of nice little areas to drop anchor for watersports and a handful of different towns that have land on Winnisquam so tax valuation and available properties will differ.

Time for a shameless plug...My wife is a real estate agent and we're located in Gilmanton, southern area of the lakes region so if you don't yet have an agent and are interested please feel free to message me on here for her contact information.

Whatever you end up with, I'm sure you'll enjoy it...Lakefront property is awesome no matter where it is.

[dave603]

Newfound Lake is 4106 acres 6 miles long by 2.4 wide
Winnisquam is 4264 acres. 10 miles long by 1.5 wide

Both have a couple of spots that are no wake areas.