The Lakes Region of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

is located in the east-central part of the state, south of the White Mountains Region and extending to the Maine border. It is named for the numerous lakes in the region, the largest of which are Lake Winnipesaukee, Lake Winnisquam,

Squam Lake Squam Lake is a lake located in the Lakes Region of central New Hampshire, United States, south of the White Mountains, straddling the borders of Grafton, Carroll, and Belknap counties. The largest town center on the lake is Holderness. Th ...

, and Newfound Lake. The area comprises all of Belknap County, the southern portion of Carroll County, the eastern portion of Grafton County, and the northern portions of Strafford County and Merrimack County. The largest municipality is the city of Laconia. Besides the lakes, there are also two small mountain ranges, the Belknap Mountains which lie to the southwest, and the Ossipee Mountains to the northeast. The area is a popular

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

destination in the summer time, with the activity peaking during the annual Motorcycle Week and races at Loudon's

New Hampshire Motor Speedway New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1990, as well as the longest-running motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nicknamed "The Magic Mil ...

. Other tourist destinations include Funspot in Weirs Beach, the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in

Holderness Holderness is an area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the north-east coast of England. An area of rich agricultural land, Holderness was marshland until it was drained in the Middle Ages. Topographically, Holderness has more in common wit ...

, the children's museum of Center Harbor, Gunstock ski resort and Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion at Meadowbrook, both in Gilford, Castle in the Clouds in Moultonborough, and the town of Wolfeboro, which claims to be the nation's oldest resort town. Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in the state, and is home to numerous vacation homes. Several motion pictures have either been filmed or set in the region, including the 1981 classic, ''On Golden Pond'' (filmed on Squam Lake in the town of

) and the 1991 comedy ''

What About Bob? ''What About Bob?'' is a 1991 American black comedy film directed by Frank Oz and starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss. Murray plays Bob Wiley, a troubled patient who follows his self-centered psychotherapist Dr. Leo Marvin (Dreyfuss) o ...

'', which was filmed in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

but (fictitiously) took place in Wolfeboro.

Lakes

Below is a partial list of the largest lakes found in the Lakes Region: * Balch Pond * Broad Bay * Crystal Lake * Dan Hole Pond * Great East Lake * Halfmoon Lake * Lake Kanasatka * Little Squam Lake * Lovell Lake * Merrymeeting Lake * Mirror Lake * Newfound Lake * Opechee Bay * Ossipee Lake * Paugus Bay * Pemigewasset Lake * Pine River Pond * Province Lake * Silver Lake *

* Sunset Lake * Lake Waukewan * Lake Wentworth * White Oak Pond * Wicwas Lake * Lake Winnipesaukee * Lake Winnisquam

References

External links

Lakes Region
at NH Division of Travel and Tourism Development
Satellite view of the Lakes Region on Google MapsNew Hampshire Lakes Association
Regions of New Hampshire Tourism regions of New Hampshire {{NewHampshire-geo-stub