Crystal Lake is a water body located in Belknap County in the Lakes Region of central

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, United States, in the town of Gilmanton. Crystal Lake is at the head of the

Suncook River The Suncook River is a river located in central New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Merrimack River, which flows to the Gulf of Maine. Course The Suncook River begins at the outlet of Crystal Lake in the town of Gilma ...

watershed. Water flows into Crystal Lake from the

Belknap Range The Belknap Mountains are a small mountain range in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire in the United States. The range lies in the towns of Gilford, Gilmanton, and Alton in Belknap County. The highest peak, Belknap Mountain, with an elevatio ...

through Manning and Sunset lakes to the north. Water from Manning Lake enters Crystal Lake via Nelson Brook. Other waterways flowing into Crystal Lake include Wasson Brook and Mill Brook. Water flows out of a dam from the southern end of Crystal Lake via the

Suncook Lakes The Suncook Lakes are a pair of lakes located in Belknap County in central New Hampshire, United States, in the town of Barnstead. Upper Suncook Lake encompasses , while Lower Suncook Lake covers . The lakes are connected by a channel, spanned ...

and Suncook River to the

Merrimack River The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into M ...

. Shoreline development along Crystal Lake consists primarily of summer cottages, with a few year-round residents.

Belknap Mountain Belknap Mountain is a mountain located in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States, south of Lake Winnipesaukee. Like the county, the mountain and the associated surrounding Belknap Mountains are named after Jeremy Belknap (1744–1798), a ...

and

Mount Major Mount Major is a mountain located in Alton, New Hampshire, Alton, New Hampshire, south of Lake Winnipesaukee and northeast of Straightback Mountain in the Belknap Range. The scenic, rocky summit is a popular hiking destination, accessible by mu ...

can be seen from the shoreline.

Weather and climate

Average summertime daytime high temperatures are approximately , with overnight lows around . A typical winter day brings a maximum of , with overnight minimums around . Typical wintertime extremes are and , but greater extremes have been recorded nearby. Surface water temperatures range from a high near in late July and early August to a hard freeze by year end.

Activities

There is a public boat launch, park and beach towards the southern end of the lake. Yearly festivals and fireworks occur during the

Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...

and

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

holidays in the park on the lake. Other annual events include a boat parade, a sailboat race, and illuma-night. Motorized water vessels are permitted. Fishing is common year round. Water skiing, kayaking, sailing and

Jet Skiing A personal watercraft (PWC), also called Jet Ski or water scooter, is a primarily recreational watercraft that is designed to hold only a small number of occupants, who sit or stand on top of the craft, not within the craft as in a boat. P ...

are common in the summer.

Ice fishing Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice fishers may fish in the open or in heated enclosures, some with bunks and amenities. Shelters L ...

is common during the winter. The lake is classified as a warm- and coldwater fishery, with observed species including

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

rainbow smelt The rainbow smelt (''Osmerus mordax'') is a North American species of fish of the family (biology), family Osmeridae. Walleye, trout, and other larger fish prey on these smelt. The rainbow smelt prefer juvenile cisco (fish), ciscoes, zooplankton ...

smallmouth bass The smallmouth bass (''Micropterus dolomieu'') is a species of freshwater fish in the Centrarchidae, sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) of the order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. It is the type species of its genus ''Micropterus ...

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus nigricans'') is a carnivorous, freshwater fish, freshwater, ray-finned fish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family, native to the eastern United States, eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada an ...

chain pickerel The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (biology), family (family Esocidae) of order (biology), order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox ...

brown bullhead The brown bullhead (''Ameiurus nebulosus'') is a fish of the family Ictaluridae that is widely distributed in North America. It is a species of bullhead catfish and is similar to the black bullhead (''Ameiurus melas'') and yellow bullhead (' ...

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samuel Latham Mitchill fr ...

, and sunfish. ShootingStarBoat

History

Native Indians referred to Crystal Lake as "Suncook" in reference not only to the lake, but also to the

that originates there. Early settlers referred to Crystal Lake as Lougee's Pond, in reference to the Lougee family that resided on the western side of the lake.

Iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

content in and around Crystal Lake was enough to attract interest in iron mining; references to mining date back to 1778. The settlement that grew up at the outlet of Crystal Lake is accordingly called Gilmanton Ironworks. In the early 1900s a resort known as "The Pines" was established on the southern peninsula of Crystal Lake. The resort subsequently burned down and was abandoned.

Wildlife

Crystal Lake is a nesting site for

common loon The common loon or great northern diver (''Gavia immer'') is a large member of the loon, or diver, family (biology), family of birds. Reproduction, Breeding adults have a plumage that includes a broad black head and neck with a greenish, purpli ...

s and is a good place to see them in breeding plumage during the summer months.

Bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

s and

great blue heron The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America, as well as far northwestern South America, the Caribbea ...

s are also known to visit the lake.

Moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

otters Otters are carnivorous mammals in the Rank (zoology), subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic animal, aquatic, or Marine ecology, marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae Family (biology), family, whi ...

, and

beavers Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

have been sighted near the shoreline.

Photo gallery

File:Crystal lake in the summer with gunstock moutain in the background.jpg, Crystal Lake in summer, with Belknap Mountain in distance File:Crystal lake as seen from mt mack in winter 2013.jpg, Crystal Lake as seen from summit of Mt. Mack in Winter 2013 File:Ice fish huts on the surface of crystal lake, gilmanton,nh.jpg, Winter File:Loon floating on the surface of crystal lake, gilmanton,nh.jpg, Loon near shoreline File:Blue heron cyrstal lake sanctuary.jpg, Blue heron on northeast shore File:Crystal Lake, Gilmanton Hills, NH.jpg, Crystal Lake in 1909 File:The Pines, Crystal Lake.jpg, The Pines Resort 1910 File:Eagle wiki.jpg, Eagle with reflection on Crystal Lake

References

External links

Topo map
NH Department of Environmental Services
Crystal and Manning Lakes
photos and information {{Merrimack River Lakes of Belknap County, New Hampshire Gilmanton, New Hampshire