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Alton
Alton is one of those Lakes Region towns that sneaks up on you. Most people drive through on their way to Wolfeboro and have no idea what they are missing. Mount Major is the big one, one of the most hiked peaks in New Hampshire, and the views of Lake Winnipesaukee from the summit on a clear day will stop you cold. Alton Bay itself is a postcard year-round, with the village sitting right at the southern tip of the lake where the water narrows into the bay. And if you are here in winter, beyond the ice runway, the snowmobile trails are excellent and Mount Major becomes a whole different kind of adventure on snowshoes. Small town, big personality.
THE LAKE HAS STORIES
Did you know Alton Bay has the only FAA-registered ice runway in the entire continental United States?
Every winter, when Lake Winnipesaukee freezes thick enough, a crew of volunteers plows a 2,600-foot runway right on the ice of Alton Bay. Pilots fly in from Texas, Virginia, Florida and Georgia just to land on it. This winter they broke their all-time seasonal landing record.
It started back in the 1940s when a World War II Army Air Corps veteran named Judson Downing came home to Alton Bay and convinced state officials to open a seaplane base. By the 1960s, local pilots were landing on the ice in winter just for the thrill of it. The FAA put it on official charts in the 1970s and it has been the only certified ice runway in the lower 48 ever since.
Translation: while the rest of New England sees a frozen lake and thinks winter is closed, Alton Bay sees a runway.
You need 12 inches of solid ice to open it. Warming winters have shut it down entirely in recent years. But this winter? It is wide open and busier than ever.
Start with a conversation
Whether you are exploring Wolfeboro, comparing Lakes Region towns, preparing to sell, or trying to understand the market more clearly, the first step is a calm conversation about what matters most to you.
