Issues → May/June 2007 → Travel →
Newfound Lake: Most Beautiful Lake in New Hampshire
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Bristol is the market town hereabouts, and, like the lake, it packs a lot into a little. The town was once known for the high quality of its glacial sand and the bricks that were made from it. Today, it's known for ... well, not much. (A wry someone on Wikipedia saw fit to tout the appeal of the local convenience store, where "the main attraction is the ability to buy a 32 oz slushie for $0.69.")
Actually, there's more to Bristol than that. The compact brick downtown has a deli, a diner, a bakery selling a creditable corn muffin, an antiques mall, and a dinner place called Joe's Restaurant and Sports Bar.
Before completing the loop back to the hotel, take time to stop at Iron Horse Metal Works, where co-owner Victor MacAdam makes his handsome, sometimes whimsical, and generally affordable garden sculptures. They're for sale at Earthly Treasures (run by Victor's wife, Elaine), the adjacent gift shop that carries "nature-inspired, American-made" goods including jewelry, lamps, furniture, and other crafts, many of which are made in New Hampshire and all from small producers.
And small, as you will have come to know by now, is good.
Paradise Point Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary
The preserve consists of just 43 acres, but this encompasses 3,500 feet of untouched shorefront. Bring a picnic. Take a hike. Rent a kayak or canoe from the nature center or launch your own craft and see how the shoreline looks when viewed from the outside in. [DETAILS]
Inn on Newfound Lake
On Newfound Lake's eastern shore, this inn has been welcoming guests since 1840. With its floral wallpaper, it still has the feel of a New England boardinghouse, with creaky stairs and smallish rooms. (Some still have their bathrooms across the hall.) The inn is just across the road from the lake and looks out toward Mount Cardigan beyond the western shore. [DETAILS]
Wellington State Park
Bustling on weekends and quieter on weekdays, this park—carved out by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s—is a fine destination.You can expand your view nicely by crossing the road and hiking up the Elwell Trail, or relax on a handsome crescent of sand capping the end of a cove. [DETAILS]
Sculptured Rocks Natural Area
The Cockermouth River flows through a cleft in the granite here, but that simple description doesn’t do it justice.The river was once the outflow of a great glacier, and the currents tossed car-sized boulders around like cherry pits in a sink drain. The force carved out all sorts of fantastical, cloudlike shapes in the rock. Older kids with a strong crawl—both aquatic and terrestrial—love to start at the bottom of the gorge and, salmonlike, swim and scramble their way as far upstream as they can go. [DETAILS]
Iron Horse Metal Works and Earthly Treasures
Stop at Iron Horse Metal Works, where co-owner Victor MacAdam makes his handsome, sometimes whimsical, and generally affordable garden sculptures. They’re for sale at Earthly Treasures (run by Victor’s wife, Elaine), the adjacent gift shop that carries “natureinspired, American-made” goods including jewelry, lamps, furniture, and other crafts, many of which are made in New Hampshire and all from small producers. [DETAILS]
Reader Comments
Comment from kathie marion on March 12, 2008
i have been going to newfound lake for thirty years since i was a baby and never heard of the sculptured rocks before. we have trip planned for july and my 7 year old can't wait. anyone have ant other hidden jems?
Comment from Leslie Lafrenais on April 21, 2009
I have been coming to Newfound Lake since i was a twinkle in my father's eye, and i am now 65. My children and grandchildren have also been coming along. We have been staying at Camp Wulamat, where my grandparents had been going since the late 1930s, and my sister and I and out families have been renting cabins ever since. It is the most beautiful lake i have ever seen, it is crystal clear all over except where the depth is aroundd 180 feet, and I'm sure that if you were tall enough to stand there you would see your toenails very well. It is so beautiful there surrounded by the mountain, with the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets, seeing a rainstorm coming across the lake, white caps on a windy day, along with the beautiful sails of the sailboats. The camp Wulamat used to be a boyscout camp, and has cabins which for the most part, are still the same ones. which have been upgraded. Refrigerators used to be on the porch outside, actually ice boxes. The ice man used to come a few times a week to deliver ice for everyone, there are tin wood stoves in each cabin, still, to take the evening and morning chill out of the cabin. They have indoor plumbing, but if you want hot water, you can take a large bucket to the main lodge where there is a spigot where you can retrieve hot water, for dishes. There is a large shower building for bathing. There is a huge recreation hall where the guests get together for weekily bingo game, and an evening for dancing. It is a wonderful family camp where everyone basically goes there the same time every year and are forever neighbors. At night or early in the morning, you can smell the wood stoves, and perhaps bacon cooking. All cabins have screened in porches, I can't say enough about the area and the lake. If you just mention newfound lake to anyone who might have ever been there even for one day or afternoon ride, they will never be able to say enough about the area as I can't. I hope I can continue going there a lot longer. I was very sad to hear about the Old Man o9f the Mountain,, falling down, which happened on my grandfather's birthday on May 3. This was the grandfather who used to take us there as children. It was my other special place to go in New Hampshire, I would even make a special trip there often through the year to see both. \Well, I could go on forever about this magnificent place. There aren't enough words or pictures to describe all of its beauty, and nature. Thank you for the opportunity, and if you ever have a chance to go, Start in Bristol, and follow the road around the lake to see it all, Not a place to be missed in life.
Comment from Peter Ronayne on May 6, 2009
does anyone have a phone number for Camp Wulamat -- the one mentioned above, not the campground version. I used to go there as a kid and would love to try to take my young family sometime. but I can't find contact info anywhere on the web (I did place a call to the Newfound Chamber of Commerce). Thanks (pronayne@gmail.com)
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