New to Melvin Village area
 

Although we have been coming to Lake Winni for many, many years we usually rent in Meredith or Moultonborough. This year we will be renting for 6 weeks starting August 1st in the Melvin Village area. What is the best location to launch our 22 ft Chaparral? Any information about shopping, restaurants etc will be helpful. Thanks!

Melvin area
 

Hi Janet. I'll try a few places for you:

Boat launching - 19 Mile Bay (also has gas, not cheap), Melvin Wharf, Melvin River.

General shopping - You probably know the places in Moultonborough and Meredith. You can add Wolfeboro to that list. Wolfeboro is very "touristy" and the summer traffic through the center of town is usually horrendous.

Food shopping - Two small markets in Wolfeboro: Hunters Market and Harvest Market. Convenience stores at 19 Mile Bay, Pine Cone, and Skelley's. The nearest Hannaford's is at the intersection of NH16 and NH171 in Ossipee.

Restaurants - Several very good spots in Wolfeboro worth exploring. Closest one is the Pine Cone Pub a short distance south of "downtown" Melvin Village on NH109.

I'm sure others have further suggestions. Welcome to the quiet side of the lake.

Free launch
 

There's a free public ramp about 700' west of the Melvin Village Marina, next to the Melvin Village Community Church.

Just a word of caution, Melvin Bay is very shallow in spots. Pay close attention to your chart.

Avoid Wolfeboro Fridays and Saturdays if at all possible. It's wall to wall traffic.

Harvest is a decent place to shop. Not a fan of Hunters for some reason. I prefer Alton's Hannaford over Ossipee. Though, Job Lots is almost a mandatory stop in Ossipee.