[edjr]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

For those not too familiar with the sailboat beach area, directly in front of the rv campground's toilet/shower building. It is a sandy beach, about 600' long by maybe 40' deep that tapers down to zero feet deep up by the brook outlet. At the north end immediately abutting the 5' chain link fence that seperates Ellacoya State Beach from www.lakeshorepark.org, there is a very umimproved, sandy beach boat launch. The sailing beach has no dock, no ramps, no rafts, no swim or boat improvement what-so-ever and no boat facilities. It is a very undeveloped natural beach and has probably been like that for many, many years, like maybe 40 to 100-years, since the concrete retainer wall was built, or something.

There's a few picnic tables out front of the toilet/shower building for use by the rv campers. "Registered Campers Only" is what the sign says for anyone who walks across the Poor Farm Brook to walk from the the swimming beach to the rv area - sailing beach.

With what's happening down at Ames Farm Inn, also in Gilford, with regards to the limited use of its' boat launch and parking, maybe the state is considering Ellacoya for a triple play of rv camping-sailing-boat launch. With Ellacoya's 65.5 acres of land in total, it sure looks like the rv campground side of the property has the space for all three uses. The open field of rv campsites www.nhstateparks.com/ellacoya.html has 37 campsites, all with water-sewer-electricity hook-ups and costs $47/night.

As a side note, one can stay at any one of 23 different Forest Service campgrounds in the White Mt Nat'l Forest, New Hampshire & Maine, for just $16/night, but they do not have any hook-ups.

If I were in the public municipal boat launch business, the very first thing I'd do would be to install one of those green steel fee deposit tubes, similar to what the federal government uses in the White Mt Nat'l Forest. Charge a low price, with honor system payments, taking payments 24-7-365 as the pay tube is concreted into the ground, and everyone becomes a winner; the boat launch, the sailboat school, the fishermen, the trailer-boaters, the rv campground and the Lake Shore residential park abutter neighbors; one great big happy boater family!

Hope this helps!
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Anyone have a link to a website that explores the history and beginnings of Ellacoya as a NH State Beach & RV Campground? How did the state acquire Ellacoya? Did the state buy it from Chief Ellacoya for 10-cigars and a case of Jenkins rye whiskey, or what? Who was Ellacoya? How did the Ellacoya 65.5 acre waterfront property originally come to be a state facility?

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when i saw your question i figured that i had to register as a new member in order to respond.

back in the 1950's & 1960's my family rented summer cottages on the property. at that time, Ellacoya was actually three properties two of which were owned by the Dugas family. Mrs Dugas lived in a red farmhouse across the road before it was improved/widened and she had a son who was a missionary priest who visited in the summer and said weekday masses at Our Lady of the Lakes in Lakeport and at Saint Helena's on sundays. the first property on the lake shore park side of the creek had log cabin style cottages and was called Minnie Ha Ha [at least that's what we called it]; it was the first property bought by the state. those cottages were brought across the ice and placed adjacent to but set back from other cottages on the second Dugas property called Morril Beach. between the two properties next to the creek was property owned by the Armitage family. until the Armitage family was ready to sell, the Morril beach property continued to be used by families who rented cottages from the Dugas family until the mid to late 1960s. in an attempt to convince the state that the value of the land was more than they wanted to pay, Mrs. Dugas played a number of the rental families by offerring to sell them the individual cottages and lots which they had been renting for years. when the Armitage family finally agreed to sell to the state, Mrs Dugas did as well. she did move a few of her cottages down to a spot in west alton but our family never rented from her at that location unless it was while i was in vietnam.