Winni to Wentworth

[winterh]

Have any long time Winni residents made the move to Wentworth or a smaller lake? Recently sold my Winni place and looking for another. Wentworth seems appealing due to lower prices and much lower property taxes. At least compared to Winni. Would like to hear from some who have been there a while about what they like about Wentworth. Not much on the market there right now but hopefully things will come on in spring.

[MAXUM]

Pretty lake, shallow and rocky, deteriorating water quality.

[SAMIAM]

winterh,we made the move many years ago.Loved our place on Swallow Point but got tired of the noise,crowding and safety issues on the big lake.
One summer saturday we were heading toward the Weirs and suddenly realized that it was CRAZY out there.Boat coming from 5 different directions,,,,,performance boats,cruisers,some throwing up 3' wakes that piled up on each other making for a very treacherous ride.
Made the move to northern end of Lake Winnisquam and love it.
Much less developed and very peaceful setting.Can't even hear road noise on bike week.
We can find flat water for skiing even on July 4th week and there are few boats over 26' throwing up those big wakes.
Downside......it's only about 12 miles long with few islands so it is a little boring if you like to cruise a lot.Also,very little choice of restaurants and shopping,but we don't mind driving by road to our favorites.
Sure,we miss Winni but totally glad we made the move and we still visit friends when we need our"fix"

[secondcurve]

Pretty lake, shallow and rocky, deteriorating water quality.

The water in Winnipesaukee is also deteriorating. I think the move from Winnipesaukee to Lake Wentworth makes a lot of sense for what it is worth.

[diz]

The water in Winnipesaukee is also deteriorating. I think the move from Winnipesaukee to Lake Wentworth makes a lot of sense for what it is worth.

Wentworth is in the Winnipesaukee watershed, isn't it? I know they have a bunch of volunteers testing the big lake for phosphorous and chlorophyll and seeing how for down you can see with those disc things. Do they do the same for the smaller lakes around Winnipesaukee?

[BroadHopper]

After decades of living on The Broads and seeing property tax raising to ridiculous heights, the move to Winnisquam was a like a breath of fresh air! Quiet lake and there are no harrassment by land owners no matter where we raft. Folks are more down to earth and none of this, 'I got a bigger toy or mansion' BS.

I still maintain a boat on Winni, a five minute drive down the road. I love to boat Winni during the week. Weekends are on Winnisquam.

[Belmont Resident]

After decades of living on The Broads and seeing property tax raising to ridiculous heights, the move to Winnisquam was a like a breath of fresh air! Quiet lake and there are no harrassment by land owners no matter where we raft. Folks are more down to earth and none of this, 'I got a bigger toy or mansion' BS.

I still maintain a boat on Winni, a five minute drive down the road. I love to boat Winni during the week. Weekends are on Winnisquam.

I here your concerns more and more frequently as the years go by. :(
I guess when you come up from the hustle and bustle down south, even a crowded Winni is still better.

[ApS]

Pretty lake, shallow and rocky, deteriorating water quality.


Pretty lake, you learn where not to go, still "Class-A" water! :)

I rented there to investigate, and learned a lot. :eek:

No rafters...

There are shores you want to avoid, and that's where the (very few) sales turn up.

Be sure to rent there when the two summer camps are in session. :eek2:

There's this rock quarry whose operations are limited through the efforts of a very diligent Lake Association.

That quarry is dismantling a mountain of granite!

Ice-boating is big! :cool:

Always interesting "reads"—http://www.lwa.org/.

A good-reading start is here (http://www.lwa.org/2012/12/island-living-and-a-foggy-night/).

Carry your own gasoline. This lake is for smaller boats—excellent for sailing.

I may have been one of the last to actually "man" the gas pump at Mast Landing...:)

[winterh]

Thank you Acres. Could you go in to what you mean by 1,2 ,4 and 5. Especially 4.

[MAXUM]

So my uncle owns a place on the lake since the late 60's. I grew up going there in the summer, now I take care of his place for him since he lives out of state.

Let me clarify my few points.

That lake is shallow and rocky, if something is marked it's for a darn good reason. Careful there are still hazards in that lake that aren't marked or marked very well. Other than a couple of places the average depth in that lake is maybe 20 feet. Amazing considering it's size. Be careful on that lake is all I can say, there are hazards everywhere. Think of it as a mini squam lake. MP doesn't take care of the markers quite as efficiently as they do on the big lake so you need to know where they should be or else.

No direct public access to the lake, the only access point is the mast landing on Crescent lake, then a trip up the canal between the lakes, due to the shallow channel and getting under the bridge and lack of parking it does limit how many people can get on the lake besides shore front owners.

People do raft out there, usually on the sand bar on the south side of Stamp Act Is, or when the beach on the north side opens up in mid July. Over all the lake is pretty quiet compared to Winni.

Fishing is pretty good, lots of white perch to be had in that lake.

Water quality, IMHO worse than winni, the water has taken on a bit of a tea color tint to it, and the bottom has lots of algae in the height of the summer, at times forms huge clouds on the bottom which also gets really slimy. Not to say parts of winni don't get like that, but Wentworth is much worse. Still comparatively speaking the water quality is better than most but I would argue it's class A status. It's also starting to have some serious weed problems in areas, although the association is trying to keep that under control through hand removal methods. I know both the town of wolfeboro and the association are concerned about it's potential deterioration. Yes it may be part of the winni water shed, but it's flush rate is low so it's much more fragile in terms of long term quality.

Overall it is a nice lake and very pretty with all the islands. It's not nearly as developed and again usually pretty quiet. It's also big enough to get pretty rough too, so depending on where you the wave action can get pretty impressive.

[ApS]

Thank you Acres. Could you go in to what you mean by 1,2 ,4 and 5. Especially 4.
My lake-quality observations are from ten years ago, but like the Big Lake, it depends on where you are on the lake. Also, I cruised all of Lake Wentworth with the canoe provided, and had no difficulties seeing "the impediments": staying 150-feet from shore—and everything else—gave no difficulties.

But much depends on what you seek in a permanent home on a lake.

There are two summer camps for girls: you'd think it'd be noisy when the ski-boats start towing skiers, but it's the volleyball games that echo for miles! :laugh:

Where I'm located on Winnipesaukee, my view contains no hillsides that have homes on them. When I go to Lake Wentworth, those hillside homes seem to be intrusive to me. :eek2: 'Course I've lived next to an airport for 50 years! :o But thanks to our steep hillsides, airport noise was only a factor to owners of Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro mainland lakefronts. :confused:

Lake Wentworth's northwestern and southwestern shores are closest to traffic. Even as a renter, extremely intrusive motorcycle traffic scared me away from the northwestern shore.

Since those southwestern homes face North, there is less wind movement, less sun, and more mosquitoes. :rolleye1:

Lakefront homes nearest the (southeastern) quarry had a mix of nice sandy beaches and foot-unfriendly cobblestone shores.

The quarry wasn't active the weeks I rented there, and it's been hugely converted to a horse-ranch since I was last there—which might account for those recent water quality issues. (Not to mention the extensive—and illegal—bulldozing upslope along the southeastern shore).

It's a long drive through a narrow "trail" to drive to both the northeastern and the southeastern shoreline: someone living out there may have a snowplow, but there'll be those times you can't get out. :(

That leaves the northeastern shore, where Governor Wentworth decided to put his summer home. (But what did he know?) :emb:

'Course, home sales are rare there—many are owned by families living there for a century: when one home did appear for sale, a tornado ran through it the following year! :eek:

[MAXUM]

There are two summer camps for girls: you'd think it'd be noisy when the ski-boats start towing skiers, but it's the volleyball games that echo for miles! :laugh:




My uncle's place is close to Camp Bernadette, for the most part you just get used to the noise from there, it's not terribly bad. They spend more time out on the lake with the sun fish and canoes then pulling tubes and skiers. For the most part I think they are pretty good at keeping the ambient noise from getting obnoxious, matter of fact I think it adds to the charm of being there. Can't miss the sound of the activity/dinner bell when it rings out several times over the course of a summer day.

Far as I'm concerned I love the sound of kids playing in the water, jumping off the dock, even a little yelling and screaming - all good them just being outside having a good time enjoying the lake. To much of that has been silenced by the onslaught of the mcmansions. The good thing about Wentworth is that many of the properties as APS says have been kept in the possession of the same family for generations and it seems many have resisted the urge to flatten the old summer camp.

Rt 109 running along the lake does tend to add a little "traffic" noise though as that does carry quite a bit across the water. I sure do miss the old train running though and hearing the steam whistle. Those days are sadly long gone.

[Heading4thelake]

I have been on Lake Wentworth /Crescent Lake for over 50 years and visiting other lakes I still think it is the best by far. Never crowded always a friendly
lake and taken care of by a great association known as the LWA. www.lwa.org .We monitor the water weekly in the summer, we use underwater cameras to track that awful plant "milfoil" and every Saturday thru the summer we have divers who volunteer their time to pull those weeds and a whole crew that works with them to remove the weeds and watch for other passing boats. We do not have gas, food, or a marina on the lake. We have boats I'd say 24' or under on the lake due to a bridge between the boat ramp and Lake Wentworth. Winni, is a great lake, but if you want quiet we're here !:)