Public beach in Paugus Bay
 

There is a beach just outside the channel on the west side of Paugus Bay. Nice beach and nice park with picnic tables. I believe that this is accessed by taking Hilliard Road from Rt. 3 in the Weirs, then take a left on Bobby's Way to the end. I've been told that this beach is owned by the City of Laconia and is open to the public. If so, it's a hidden gem and should be visited by more people than seem to use it. Can anyone provide more information on this beach?

Facts about the Beach:

* 1.6 acres

* The 1.6 acres cannot be divided and sold in shares.

* Owned by the Metropolitan Ice Company and the Boston/Maine Railroad in the 1950s

* Current Address: 20 Indian Path

* Plot/ Land ID Number- 150-346-32

* Beach went into default on taxes on 6/1/98 over $1,725.00 (City of Laconia now owns the beach) (Current Tax account #5487)

* Beach is valued at $292,500 or $16,250 per deed right to the beach

* The beach land CAN be sold. However, you can’t build on the land because the surveyor listed the land as unbuildable and you have to allow all 18 deed holders complete (all 1.6 acres) access to the land at all times.

* Beach was owned by Birch Haven Association

* Only 17 houses (between Birch Haven, Hillcroft and Harlgen Lane) have beach deeds to that property- The city owns 1 right to the beach because they own it now.

* 17 Houses have rights to the beach but not all of them have rights to drive vehicles down Birch Haven. Birch Haven is a private road. Only accessible by water.

* Beach can be used for Boating, Swimming, Recreational purposes (deed book 1298/ pg. 0237)

Pinic tables were donated by family's that live on Harglen Lane in memory of deseased Family members. (We are some of the long time family's that live on Harglen Lane)

Wow! That sounds pretty complicated. Was there only one owner in default when the city took it or were all the owners collectively in default? Do the 17 other owners now get assessed taxes on it?

It sounds like there was only one owner (prior to the city taking it for back taxes), but 17 others have deeded access.

So now that the city owns it, who would buy it with all the encumbrance?

Simple questions:

Can a Laconia taxpayer swim there?
Can he arrive by car?
Can he arrive by swimming from a boat?
Can the general public swim there?

I think you can park at the end of Bobby's Way (accessed by Hilliard Road - across from Cumberland Farms in Weirs), cross the railroad tracks and then you are on the beach. I'm going to give it a try this weekend. Look for the family with the little Weber Smokey Joe grill. I'll be cooking up some incredible lamb kabobs.

I shall follow the scent trail:D

i am right down the bay, I will will be pulling up for a kabob, love lamb!

Possible ForumFest location?
 

Who knows, maybe a possibility for a 2013 ForumFest? Seems to be plenty of room to park at the end of Bobby's Way.

1. Bobby's way is a public street but there is no legal access to the beach from Bobby's way unless you are a homeowner on that street with a deeded right of way. You would be trespassing through 2 private properties and the railroad property if you are accessing the beach via Bobby's way without that deeded right.

2. Birch haven, hillcroft and harglen are private roads and again you would be trespassing as well unless you are a homeowner.

3. As far as I know, city owned or not, you have to have a deeded right to use the beach and the only legal way to access it is by water.

Well it's never as easy as it seems. I bet the abutters of this land are very concerned how the city owning it will affect their use and the use by "outsiders".

I just spent 5 minutes on nhdeeds.com and it looks to be a sticky mess. The beach parcel is now owned by the town, but so is a parcel of land on Harglen. If I had time and interest, I'm sure the whole story is available in the deeds and the tax maps.

My guess, the neighbors are hoping that they can keep their little slice of heaven private.

The railroad embankment which is owned by the state; isn't building the www.wowtrail.com from Lakeport to the Weirs the next section to be constructed, so maybe the Wow Trail could provide public access to this very nice, City of Laconia, public beach area on Paugus Bay.

Recently, I read in a newspaper, forgetting which one, that the state has changed its position on requiring a chain link fence, and would accept a split rail timber fence as a safety barrier between the paved, 10' wide trail and the railroad tracks. This change needs to be considered because a split rail fence is mostly an open air, see-through barrier, and probably much less ugly than a chain link.

Public Beach on Paugus Bay
 

It is correct that you need deeded rights to the beach in order to use it. Until four summers ago I was a long time home owner on Harglen Lane. Although I had deeded rights to access the beach, my only legal access was from the water side. As stated Birch Haven is private, and we had no legal right to cross the rail road tracks. Those factors have never stopped anyone with deeded rights from using the beach but we had no legal right of access other than from the water.

I suppose that the city, as the owner, has the right to grant additional deeded access to the beach but I doubt that will happen. And, I don't believe there is any way that the city can address the access problem.

If the www.wowtrail.com ever gets constructed, then how's about accessIng the City of Laconia beach area by bicycle or by walking the WOW Trail. Not having any access by car, motor boat or any motorized vehicle like a motorcycle or snowmobile or atv or jetski or golf cart or motorized scooter could be a good thing. Just about everyone is too fat, and the exercise would do them some good!

Who knows, but maybe five years from now this City of Laconia beach will be referred to as the wow trail beach, a beach where there's no parking lot for cars, and the only public access is to pedal or walk the Wow Trail.



The @LadaSun had an article last week that briefly mentioned that the NH DOT has changed its opinion and a chain link fence, 5' high, is no longer required for safety between the 10' wide proposed asphalt pedestrian and bicycle "trail" and the hundred year old plus railroad tracks. A split rail fence is now acceptable which should be more attractive, less ugly, and still maintain a safety zone.

If one of the deeded owners is the city of Laconia (Taxpayers) Then Laconia taxpayers have deeded access>>>>

... and while there's no public automobile access or public parking lot, the proposed www.wowtrail.com runs down the State of NH railroad, Paugus Bay-Lake Winnipesaukee, embankment right-of-way which separates the beach from the nearby homes with their deeded access, so the Wow Trail could easily provide public access by bicycle or by walking or by roller-blading............to the wow trail beach ............ like ........ WOW!

Wow!
 

I didn't intend to kick a hornet's nest! I guess that anyone wanting to use this place should arrive by boat. sounds like arriving by car might cause problems.

:confused:

In 2002 the Wow Trail was in the planning stages and as of today only phase I has been completed. Phase I is 1.3 miles long and when Phase II and III are completed it will be @ 9 miles long.

Therefore it has taken 8-10 years for 1.3 miles, so will it take 80 years to complete the other 8 miles?

The NH-DOT 's switching the required safety fence that divides the single railroad track from the ten foot wide asphalt paved pedestrian-bicycle trail from a five foot high steel chain link fence to a much more attractive split rail, timber fence will probably help the Wow Trail in the court of public opinion.


It's goodbye ugly chain link........and.......hello split rail fence with mucho open space within the fence!