And, here's another local Laconia, go-to spot for s.u.p. paddle boarding:
As the extremely scenic, olde Route-3, Daniel Webster Hgwy winds along the shoreline of Paugus Bay, just south of Weirs Beach and the very excellent Liliukalanis' Ice Cream & Coffee stop, you will quickly come to the City of Laconia's tourist info booth/cabin, 937 Weirs Blvd, which is also an excellent spot to park your car, and launch a sup paddle board onto the very clean waters of Lake Winnipesaukee (imagine serene music here).
While making your way down the steep 15' embankment drop-down to the water, may be challenging for some, it's a steep, gnarly mix of rocks, roots and erosion that is doable for the athletically inclined while carrying a 20-lb, light weight, 11' long, inflatable paddle board, sup paddle, and pfd. Once in the water, this lake entry area has a flat, sandy bottom with water 2' shallow that's good for getting started onto a paddle board.
Parking: The Laconia tourist info booth has a dirt parking lot with an old, worn out sign that says 'Parking', maybe posted in place since 1957(?), so you can park your car for no charge, and go hit the water, just down the steep and challenging embankment, 15'-descent. Maybe I'm wrong but it seems like this info booth is always closed what with people today using the internet for their info?
Once in the water, you are far enough south and away from the motorboat activity, in a wide open 'bay water' area, so's you are probably safely away from all the motorboats traveling through the weirs channel.
It is a totally super-duper City of Laconia, municipal property, situated directly on the beautiful calm, clean waters of Paugus Bay that includes a short, steep 15' path to lead you to some good sup paddle boarding! You definitely want to drop on in with your paddle board here!
Maybe the city could do a little work on the embankment access here to make it more paddle board, user friendly ... like build a couple wide steps into the steep, grassy pathway?
Is it legal to be doing this? This is probably a gray area of opinion, not black or white, but gray, where if you went and asked at City Hall ...... you would probably be told 'no way!' .....but if you just go do it ..... it seems like there are no laws, or posted rules being violated, since there are no posted rules. All that is there is a sign that says 'Parking' and the usually closed, maybe permanently closed(?), old school, tourist information booth with its' super-duper s.u.p. paddle board access location, and small parking area.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, a s.u.p. paddle board is usually considered to be a vessel, which means that a pfd with a whistle needs to be on board, and maybe worn, depending on the user's age..... worn under age-13 in NH .... New Hampshire boating law.
Safety equipment for paddle boards:
www.myfwc.com/boating/regulations/paddleboard/