Living in Moultonborough, NH: A Local's Guide to Winnipesaukee's North Shore
Living in Moultonborough, NH: A Local's Guide to Winnipesaukee's North Shore
What's it like to live in Moultonborough, New Hampshire? In one sentence: it's water, woods and room to breathe - almost 66 miles of shoreline by the town's own count, and no busy downtown to get in the way. If Laconia is where the region runs its errands, Moultonborough is where people go to get out on the water and stay there.
Almost 66 miles of shoreline
Moultonborough sits on the north shore of Lake Winnipesaukee, with Squam Lake tucked into its northwest corner and Lake Kanasatka in the western part of town. On Winnipesaukee alone you have Moultonborough Bay, an eight-mile arm of the lake; Moultonborough Neck, a peninsula between the Bay and Center Harbor; and Long Island, which is bridged to the Neck. Here's the thing: those are very different waters. A cove on the Bay, a point on the Neck, a spot on Kanasatka - they live differently and they buy differently. Look at each one with a buyer's set of eyes before you fall in love with a view.
Castle in the Clouds, Red Hill and the loons
The big landmark is up in the Ossipee Mountains: Castle in the Clouds, the Lucknow estate that shoe manufacturer Thomas Plant and his wife Olive built in 1913-1914. It opened to the public under its new name in 1959, and today more than 35 miles of trails surround it, maintained by the Lakes Region Conservation Trust. The fire tower on Red Hill is a moderate hike with panoramic lake views - Henry David Thoreau climbed Red Hill back in 1858. The Loon Center sits on a 200-acre wildlife sanctuary with more than 5,000 feet of Winnipesaukee shoreline. And if you love old boats, the New Hampshire Boat Museum has a campus right on Route 25.
A village, not a downtown
Don't come here looking for a Main Street strip. The town describes itself as a residential and vacation community, with commercial development mostly along the Route 25 corridor. The village has the Old Country Store, established in 1781 and one of the oldest continuously operating stores in the country. Moultonborough is roughly two hours from Boston and about an hour from Concord, and Meredith and Wolfeboro are nearby for a show, a summer concert, all that good stuff.
A summer town that's home all year
Moultonborough has almost 5,000 year-round residents, and the town counts 25,000-plus in summer. That swing is the rhythm of life here: busy summers, quiet winters. On taxes, the town's own documents call its tax rate low - and credit the seasonal waterfront homes for it - but rates change every year, so check the current one before you run your numbers.
What buyers should know
Two Moultonborough-specific notes. First, the town says water and sewer service reaches only a minor portion of town, so expect a well and septic on a lot of what you look at. I get it - nobody falls in love with a septic system. Inspect it anyway. The town also credits a build-out of fiber internet with making it easier to work from home here; confirm service at the exact address. Second, on any waterfront or water-access property, confirm what actually conveys: dock rights, moorings, association beach rights. They are not interchangeable.
FAQ: Moultonborough, NH
Is Moultonborough on Lake Winnipesaukee? Yes - it's on the north shore, with Moultonborough Bay, Moultonborough Neck and Long Island, plus Squam Lake in the northwest corner and Lake Kanasatka.
Can anyone use the town beaches? From Memorial Day to Labor Day, parking at Long Island Beach and States Landing Beach takes the town's two-year Transfer Station/Beach Permit or a town guest pass, which residents and taxpayers get at Town Hall or the Transfer Station.
Do I have to go to the dump myself? A buyer asked me that one. The town runs a Transfer Station on Holland Street, and the same permit covers the beaches - so ask how trash is handled on any home you're looking at.
Is there a wrong time to buy or sell a lake house here? My motto is your life, your story, your move - it all depends on your timing. Years ago I left everybody drinking hot cocoa on Christmas Eve to go negotiate a Winnipesaukee waterfront sale. People buy whenever.
Thinking about Moultonborough?
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Cami Navoy - Cami Navoy & Associates, Keller Williams Lakes & Mountains Realty, Meredith, NH
