As leaves blaze red and gold across the New Hampshire landscape, Lake Winnipesaukee becomes one of the most picturesque places in New England. But beyond its beauty, fall on the lake carries echoes of a grander time—when autumn meant elegant regattas, steamboats churning across the water, and lavish lakefront hotels hosting socialites from Boston and beyond.
With Daleys Adventure Boat Tours, you can experience the remnants of that bygone era up close.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Lake Winnipesaukee was a major destination for wealthy summer and fall travelers. Fall regattas—sailboat races held near Wolfeboro and Center Harbor—were seasonal highlights, drawing crowds in top hats and parasols to cheer on elegant wooden yachts.
Meanwhile, passengers arriving via rail would connect to steamboats like the Mount Washington or the Lady of the Lake, traveling across the water to stay in grand hotels such as the Winnipesaukee House or the Bay View House, which overlooked the lake in all its autumn glory.
Today, though the hotels (such as the original Hotel Weirs destroyed by fire in 1924) are gone or transformed, the spirit of the Gilded Age lives on in the shoreline architecture, the routes of historic vessels, and the golden calm of fall on the lake. Your Daleys captain will point out surviving structures, share tales of regatta drama, and guide you through waters once ruled by steamboats and sail.
Experience the golden season and a golden age—together. Book a Daleys Adventure Boat Tour and relive the elegance of Lake Winnipesaukee’s storied past.