Cruising in New Hampshire

New Hampshire's coastline runs just 18 miles, and it makes every one of them count. The Piscataqua River rips past historic Portsmouth with serious current, the Great Bay Estuary opens inland through a web of tidal rivers, and the Gulf of Maine waits offshore. This is water that rewards competence: big tidal ranges, strong currents, real navigation. Marinas along the Piscataqua and in towns like Rye and Hampton keep coastal boaters fueled, docked, and pointed the right way.

Inland is where the state's boating heart beats. Lake Winnipesaukee, the largest lake in New Hampshire, spreads across the Lakes Region with hundreds of islands, coves that take years to exhaust, and towns like Wolfeboro and Meredith built around the waterfront. Squam Lake, Newfound Lake, and Lake Sunapee sit nearby, each quieter than Winnipesaukee, each with its own character and its own network of marinas and launch points.