Squam Lake Real Estate
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Squam Lake is one of the most peaceful, quiet, and pristine Lakes in New Hampshire. Squam Lakes magnificent surroundings of wildlife and mountains are only part of the charm Squam Lake has to offer.
Squam Lake is bordered by five surrounding towns. Sandwich NH, Moultonborough NH, Holderness NH, Center Harbor NH, and Ashland NH.
Big Squam and Little Squam Lake are located 40 miles north of Concord, are natural, spring-fed bodies of water connected by a channel called Squam River. The Squam Lakes are rich in history. Squam Lakes’ earliest inhabitants were from the Abenaki Nation of the Algonguin Federation of Indians.
Originally, they referred to Squam as Keeseenunknipee, which meant “the goose lake in the highlands”. The white settlers that followed shortened the name to Casumpa, Kusumpy and/or Kesumpe around 1779. In the early 1800’s, the lake was given another Abenaki name, Asquam, which means water. Finally, in the early 1900’s, Asquam was shortened to its present version, Squam.
Though the lakes’ name has seen many changes, the Squam Lakes area has seen relatively few. Through the years Squam has managed to maintain its pristine and undeveloped landscape.
Today, the interstate highway brings visitors into Ashland, where the center of commerce exists for the Squam Lakes area. Families have been coming for vacations for generations and many make the lakes their year round residence upon retirement. Squam Lake is a wonderful spot to purchase Real Estate for your year round or vacation home.
While the islands on the lakes are part of its unique landscape, the coves are quiet and a perfect haven for nesting loons and bald eagles.
Squam Lake has about 30 named islands and numerous smaller, unnamed islets. The named islands are:
· Basin Island
· Birch Island
· Bowman Island
· Carnes Island
· Chocorua (Church) Island
· Duck Island
· Great Island
· Groton Island
· High Haith (at 243 acres (98 ha), the largest island, but only separated from mainland by narrow ditch bridged by road)
· Hoag Island
· Hubble Island
· Kate Island
· Kent Island
· Kimball Island
· Laurel Island
· Little Loon Island
· Long Island
· Loon Island
· Merrill Island
· Mink Island
· Mooney (or Moon) Island
· Mouse Island
· Otter Island
· Perch Island
· Potato Island
· Sheep Island
· Three Sisters (three separate islands)
· Utopia Island
· Yard Island[3]
Squam Lakes’ magnificence is matched only by the warmth and charm of the communities that surround it. The people who call Squam home year-round or a once a year Squam Lake Vacation rental, are drawn to Squam Lakes not only for its physical beauty, but because it is a unique community committed to protecting a special place.
The unspoiled beauty of Squam Lakes is what continues to bring visitors here today. Once they are here, the region hosts a variety of activities for all seasons including hiking, camping, swimming, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, golf, tennis, and mountain biking.
Most of New Hampshire's major attractions are less than an hour away making the Squam Lakes area an ideal location for day trips. The Squam Lakes region is home to the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, which features four self-guided trails including the Gephart Trail with native New Hampshire wildlife in natural woodland enclosures. If you want to get onto the Squam Lakes and you don’t have your own vessel, tour boat companies offer guided tours of the lakes. Scenes from On Golden Pond including the location of the famous back flip by Jane Fonda into the lake or Audrey Hepburn running into the marina, are recognizable sites on the tours. In the spring, the annual ritual of tapping maple trees and boiling the sap into dark maple syrup abounds, while the fall sees Squam Lakes wrapped in the incredible colors of the New England foliage. The natural beauty of the Squam Lakes area continues to bring visitors back year after year.
