Lake Winnipesaukee

Lake Winnipesaukee doesn't decide what kind of lake it is, and that's the point. Wolfeboro, on the east shore, has called itself America's Oldest Summer Resort since the 1800s and still acts like it — a walkable downtown around Cate Park's bandstand, a raw bar on Back Bay, an ice cream stand on Route 28 that's been running since the 1950s. Fifteen miles west, Weirs Beach runs on a different current entirely: the M/S Mount Washington still departs three times a day from the same docks it has for decades, Funspot holds the Guinness record for the world's largest arcade, and Kellerhaus has been building its sundae smorgasbord since 1966. Meredith, on the north shore, splits the difference — Church Landing's fireplace lounge five minutes from a barn taproom. Center Harbor, Moultonborough, and Gilford fill in the rest: Castle in the Clouds up in the Ossipee Mountains, Gunstock's lake-view mountain-biking trails, the only state-owned sand beach on the lake at Ellacoya. Mount Major, the hike everyone means when they say they hiked here, delivers a summit view of the whole 69 square miles for a three-mile round trip. One week matters more than any other: mid-June's Motorcycle Week, the country's oldest rally, fills Weirs Beach lodging and slows Route 3 to a crawl, while Wolfeboro barely notices. The lake rewards picking the right shore for the trip you're actually planning — quiet or carnival — and not second-guessing it.