Mount Washington Lake Cruise
211 Lakeside Avenue
Weirs Beach, Laconia, NH
The grand old flagship of Lake Winnipesaukee, carrying passengers across New Hampshire's biggest lake past islands and mountains, as excursion boats have done here for well over a century.
The M/S Mount Washington is the flagship of Lake Winnipesaukee, the great inland sea of New Hampshire's Lakes Region and the largest lake in the state. Sailing from the boardwalk village of Weirs Beach, the ship carries passengers on scenic cruises across the broad, island-studded water, past forested shores with the foothills of the White Mountains rising behind them. It continues a tradition of excursion boats on Winnipesaukee that stretches back more than a century and a half.
For generations, a cruise aboard the Mount Washington has been one of the defining experiences of a Lakes Region vacation. The ship glides among the lake's hundreds of islands, calls at classic lakeside towns, and by evening becomes a floating dinner-and-dance venue, offering a relaxed, old-fashioned way to take in one of New England's most beloved summer landscapes.
What Guests Love
- Cruising the length of New Hampshire's largest lake aboard a grand excursion ship
- Views of hundreds of islands with the mountains rising behind them
- Stops at classic lakeside towns like Wolfeboro and Meredith
- Scenic, dinner, and themed cruises that turn the lake into an evening out
Worth Knowing
- The ship is seasonal, generally sailing late spring through fall
- Different cruises run different routes and lengths, so check the schedule and pick the one that fits
- Dinner and themed evening cruises are popular and often need reservations
- Weirs Beach itself is a walkable boardwalk village worth arriving early to enjoy
Details
Weirs Beach, Laconia, NH
Learn about Mount Washington Lake Cruise
A century of lake steamers
Excursion boats have crossed Lake Winnipesaukee since the mid-nineteenth century, when steamers connected lakeside towns and carried summer visitors arriving by railroad. The name Mount Washington has belonged to the lake's flagship through more than one vessel, an earlier ship of that name having served the lake before the present one took up the role in the twentieth century.
Today's M/S Mount Washington is a large, multi-deck motor vessel that keeps the tradition alive, running scheduled cruises through the season. That long lineage is part of the appeal: boarding the ship connects passengers to a form of lake tourism that has barely changed in spirit since the Victorian era.
Lake Winnipesaukee
Lake Winnipesaukee is the heart of the Lakes Region, a sprawling lake dotted with hundreds of islands and framed by mountains, its name often translated from the Abenaki as something like the smile of the Great Spirit. Its irregular, bay-filled shoreline and its many islands make it endlessly scenic to cruise, with new views opening around every point.
The ship's routes take in that variety, threading among islands and calling at ports around the lake, so a cruise doubles as a tour of the region's classic lakeside towns and their harbors.
Cruises and Weirs Beach
The Mount Washington offers a range of outings: daytime scenic cruises that circle the lake and stop at towns such as Wolfeboro, Meredith, Center Harbor, and Alton Bay, plus evening dinner-and-dance cruises and themed sailings that make an occasion of the water. Passengers can ride simply for the views or settle in for a meal as the shoreline slides by.
The home port, Weirs Beach, is a lakeside institution in its own right, a compact boardwalk village with a beach, an arcade strip, and a summer-resort atmosphere. Arriving early to walk the boardwalk before boarding rounds out a classic Lakes Region day.
Season by season
Late spring launches the season as the lake warms and the schedule fills out.
Summer is peak cruising, with the fullest slate of daytime and evening sailings and the boardwalk at Weirs Beach in full swing.
Fall may be the most beautiful time of all, when the hills around the lake blaze with color and foliage cruises take in the show from the water.
In winter the ship is laid up and the lake freezes, giving rise to a whole different culture of ice fishing and, in cold years, ice-fishing villages out on the frozen surface.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Profile Motel & Cottages
Honorable Mention391 Styles Bridges Highway, Lincoln, NH
36 miles away|Learn More ›
Things to Do Near Weirs Beach
Weirs Beach boardwalk
At the dock
A classic lakeside boardwalk village with a beach, arcades, and a summer-resort atmosphere on Lake Winnipesaukee.
Wolfeboro
Across the lake, a cruise stop or about 30 miles by road
Billed as the oldest summer resort in America, a picturesque lakeside town with shops, a downtown on the water, and the New Hampshire Boat Museum.
Castle in the Clouds
About 20 miles, a 30 minute drive
A mountaintop estate above the lake in Moultonborough, with an Arts and Crafts mansion, waterfalls, and sweeping views over Winnipesaukee.