This Is The Friendliest Small Town in New Hampshire
Laconia has lived several lives, from a 19th-century railroad and manufacturing town to the anchor of New Hampshire's Lakes Region. That history is still visible at the 1823 Belknap Mill, often cited as the oldest unaltered brick textile mill in the United States. It's still visible at Funspot, the arcade Guinness named the largest in the world in 2008. And it's still visible every June, when Laconia Motorcycle Week pulls hundreds of thousands of riders to Weirs Beach. Between two major lakes and stacked with old local businesses, this is a town where the warm welcome is easy to spot.
Welcoming Waters
One of Laconia's most recognizable features is how it sits between two major lakes. Its size and amenities make the town the centerpiece of New Hampshire's Lakes Region, with a boardwalk and seasonal recreation on both Lake Winnipesaukee and Lake Winnisquam. The busiest stretch of shoreline runs along Lake Winnipesaukee, where beaches, docks, and the Mount Washington Cruises ships operate side by side. The ships run sightseeing and dinner trips across the lake throughout the warmer months.
The boardwalk itself begins at Lakeside Avenue and runs a quarter of a mile along Weirs Beach. Stops along the way include the Half Moon Motel & Cottages, where rentals look out over the lake; the Half Moon Penny Arcade; and Ivy's Ice Cream.
How Laconia Earned Its Reputation
A town doesn't earn a reputation like Laconia's overnight. It comes from small, steady things: the local traditions, the history, the entrepreneurial families who've been running shops here for decades. Plenty of that shows up at the Belknap Mill. Built in 1823 and now the Official Meetinghouse of New Hampshire, the mill serves as a museum and community gathering place. It's also, by most reliable accounts, the oldest unaltered brick textile mill in the country.
Funspot is another piece of Laconia that has grown into something bigger than the town itself. The arcade has been open since 1952, and in 2008 Guinness World Records named it the "Largest Arcade in the World," crediting its 600-plus games, bowling lanes, and other attractions. The third floor alone houses more than 250 coin-operated machines, many of them still running at a quarter a play the way they always did.
The 1950s saw thousands of drive-in movie theaters operating across the country, and most of them are gone. Laconia is one of the places that held on. The Weirs Drive-In Theater still runs double features through the summer.
Eating and Shopping in Laconia
Laconia's restaurants have helped build the town's reputation with first-time visitors. The Local Eatery is a good example: owned by a resident who trained at the New England Culinary Institute, the kitchen sources ingredients from within roughly 138 miles of the restaurant, a commitment to local farms that shows up on menu items like chicken-fried rabbit and char siu pork.
Laconia has held onto a strong local retail presence, which is part of what gives the town its personality. The Studio, on Main Street downtown, has been open since 2009 and stocks a quirky, one-of-a-kind inventory you won't find at chain stores. A few doors down, the Laconia Antique Center spreads two floors of vendors across everything from glassware to old cameras.
Only in Laconia
Big community gatherings are part of the Laconia calendar, and none is bigger than Laconia Motorcycle Week. The rally has been held each June since 1923, drawing hundreds of thousands of riders to Weirs Beach for competitions, exhibits, food, and live music. It is one of the oldest and largest motorcycle rallies in the country.
A Lakeside Welcome
Some people find Laconia at the world's largest arcade. Others find it on the back of a motorcycle, rolling in for one of the country's oldest rallies. However they arrive, the town's pitch is consistent: a long stretch of lakeshore, a history kept alive at places like the Belknap Mill, and a food-and-retail scene with deep New England roots, from the Laconia Antique Center to the Local Eatery.
