Clark's Point

Lake Winnipesaukee
in Central New Hampshire

Story and photos by Robert N. Rossier

Lake Winnipesaukee in central New Hampshire offers a wide variety of shore and boat diving in a spectacular mountain setting. One popular location for training is Clark's Point in Wolfeboro. This versatile site provides easy access, with visibility and underwater topography suited to everything from Open Water certification dives to advanced, search-and-recovery, navigation and deep diving, to name a few.

Public access to Clark's Point (year-round, day and night) is through McKinney Park, three quarters of a mile/1 km off Route 28, where Clark Road makes an abrupt left turn. The stand of evergreen trees provides a shaded backdrop to this scenic point at the south end of Wolfeboro harbor. Parking for a half-dozen cars can be found at the entrance, and additional parking is available along Clark Road. Follow a stone trail that leads down a steep incline to the waterfront, where a picnic table provides a convenient location to suit up.

The dive begins in knee-deep water along the rocky shore, where divers can perform a predive check and acclimate to the environment. A few yards away from shore, the depth increases to approximately 15 feet/5m. Prevailing northwest winds occasionally generate currents in the 28-mile-/45-km-long lake that scour the silt from the shallow areas of Clark's Point. The remaining coarse sand bottom ensures good visibility (up to 25 feet/8 m) under most conditions. Throughout the area, divers will find a plethora of freshwater mussels and small fish. To the north, a submerged rock seawall provides a convenient means for natural navigation, with depths increasing to 30 feet/9 m or more.

Progressing westward from the entry point away from shore, the depth increases to 20 to 45 feet/6 to 14 m, with a sand and stone bottom strewn with massive boulders and an occasional sunken tree. Divers will encounter a variety of fish, including bass, cusk, perch and an occasional catfish. White freshwater sponges decorate many of the boulders.

Roughly 150 yards/137 m offshore, an underwater cliff drops to more than 80 feet/24 m with a silt bottom (watch your buoyancy!), providing an excellent location for deep-dive training. Toward the south, the bottom of the wall slants shoreward, forming a pronounced overhang.

While Clark's Point is perhaps best known as a training site, divers have found numerous artifacts in the area, including antique bottles that bear the name of the former Toby's Pharmacy in Wolfeboro. Touted as the oldest summer resort in America, the local waters have claimed everything from dishes, clay pipes and bottles to guns and false teeth.

As with all dive sites, visibilities can vary markedly depending on seasonal changes and weather conditions, but visibility in the 15- to 25-foot range is typical. Winters are cold in the lakes region, providing excellent conditions for ice diving. The ice usually clears out by the end of April, and by July the 30-foot water temperatures climb to the low 70s F (22 C), where they remain until mid-September. Descending along the wall to depths of 80 feet, divers can expect temperatures in the low to mid-50s F (13 C), even in summer.

Divers are required to fly a dive flag when diving anywhere on Lake Winnipesaukee, and the requirement is strictly enforced by the Marine Patrol. Divers must stay within 75 feet/23 m of the flag at all times.

While there are no amenities available at Clark's Point, divers will rest easy knowing that the Huggins Hospital Emergency Room is less than a mile away at the intersection of Clark Road and Route 28. (Take a right at the end of Clark Road, and the ER is immediately on the left.) Police and fire/rescue personnel reside at the public safety building on the right about one-tenth mile past the hospital. Emergency 911 service is available in the area, and the Marine Patrol can be contacted by phone, (603) 293-2037, or marine VHF (Channel 16).

Lake Winnipesaukee Diving

Cradled between the Ossipee Mountains to the north and the Belknap Mountains to the south, Lake Winnipesaukee in central New Hampshire provides a fantastic array of diving opportunities. Carved out of the Earth by glaciers, the lake spans some 28 miles/45 km from northwest to southeast and 12 miles/19 km across, with nearly 300 miles/483 km of shoreline and as many islands. The 72 square miles/187 sq. km of water covers cascading walls and a virtual history book of wrecks to depths of 187 feet/57 m. A complete listing of Lake Winnipesaukee dive locations would take volumes, but here are a few underwater highlights.

One of the most popular dive sites on Lake Winnipesaukee is the Lady of the Lake. Scuttled in 1895, the 125-foot/38-m steamboat lies in 30 feet/9 m of water in Smith Cove in Glendale (near Laconia). The hull and deck are intact, and divers can enter through the deck hatches. Smallmouth bass, yellow perch, sunfish, hornpout, carp and the occasional eel make the wreck their home. Summer water temperatures range from 65?F/18?C to 75?F/24?C, with visibilities of 25 to 35 feet/8 to 11 m. The Lady of the Lake is also a popular ice dive in the winter months.

The Horseboat Barge represents one of the earliest vessels on the lake. Powered by two horses on treadmills, the design became obsolete with the advent of the steam engine. The wreck lies in 40 feet/12 m of water off Bear Island. The hull of the barge remains, with various tools and coal scattered on the bottom throughout the area.

Rum Point on the shores of West Alton is known for its rock formations and wall diving. The area is rich in fish and aquatic life. Parker Island is also known for its rock formations, with numerous cuts, tunnels and exposed veins of quartz. The wall drops from a depth of 40 feet to about 60 feet/18 m.

The Laker wrecks on the east side of Ship Island are actually three wrecks that lie in 10 to 40 feet/3 to 12 m of water, all of which can be visited on a single dive. The area around Ship and Moose Islands is known for huge rock formations, ledges and walls, with depths ranging to 100 feet/30 m.

The wreck of the steamboat Belknap on the north side of Steamboat Island makes a perfect place to enjoy a surface interval. The wreck, which sank in 1841 while towing a load of logs, lies in 5 to 15 feet/2 to 5 m of water and is a good snorkeling site.

Diamond Island is the site of the Navy's underwater laser testing site, which dates back to the 1950s. A railway track used for laser testing lies in 25 feet of water, with staging located in deeper water. A sunken cruiser, staging and other debris lie at the north end.

Two dive centers serve the needs of divers on Lake Winnipesaukee. Dive Winnipesaukee is a full-service dive center located on the waterfront in scenic Wolfeboro on the eastern side of the lake. The center offers a full range of certification programs, rentals, and dive charters aboard their 30-foot dive vessel, Lady-Go-Diva. Check out their TGIF dive on Friday afternoons. Dive Winnipesaukee is located at 4 N. Main Street, Wolfeboro, NH; phone (603) 569-8080.

Fathom Divers is a full-service dive center located in Laconia on the western shore of Lake Winnipesaukee. The center is open seven days a week April through September, with daily dive charters aboard their 26-foot/8-m dive vessel (four to six divers maximum), and weekends only October through March. Fathom Divers offers rentals and air fills. The dive center is located at 1002 Union Avenue in Laconia, NH; phone (603) 528-4104.

Accommodations in Wolfeboro

If Clark's Point at Lake Winnipesaukee isn't close enough to make a day trip, affordable accommodations can be found in Wolfeboro.

Lake Motel: Located on the northbound side of Route 28 just south of town. Phone (603) 569-1100.

Wolfeboro Inn: On Main Street (Route 109) about a half-mile north of Dive Winnipesaukee on the left side. Phone (603) 569-3016.