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Lake Sunapee is a lake located in New Hampshire. The water surface spans about 4,136 acres, making it a mid-sized body of water. The page brings together an hourly and 7-day forecast, wind and gust outlook, and activity scores for boating, paddling, and swimming. Other waters in the region include Lake Sunapee, Newfound Lake, and Winnisquam Lake. Use the conditions and forecast on this page to decide when to go boating, fishing, or paddling at Lake Sunapee.
Updated
Latest source update is older than expected. Use caution and check the official source.
The last automated check (Oct 9, 1:19 AM EDT) found no active alerts for this lake, but that check is older than LakeRadar's alert freshness window, so the current alert status could not be confirmed.
Confirm before heading out: official alerts for this area or weather.gov/alerts. LakeRadar scores summarize available conditions and are not a substitute for official warnings, local rules, or on-water judgment.
Overall Good (83/100) across 4 activities. Best right now: Sailing (89/100).
How the score is calculated →Best good fishing window, averaging 89/100 across these hours. Wind 10 mph from the west. Dawn hours (06:00 local). Derived from the hourly forecast; official alerts are not forecast and are checked separately.
| Metric | 6a | 7a | 8a | 9a | 10a | 11a | 12p | 1p | 2p | 3p | 4p | 5p | 6p | 7p | 8p | 9p | 10p | 11p | 12a | 1a | 2a | 3a | 4a | 5a |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temp (°F) | 53° | 51° | 51° | 50° | 49° | 48° | 48° | 49° | 52° | 54° | 57° | 58° | 58° | 59° | 58° | 58° | 58° | 54° | 53° | 52° | 51° | 51° | 49° | 49° |
| Wind (kts) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| Direction | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | NW | W | NW | NW | NW | NW | NW |
| Gusts (kts) | 18 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 20 | 23 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 18 |
| Precip % | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Time | Temp | Wind | Gusts | Precip | Cloud | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, 2 AM EDT | 53°F | 10 mph W (270°) | 21 mph | 0% | 11% | Mostly Clear |
| Fri, 3 AM EDT | 51°F | 10 mph W (270°) | 16 mph | 0% | 14% | Mostly Clear |
| Fri, 4 AM EDT | 51°F | 10 mph W (270°) | 15 mph | 0% | 28% | Partly Cloudy |
| Fri, 5 AM EDT | 50°F | 10 mph W (270°) | 15 mph | 0% | 43% | Partly Cloudy |
| Fri, 6 AM EDT | 49°F | 10 mph W (270°) | 15 mph | 0% | 54% | Partly Sunny |
| Fri, 7 AM EDT | 48°F | 10 mph W (270°) | 15 mph | 0% | 38% | Mostly Sunny |
| Fri, 8 AM EDT | 48°F | 10 mph W (270°) | 17 mph | 1% | 14% | Sunny |
| Fri, 9 AM EDT | 49°F | 10 mph W (270°) | 23 mph | 1% | 11% | Sunny |
| Fri, 10 AM EDT | 52°F | 15 mph W (270°) | 27 mph | 1% | 16% | Sunny |
| Fri, 11 AM EDT | 54°F | 15 mph W (270°) | 31 mph | 1% | 30% | Mostly Sunny |
| Fri, 12 PM EDT | 57°F | 15 mph W (270°) | 30 mph | 1% | 25% | Sunny |
| Fri, 1 PM EDT | 58°F | 20 mph W (270°) | 30 mph | 1% | 19% | Sunny |
| Fri, 2 PM EDT | 58°F | 15 mph W (270°) | 30 mph | 1% | 17% | Sunny |
| Fri, 3 PM EDT | 59°F | 15 mph W (270°) | 29 mph | 1% | 16% | Sunny |
| Fri, 4 PM EDT | 58°F | 15 mph W (270°) | 29 mph | 1% | 18% | Sunny |
| Fri, 5 PM EDT | 58°F | 10 mph W (270°) | 25 mph | 1% | 24% | Sunny |
| Fri, 6 PM EDT | 58°F | 10 mph W (270°) | 18 mph | 2% | 24% | Mostly Clear |
| Fri, 7 PM EDT | 54°F | 10 mph NW (315°) | 22 mph | 2% | 32% | Partly Cloudy |
| Fri, 8 PM EDT | 53°F | 5 mph W (270°) | 23 mph | 1% | 29% | Partly Cloudy |
| Fri, 9 PM EDT | 52°F | 5 mph NW (315°) | 21 mph | 1% | 30% | Partly Cloudy |
| Fri, 10 PM EDT | 51°F | 5 mph NW (315°) | 17 mph | 1% | 29% | Partly Cloudy |
| Fri, 11 PM EDT | 51°F | 5 mph NW (315°) | 20 mph | 0% | 22% | Mostly Clear |
| Sat, 12 AM EDT | 49°F | 5 mph NW (315°) | 18 mph | 0% | 11% | Mostly Clear |
| Sat, 1 AM EDT | 49°F | 10 mph NW (315°) | 21 mph | 0% | 22% | Mostly Clear |
| Sat, 2 AM EDT | 48°F | 10 mph NW (315°) | 21 mph | 0% | 18% | Mostly Clear |
Official National Weather Service hourly forecast. Showing 10 of 25 hours. Wind arrows point the way the wind is blowing; the compass point and degrees show where it comes from.
| Period | Today October 8, 2026 | Tonight October 8, 2026 | Tonight October 8, 2026 | Overnight October 9, 2026 | Friday October 9, 2026 | Friday Night October 9, 2026 | Saturday October 10, 2026 | Saturday Night October 10, 2026 | Sunday October 11, 2026 | Sunday Night October 11, 2026 | Columbus Day October 12, 2026 | Monday Night October 12, 2026 | Tuesday October 13, 2026 | Tuesday Night October 13, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temp (°F) | 66° | 47° | 48° | 48° | 60° | 42° | 58° | 44° | 65° | 53° | 65° | 53° | 62° | 45° |
| Wind | W 5 to 10 mph | W 10 mph | W 5 to 10 mph | W 10 mph | W 10 to 20 mph | NW 5 to 10 mph | NW 5 to 10 mph | 0 mph | SW 0 to 5 mph | SW 5 mph | SW 5 mph | W 0 to 5 mph | SW 5 mph | W 5 to 15 mph |
| Gusts | 30 mph | 25 mph | 25 mph | 25 mph | 35 mph | 25 mph | 14 mph | 5 mph | 12 mph | 12 mph | 9 mph | 9 mph | 14 mph | 25 mph |
| Precip % | 20% | 4% | 3% | 0% | 1% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 71% | 62% | 13% | 51% | 48% |
| Forecast |
No active USGS or USACE telemetry gauge is currently mapped to Lake Sunapee. Not available from a verified source for this lake.
Good for fishing (81/100), from 5 available inputs. Supporting this: Wind 10 mph from the west. 0% chance of precipitation. Not available from a verified source for this lake: pressure trend, water temperature. Confidence is moderate (74%) because some inputs are unavailable or older than ideal.
Good for boating (82/100), from 4 available inputs. Supporting this: No active official alerts for this lake. Wind 10 mph from the west. Not available from a verified source for this lake: visibility and conditions, verified water access. Confidence is moderate (84%) because some inputs are unavailable or older than ideal.
Good for sailing (89/100), from 4 available inputs. Supporting this: Wind 10 mph from the W is in the preferred sailing range. No active official alerts for this lake. Not available from a verified source for this lake: visibility. Confidence is high (88%).
Good for kayaking (81/100), from 5 available inputs. Supporting this: Wind 10 mph from the west. No active official alerts for this lake. Confidence is high (90%).
Water temperature is not available from a verified source for this lake. No swimming score is shown without it.
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Individual boat ramp GPS coordinates are maintained under the jurisdiction of NH Parks & Wildlife Authority. Public boaters should verify seasonal launch water levels, gate hours, and daily vehicle/vessel fees before traveling.
Lake Sunapee in NH is a popular freshwater lake known for its welcoming public recreation, scenic beauty, and dependable sport fishing. Multiple public access sites allow easy launching for trailered boats and personal watercraft. Park facilities and regional fisheries management are overseen by state and local natural resource agencies.
Valid freshwater sport fishing license issued by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is required for anglers age 16+. Digital license on mobile is accepted.
Current motorized watercraft registration mandatory. Practice Clean, Drain & Dry protocols: drain all livewells and inspect props before launching. Life jackets required for all passengers.
Public shoreline and boating access managed by State & Local Authorities. Verify seasonal gate hours, launch fees, and parking rules before travel.
High-speed motorboating, pontoon cruising, wakeboarding, and water skiing across main channels. Target gamefish include Yellow Perch, Chain Pickerel, Rock Bass, Brook Trout. Morning hours typically provide optimal glassy conditions for kayak and stand-up paddleboard (SUP) touring.
Warm water temperatures, peak swimming, active watersports, and open full-service campgrounds. Highest weekly attendance; plan early arrivals on summer weekends.
Spring pre-spawn and fall feeding transitions create prime trophy angling conditions. Cooler air, lower boat traffic, and vibrant seasonal shoreline foliage.
Northern cold winter conditions with freezing air temperatures and potential surface ice formation. Ramps and water systems may be winterized. Confirm open status before visiting.
No external source rows are cited by the data currently shown on this page.
Updated
Scores are heuristics, not safety guarantees. LakeRadar scores summarize available conditions and are not a substitute for official warnings, local rules, or on-water judgment.
All telemetry for Lake Sunapee is synchronized directly from authorized federal and state monitoring networks (USGS, NWS, NOAA, and state environmental authorities). Observations are strictly instrumented readings — unmonitored sensors are transparently disclosed rather than synthetic estimates.
Last source audit: Oct 9, 2:37 AM EDT