One of the most rewarding parts of being an Innkeeper is having a chance to talk with so many people who come from all over the world and have or have had very interesting careers. I once thought it would be fascinating to make a list of the various professions we’ve had represented in the breakfast room at our New Hampshire inn and post it on the wall. What a source for conversation that would be!
Recently we had two guests who I discovered had written books. The first was Huck Fairman who authored “Noah’s Children” a story of an individual who awakens to the many environmental crises threatening our ways of life. Huck and his wife Pam were visiting friends on Squam lake, but spent a leisurely breakfast with us comparing the challenges of parenting teenage girls.
The second author/guest was Bob Isett who wrote “Think Right, Feel Right” a building block guide for happiness and emotional well being. Bob and his wife Karen were visiting the New Hampshire lakes region for a wedding. While relaxing on our front porch they shared some of their spare time with me to engage in some conversation which is when I discovered that Bob was an author.
Both books are available at Amazon.com. I’m hoping to find time to read both once our season winds down.
We hope you’ll choose the Inn On Golden Pond for your lodging when visiting the area. We offer quality accommodations, friendly conversation and as you can see we host fascinating people.
Well after 26 years in business you’d think we would have seen it all, but this past weekend we had a first at the Inn On Golden Pond. A wonderful couple visiting us from the Philippines collided with a Moose while driving to visit their sons at camp! First, I want to report that neither passenger was injured. Second, the Moose while stunned managed to remove himself from the top of their car hood and wander off into the woods on the side of the road. No report on how he felt when he woke up the next day. Damage to the car – dented hood.
There are an estimated 6,000 Moose in New Hampshire, the majority of them found in the Great North Woods and New Hampshire’s Lakes Region. Over 200 are killed by cars each year. Given the average size of Moose (some weigh between 800 and 1,000 lbs.) the cars and sometimes the drivers don’t make out any better than the Moose in a collision. We’re very thankful our guests were unscathed, although very shaken, by their close encounter with this Moose.
Seeing a Moose ranks high on the wish lists of our guests. While sightings are somewhat rare we have seen Moose in the yard of our Squam Lake bed and breakfast/country inn numerous times over the years. It’s always a thrill. The heavily wooded areas of Holderness, Ashland and Sandwich, NH which surround the lake provide excellent habitat for Moose. Clearly wildlife like this and the beautiful landscape of our state are prime reasons that people like to stay in NH inns.
All of the rooms in our inn are named after native New Hampshire animals and birds, but we don’t have a Moose room. Perhaps we’ll have to think about renaming one of them. And by the way, can you imagine the conversation our guests had when they called the car rental company to report their accident?
Last night we enjoyed an evening out taking in a wonderful performance of “Chicago” at the Summer Theater in Meredith Village. What a great job these young performers do! We are very fortunate to have such professional theater here in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region. This particular troupe performs throughout the summer at the Interlakes High School in Meredith. “Chicago” will run for two weeks followed by two weeks of long time favorite “Camelot” and then the season ends with a two week stretch of the Broadway hit “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” Performers are primarily college students and recent graduates who come for the summer from all over the country. We envy their energy and are in awe of their acting, singing and dancing talents.
The theater is an easy 15 minute drive from our Squam Lake B&B. With performances beginning at 8:00 pm it’s convenient to have a leisurely dinner beforehand at one of the area’s many excellent restaurants. And after an evening of great entertainment you get to retreat to your comfortable room here at the Inn On Golden Pond for a great night’s sleep. How can you resist?
Close by entertainment like this is just one more reason to choose our Holderness Inn when you’re looking for Lake Winnipesaukee or Squam Lake area lodging.
Roxy and her lawyer preparing for trial in a scene from “Chicago”
Ashland is the town next door and is known as the geographic center of New Hampshire. I guess you can’t get more central than that! Most of our guests pass through Ashland on their way to our Squam Lake bed and breakfast since the most convenient interstate exit for our inn is in that town.
At one time the towns of Ashland and Holderness were actually one. What is now Ashland was the commercial district and the part of town which is now Holderness was considered undesirable, non productive territory. So in the late 1700′s two separate towns were created. Of course, the undesirable land is now coveted as it is the home of Squam Lake (Golden Pond) and some of the most beautiful and valuable land in the state! So much for the foresight of government leaders back then. Ummm… thinking about it not much has changed.
Ashland is home to a small commercial district which is quite convenient for us. There are a few restaurants and shops, a small grocery store, a couple of gas stations and a state liquor store. The town also has a small amount of frontage on Little Squam Lake and their town beach is open to the public for a small fee. One of our favorite sites in town is the Squam River covered bridge which has a wonderful story better left for another day.
Given that our Holderness inn is only 1/4 mile from the Ashland town line and 2 miles from the town center we make a perfect choice for anyone looking for accommodations in the Ashland area. When you’re choosing your lodging at this end of New Hampshire’s Lakes Region give us a call – even if we are in that “undesirable” part of town.
Happy 4th of July! What a great stretch of weather we’ve had and the forecasters say we’re in for several more days of sunny, hot conditions. Well have no fear the Inn On Golden Pond offers air conditioning in all our guest rooms so you can expect to have a cool time during your visit with us.
This weekend featured several fireworks displays in central NH. On Saturday both Sandwich and Ashland set them off and on the 4th itself Center Harbor and Meredith held their displays. We’ve always enjoyed the fireworks in Center Harbor, sitting on the lawn by the town library and viewing the spectacular show as they burst out over the bay on Lake Winnipesaukee. Of course, there’s a concert at the town gazebo preceding the fireworks and the local scouts are selling food and drink. Kind of takes you back in time.
Squam Lake has been very active this weekend as boaters officially kicked off the summer season. This is truly a great time to be in the lakes region of New Hampshire. Although it’s not all about the lakes. Several of our guests decided to take a journey north yesterday driving up to the top of Mt. Washington - two of them on motorcycles. The peak of the mountain is certainly one place to beat the summer heat, in fact last Thursday they had snow at the top!
Franconia Notch was a busy place last Thursday as ground was broken for the Old Man of the Mountain Memorial. The Old Man was a New Hampshire icon, a natural formation on the side of Cannon Mountain which when viewed at a certain angle looked like the profile of an old man. After hanging on for thousands of years the Old Man fell in May of 2003. Since that time a group has been busy raising funds to design and build a memorial.
When the memorial is finished it will feature several slabs of sculpted granite lined up and when viewed from the right angle will give viewers a similar profile to that of the original Old Man.
Our Holderness bed and breakfast is just about 30 minutes from the site. Franconia Notch has always been one of our favorite spots. In our opinion it offers some of the most spectacular scenery in the state. The Notch is also home of the Flume which is a great hike into a rocky gorge with beautiful waterfalls.
The Inn On Golden Pond is one New Hampshire B&B close to just about everything. Whether you’re looking to spend a day in our beautiful lakes region or want to experience the White Mountains we’re centrally located for both. We have some suggested day trips on our website which will help you in your planning.
We hope you enjoy the attached video which shows some of the beautiful highlights of Franconia Notch including several images of the Old Man.
One of our favorite walks in the New Hampshire lakes region is in Center Harbor at the Chamberlain-Reynolds Memorial Forest. This conservation area has about 200 acres of woodlands right on the shore of Squam Lake. There are a couple of small sandy beaches and several walking trails – all of which are on flat ground. Over the years we’ve often escaped to this spot for a peaceful picnic lunch or a quiet stroll through the woods.
One year we canoed from the Squam Lakes Association headquarters to the forest (about an hour’s paddle) with the intention of having a relaxing lunch. When we got there we realized it was peak blueberry season and the blueberry bushes along the shoreline were chock full of new berries. Well, we spent our lunch hour picking berries and then had to gulp down our sandwiches and hurriedly make the return trip in time to reach home before check-in time.
The Chamberlain-Reynolds Forest is about ten minutes from our Holderness B&B. It’s one of the more popular area hikes with our guests, especially those who are looking for a peaceful place on the lake to take a swim. It has no facilities and does require about a ten minute walk to get to the beach, but the setting makes it all worthwhile.
What better combination than quality New Hampshire lodging at the Inn On Golden Pond, a great walk on some of New Hampshire’s prettiest landscape and a dip in New Hampshire’s premier lake?
We are entering what is commonly called Motorcycle Weekend. Although many participants don’t know it this event dates back 87 years and celebrates the oldest motorcycle race in the country. What started as a few motorcyclists racing around a dirt track has grown into a social event which draws more than 200,000 bikers to the New Hampshire lakes region each June. Our Squam Lake bed and breakfast has been the New Hampshire lodging choice for many attendees over the years. Many bikers really appreciate our comfortable rooms at the end of a long day of touring New Hampshire’s back roads. And no matter how late they’ve stayed out socializing they never miss one of our hearty country breakfasts which get them going in the morning.
The headquarters for this rally is Weirs Beach which is twenty minutes south of us. There you’ll find bikes of all kinds, people of all sorts and vendors of all varieties. It’s a real happening and lots of fun. Of course, if you don’t own a motorcycle that doesn’t mean you can’t join in. You can drive from our Holderness inn/bed and breakfast to Meredith just to our south and then hop on a shuttle train or boat which will take you directly to Weirs Beach. No traffic, no hassles.
The towns around us – Ashland, Center Harbor, Meredith, Plymouth and Sandwich all play host to the thousands of bikers who show up for this event. But we’re just far enough away from the center of action to make it a desirable spot for those who want to be close, but not in the middle of things. In another three days all the motorcycles will disappear and we’ll be back to listening to the loon calls on the lake rather than the rumbles of the Harleys.
You can imagine that we’ve hosted lots of folks over our 25 years here at the Inn and many of them several times. In fact, our record holders for the most visits to the Inn On Golden Pond have been here 37 times! Just recently we had two couples return for visits that meant a great deal to us. The first couple was last here 18 years ago. The second hadn’t been with us in over 21 years! In both cases the pressures of raising families had interfered with their ability to make a return trip to our New Hampshire bed and breakfast. But what made their visits special to us was that they had such fond memories of the Inn from years ago that they chose to return to celebrate special occasions. Both couples recalled specific interactions they’d had with us when they last visited. And believe it or not we remembered both of them after all these years and all the guests who’ve passed over our threshold since. Our special thanks to Steve & Sally, and to John & Nancy. It’s people like you who have made our innkeeping years so meaningful. We decided to share some kind comments that Steve submitted to Trip Advisor after his visit.
“My wife and I had visited the Inn three times previously, the most recent 18 years ago. Kids and life interfered in the intervening years to prevent us from returning. In celebration of our 20th wedding anniversary, we planned a return and then delayed that by 13 months.
Regardless, the Inn remains an excellent place for a quiet, romantic weekend getaway. We had a beautiful room. Bill and Bonnie have clearly invested in the facilities over the years. They have always been and remain extremely gracious hosts. They provided great suggestions for dinner and local activities (we did a hike on Saturday and another on Sunday. In warmer weather, we rented a canoe on Squam Lake).
Overall, a great place to spend a weekend with that special someone in your life.”
Thanks to all of you who when visiting Holderness and New Hampshire’s Lakes Region have picked our Squam Lake country inn/bed and breakfast as your lodging choice.
The New Hampshire Lakes region is pretty compact which makes it easy for visitors to see a variety of sites without having to move from lodging place to lodging place. Meredith, NH is just 15 minutes south of us so if you’re looking for a Meredith bed and breakfast the Inn On Golden Pond should be high on your list.
Meredith is a charming town located at the northern end of Lake Winnipesaukee. It’s the home to several very good restaurants and some great shopping. The town has developed an inviting park along the shoreline of Lake Winnipesaukee and there is a wonderful walkway/boardwalk which follows the edge of the water. It’s a great place to take an evening stroll, perhaps with an ice cream cone in hand.
There is also top notch summer theater in Meredith. Summer Theater in Meredith Village offers musicals throughout the summer season. Performances are held at the Interlakes High School just a short distance from the downtown.
Of course, there’s quite a difference between the activity level on Lake Winnipesaukee and that which you’ll find here on Squam Lake. Squam is more low key offering an excellent place for canoeing, kayaking and smaller motor boats. And while Squam Lake is the state’s second largest it is considerably less developed than its larger counterpart Lake Winnipesaukee. It’s nice to be able to stay in Holderness where things are quieter, but have access to the hustle and bustle of Meredith and similar towns in the lakes region.
So if you’re looking for a B&B in Meredith you might want to think about traveling up the road a few miles to Holderness and to our quality bed and breakfast – the Inn On Golden Pond.
New Hampshire’s Lilacs in Bloom
Black Bear around Squam Lake New Hampshire
Loon Mountain, Waterville Valley – Great New Hampshire Skiing
P.O. Box 680 | Route 3