What to Do in the Lakes Region This May
Ice out is behind us. Here's what opens up.
Does anyone else feel like April has gone by in the blink of an eye? It’s been a weather roller coasters as usual, and May is just around the corner.
May in the Lakes Region is its own particular season — not quite spring in the way the rest of New England means it, and not yet summer in the way people who visit in July will come to mean it. It’s the in-between, and if you’ve spent any time here, you already know that the in-between is often the best part.
The boats start going in. The restaurants that went to winter hours start extending them again. People appear on docks that have just been lowered or installed. The trails are muddy in places and golden everywhere else; the new leaves haven’t filled in yet, and the views through the trees are something you only get in these few weeks. And as the year-rounders are starting to announce in facebook posts, the loons are back.
It’s worth being here for it.
Here is what’s happening in May.
The Big Calendar
Lakes Region Food Truck Festival, Tanger Outlets, Tilton. May 9-11. A rotating lineup of regional food trucks, local beer, and the general atmosphere of everyone being extremely relieved that it is warm enough to eat outside again. High-energy, good for families, good for a low-commitment Saturday afternoon if you want to be around people who are happy about spring. The Tilton location puts you between Laconia and Concord — easy to pair with other errands or a stop at the Lakes Region Art Association, which keeps its gallery in the same complex.
Lakes Region Symphony Orchestra: “Mixtape: Hits of the 60s and 70s”, The Colonial Theatre, Laconia. May 9, 7 p.m. The Colonial is a genuinely good venue that doesn’t always get the attention it deserves, and the Symphony’s spring concert is one of the easier excuses to go. Call 800-657-8774 or visit coloniallaconia.com for tickets.
“Opening Up Lucknow” at Castle in the Clouds, Moultonborough. May 9, 1:30-3:30 p.m. An interactive play set at the estate, where the audience follows along as the servants’ story of Lucknow unfolds. Pre-registration required; 603-476-5410 or castleintheclouds.org. This is the kind of thing that sounds eccentric until you’re in it, and then it’s exactly right.
Culinary Herbs at Belknap Mill, Laconia. May 9, 1:30-3 p.m. Parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme — the class is literally named after the song, which either makes it charming or insufferable depending on your relationship to Simon and Garfunkel. We are choosing charming. 603-524-8813, belknapmill.org.
Branch River Paddle, Milton Mills. May 16. The Mount Major Region Group runs a guided paddle on the Branch River out of Branch Hill Farm, open to beginners and families. This is the quieter alternative to Winnipesaukee on a May weekend — slower water, fewer boats, the kind of paddle where you can hear birds between strokes. Check the Appalachian Mountain Club or Mount Major Region Group for registration details.
Lakes Region Spring Craft Fair, Tanger Outlets, Tilton. May 16-17, 10 a.m. Joyce’s Craft Shows hosts dozens of local artisans with handmade goods and specialty foods. 603-387-1510.
A Band Called Honalee, Anderson Hall, Brewster Academy, Wolfeboro. May 17, 4-6 p.m. A modern folk trio, presented by Wolfeboro Friends of Music. 603-569-2151, wolfeborofriendsofmusic.org. Anderson Hall is a lovely small venue and the Sunday afternoon format is the right one for folk music.
Lilac Tea at Castle in the Clouds, Moultonborough. May 17, 2-4 p.m. High tea on the lawn of Lucknow Castle. Pre-registration required; 603-476-5900, castleintheclouds.org. The name promises lilacs. May generally delivers them.
New England Fiddle Ensemble Concert, Inter-Lakes High School Auditorium, Meredith. May 17, 2 p.m. nefiddleensemble.org.
NH Farm Museum Opening Day, Milton. May 22. Farm tours, historic buildings, seasonal exhibits on White Mountain Highway. A genuine working museum of what agricultural life here looked like, and the kind of place that takes a slow afternoon to do right. Pair it with lunch in Sanbornville or a stop at the Old Country Store in Moultonborough on the way back if you’re driving through Carroll County.
Memorial Day Weekend Craft Festival at Mill Falls, Mill Falls Marketplace, Meredith. May 23-25. Over 70 juried artisans on the lakefront in Meredith — jewelry, textiles, ceramics, the kind of handmade things that look better in person than in any photo. This is the annual event that signals summer is actually arriving. The setting on the water is right, and if you haven’t been to Meredith in a while, Memorial Day weekend is one of the better times to go — busy enough that things are open, not yet so busy that parking is a project.
Always Open in May
Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, Holderness. Open May 1 through November 1. Trails, indoor exhibits, spring birdwatching, wildlife talks, lake-front walks. If you haven’t been since winter, the difference in May is noticeable in the best way. nhnature.org.
Castle in the Clouds hiking trails, Moultonborough. Open weekends starting May 7, then daily from late May. The trails are accessible even on days the mansion isn’t — worth calling ahead to confirm what’s open and what’s still soft from the mud. 603-476-5900.
Fishing on the big lakes. Open-water season started April 1 on Winnipesaukee, Squam, Newfound, Ossipee, and Winnisquam. By May, the ice-out chaos has settled and the fishing is genuinely good — landlocked salmon, trout, bass. The tackle shops in Laconia, Meredith, and Wolfeboro have current water conditions; don’t skip the call.
Hermit Woods Winery, Meredith. Regular music and events throughout the month; check their site for the May schedule. Sweet Mercy, their kitchen, does food worth staying for.
ArtWorks CCAC in Chocorua has a rotating Friday Painters en Plein Air Guest Artists show running through June, open Thursday through Monday. It’s a working gallery on Route 16, small and specific and easy to pair with a drive through that part of Carroll County. chocoruaartworks.com.
Sap House Meadery in Center Ossipee opens Friday through Sunday — mead flights, cocktails, Ploughman’s boards, the occasional Dinner & Show concert in the production room among the barrels. If you’ve never been, it’s the right size for what it is: small, well-made, not trying to be anything else. Check their site or Instagram for any May music dates. saphousemeadery.com.
Remick Country Doctor Museum & Farm in Tamworth opens for spring with farm animals, gardens, and walking trails. The Cuddle Corral alone has made Jenn consider detours she didn’t plan. Open grounds and seasonal programming through December; call ahead for what’s scheduled. 603-323-7591, remickmuseum.org.
Weekly music, various. Open mic Mondays at Patrick’s Pub in Gilford. Songwriter nights at Hermit Woods. Live music at Giuseppe’s at Mill Falls on most evenings. These are the kind of low-key weeknight things that become the texture of actually living here rather than visiting it.
A few quiet May suggestions
The crowds haven’t arrived yet. That’s the whole point of May.
Take a morning and drive the east side of the lake — Alton Bay to Wolfeboro, with coffee from whatever’s open. The road follows the water and the light in May is something particular: not the hard summer light that makes everything look like a postcard, but something softer. Quieter.
Rattlesnake Mountain in Holderness is an easy few hours with lake views that are disproportionate to the effort. Worth doing before July when the trailhead fills up by 9 a.m.
The Loon Center in Moultonborough opens with spring programs and is one of the better quiet-morning options in the region. Small, specific, worth it.
Ossipee Lake in early May, before the boats go in, is a different place than it is in July. Cold-clear water, the Ossipee Range behind it still sharp against the sky. Swing by A Stop at Willoughby store in Effingham Falls on way for fresh donuts and coffee. Drive out to the state boat launch off Route 16 and just stand there for a minute. It costs nothing and it's better than most things that do.
May doesn’t announce itself the way October does. It just shows up, a little muddy, a little tentative, and then suddenly everything is open and green and the boats are in and the docks have chairs on them again.
It’s a good month to be here.
If you’re planning a trip and want a sense of where to stay or what town to base yourself in, we’re always happy to think through it with you. That’s one of our favorite kinds of conversation we have with people all the time.
Here’s to the lakes waking up.
🧭 Jenn & Andrea
Keys to the Lakes
