After rainy start, Lakes Region summer season ends strong

While late spring and early summer brought plenty of rainfall, the rest of the season provided sunshine and warmth, helping keep businesses busy throughout the Lakes Region.

“June was a little bit of a slow start with all the rain,” Amy Landers, Lakes Region Tourism Association executive director, said. “But it just really kept picking up in July and August to make up for that.”

Sean Brown, chief operating officer of the Common Man Family of Restaurants, concurred with Landers, saying business turned around dramatically as the summer continued.

“We had a banner July and August,” Brown said. “It was an excellent way to finish out the summer. We paced ahead of last summer a little bit, which is always the goal.”

Meredith is home to several Common Man establishments including Town Docks, Lakehouse, Lago and Camp restaurants. Town Docks is unique on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee, with almost entirely outdoor seating. This made for difficulties at the start, but Brown said the team is resilient and does everything they can to be accommodating.

“The early rain was a little challenge for the team, because 75% of our tables are outside, but we are good at pivoting.”

The Common Man has lodging in Plymouth, and Brown noted the area is very active in the summer, just north of the lakes, and at the base of the White Mountains.

“It is a launching point,” Brown said. “We sold rooms all summer from beginning to end at the inn.”

Common Man also owns the Tilt’n Diner, and 104 Diner in New Hampton, as well as the Lincoln Diner. He said business was particularly good at all three.

“People are still conscious about how far their dollar is going, and there are some affordable menu items there,” Brown said. “We saw an uptick in sales at the diners.”

Lakes Region Tourism Association is based in Tilton, and represents 100 communities and 430 businesses. This includes restaurants and bars, and lodging like cottages, motels, hotels, resorts, and vacation homes. Short-term vacation rentals are not taken into account.

Their mission is to attract visitors to the area year-round, and the summer is certainly the hot time for tourism in the area, Landers said.

“We are seeing similar trends as last year,” Landers said. “People with a lot of money continue to spend money, but the mid-market is still being cautious on what they are spending, how much they are going out.”

Landers said the hot days may have led Lakes Region visitors to enjoy time outdoors, rather than spending time and money in restaurants and bars. However, she said in the end it all basically evens out, and this summer was comparable to last year.

Bonnie MacPherson, marketing director for Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford, said the summer started slow due to the rain, but picked up steadily, ending with an “absolutely fabulous August.”

“We ended up about even to last year, and darn close to the budget numbers we projected,” MacPherson said.

Gunstock offers camping throughout the summer, and while mid-week was slow, the campgrounds were full on weekends. The resort offers other activities including mountain biking, hiking and an adventure park.

“There is a funny little sweet spot for outdoor activities,” MacPherson pointed out. “It’s a little bit of a Goldilocks scenario. We want the weather to be a little cloudy and overcast, because if it is too hot, people will go to enjoy the beaches.”

This year the mountain had more weddings than ever, despite hearing through the grapevine this year was slower in that regard.

“Weddings are still going, and it seems like we are seeing more and more couples coming in to check it out for next year, and the year after,” MacPherson said.

While the rain may have affected some businesses, that was not the case for Wayfarer Coffee Lakeport. Head Baker Emily Miner said it has been a great summer through and through, with the shop gaining new customers and also attracting the tried and true regulars.

“We have had a good summer all around,” Miner said. “We’ve kept very busy over here.”

Landers said one area which was slow was international tourism, which she feels was political in nature.

“It has been a lot slower and a lot of that is since the change in presidency,” Landers said. “We saw a huge halt in bookings in the international market, and we also saw this the last time [Donald Trump] took over as president.”

Landers said this does not only pertain to Canada, but also France, Germany and the United Kingdom. She added the slowdown is not specific to the region or state, but rather consistent across the country.

Brown said while he doesn’t have a specific metric for international tourism, speaking to team members, it seemed like it was a “a little bit off, but nothing notable” at Common Man properties. He said Canadian tourists do tend to come to the area for Laconia Motorcycle Week, and that was a little slower than the norm.

Patrick’s Pub & Eatery in Gilford is in a prime spot on the intersection of Route 11 and Route 11B, and owner Allan Beetle was happy with business, but also noted Motorcycle Week was slower than usual.

“Summer was very typical for us at Patrick’s — very busy with a slight growth over 2024,” Beetle said. “Bike Week was the only period that was off, perhaps due to the later week in June, or perhaps less of our friends from Canada came to visit.”

Congressional candidate Chris Bright recently toured Laconia, and said business owners noticed a lower number of Canadian tourists.

Cheers at the Weirs had the unique experience of opening their business late in the season, and owner Barry Myers said they've had nothing but success. He and his wife Patty opened the restaurant at the beginning of August, and said it was clear the Lakeside Avenue traffic ramped up as the summer wore on.

Labor Day weekend finished the summer off on a high note, with Landers saying it was “very positive and very busy” with “a lot of people around.”

Landers noted the Lakes Region is no longer just a summer destination, thanks to the many activities throughout throughout the fall and into the winter. With fairs and harvest festivals in the fall, the Pond Hockey Classic and Ice Fishing Derby in the winter, as well as ski season at Gunstock, she expects tourism to continue to show positive trends.

“All in all, it has been a positive season,” Landers said. “We are really seeing the trend since COVID that people are booking out longer in advance. Bookings appear to be strong through November.”