The boat launch with the deepest channel. The trail to the gorge. The farm stand that takes Venmo. The icon you've heard of and the one you haven't.
The clifftop view everyone means when they say "the Rattlesnake hike" — a two-mile round trip up the Old Bridle Path to a broad ledge at 1,293 feet, looking straight down over Squam's islands. Easy enough for kids, popular enough that the Route 113 lot fills by nine on a summer Saturday. Leashed dogs are fine here; keep going on the ridge trail for East Rattlesnake if the group wants more.
A 1.4-mile loop on Squam Lakes Natural Science Center land, steeper near the Welcome Center and gentler on the way down the other side. The payoff is a look at Squam's islands plus the stone foundations of the old Piper Homestead about halfway around — sheep-pasture walls still visible in the woods. Dogs aren't allowed since it's Science Center property, and the trail closes November through April.
A loop most locals rate above West Rattlesnake once the initial crowds thin out — two connected peaks in the Sandwich Range with a short ladder section near the top and views that take in both Squam and Winnipesaukee from the same ledge. Rated among the harder trails on the Squam Lakes Association's own list, not a stroller hike. Start early; the loop takes most of a morning.
A flat, easy walk out to a wooded peninsula on Squam's south shore, ending at rock ledges people use for swimming and a picnic once they've walked in. Paddlers reach the same point by kayak from the Association's put-in, the better call on a hot afternoon since trailhead parking is limited. No motors allowed in the cove at the point — one of several quiet-water zones the Association enforces.
A genuine sand beach on Squam's Sandwich Bay side, but it isn't a walk-up public beach — Sandwich issues facility stickers to residents and to renters whose landlord provides one, and the town's guest-pass exception doesn't cover it. Worth asking about when booking a Sandwich-side rental. Without the sticker, the swim options default to a private dock or the Science Center's cruise instead.
The only store on Squam with its own dock — tie up past Walter's Basin and walk the path in. Deli sandwiches, prepared dinners that just need reheating, and an espresso bar pouring Cafe Monte Alto, roasted twenty minutes south in Plymouth. Fresh seafood comes in Wednesdays and Fridays. Open daily, 7:30 to 6, which covers both the coffee run and the last-minute bottle of wine before dinner.
In the same Route 3 location since the early 1900s, run by the Daigneault family since 1987 — pontoons, Boston Whalers, and outboards for rent, plus a fuel dock and Mercury- and Evinrude-certified mechanics if something on a private boat needs fixing mid-week. The default rental outfit locals send visitors to first, before Holderness Harbor or the Association's kayaks.
A full-service marina at the north end of the Route 3 strip, with a no-wake cove for boathouse and open-slip rentals plus a ship store and showers for anyone staying aboard. The rental fleet runs from kayaks to bow riders, covering a week's spread of ability levels in one family. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 to 4 — call ahead for a slip on a holiday weekend.
Squam's conservation nonprofit runs the paddling side of the lake — kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards, life jackets included, for anyone who wants the quiet-water experience without owning a boat. Public rentals run Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day, full-day only, and the office keeps banker's hours the rest of the year. This is also the organization behind the no-wake rules that keep Squam this calm.
The state-run ramp for anyone trailering in a motorized boat rather than renting — a two-lane concrete launch off Route 113 with parking across the street. Free, open year-round, and jet skis aren't allowed on Squam at all, which is most of why the lake stays this calm on a Saturday. Parking fills by mid-morning in July; arrive early or rent from a livery instead.
Live native New Hampshire wildlife on a woodland trail — black bears and mountain lions among them — plus the Discover Squam Cruise on a canopied pontoon boat, ninety minutes, reservations required and paid in advance. Book the loon-focused version if the schedule lines up: a biologist from the Loon Preservation Committee rides along some Mondays and Fridays in summer. Park at the Science Center on Route 113 and walk the crossing path to the cruise dock.
The gallery that gives Center Sandwich its identity — founded in 1926 as Sandwich Home Industries and now the founding-member shop of the League of NH Craftsmen, juried pottery, glass, and woodwork on Main Street across from the town green. Open seasonally, mid-May through mid-October only, so a January drive-through means storefronts with the shades down. The town runs its Artisans on the Green fair here every August.