Version 4 of Winnipesaukee/Garmin is now available. 

Bizer has increased its $100 REWARD to $250.

Bizer's goal is to find and chart EVERY shallow area of Lake Winnipesaukee.  If you can find a place that's less than six feet deep that Bizer has failed to mark in blue, Bizer will give you a reward of $250.00. 

• The six foot depth is based on a fall lake level of 503.1 feet.  During periods of lower-than-normal water levels (e.g. summer of 1999), the depths must be adjusted.
• Bizer backs its depth information with cash.  The only guarantee that Duncan Press makes is: if there is a problem, they will replace the chart. 
• Bizer offered a reward of $100 from 2001 to 2005 when Bizer's reward was increased to $250.  Since 2002, Bizer has given four boaters a total of $850 for correcting Bizer's chart. 

No correction to Bizer's map is too small.  We don't care how trivial it is.  Maybe you know of a new No Rafting zone.  Maybe you know of a restaurant accessible by boat that recently opened (or closed).  Maybe you know of a new road that's not on our chart.  Maybe you know of a new cell tower (or other prominant object on land) that is visible from the lake. (Some people navigate by taking bearings on land objects).  email us at Notify19@bizer.com. We really do want to make this a perfect product.  With your help, we might just do it.

Lake Winnipesaukee's surface level is measured in feet.  Readings are made daily by the New Hampshire Department of Water Resources.  The datum (zero point) is 500 feet above sea level. Median heights are based upon data from 1984 through 2011.  As a rule of thumb, assume: High Tide: June;   Low Tide: February.  Temperature, (F), readings are taken at the Lakeport Dam about one foot below the surface. 

The below historical statistics are updated periodically: normally weekly or whenever the lake level changes unexpectedly by more than three inches. 

 2024    Actual  Deviation    Outflow at
 Date    Height  from Norm   Lakeport Dam
--------- ----     --.--  TEMP ---- ---
07/08 Mon 3.82     - .24        250 CFS
07/18 Thu 3.70     - .38        350 CFS
07/25 Thu 3.61     - .40        290 CFS
08/01 Thu 3.48     - .41        270 CFS
08/08 Thu 3.56     - .30        270 CFS
08/16 Fri 3.60     - .14        250 CFS
08/23 Fri 3.58     - .09        250 CFS
08/29 Thu 3.51     - .08        360 CFS
09/13 Fri 3.10     - .31        270 CFS
09/19 Thu 3.02     - .29        270 CFS
09/26 Thu 2.92     - .32        270 CFS
10/03 Thu 3.00     - .20        270 CFS
10/10 Thu 2.86     - .26        270 CFS
10/18 Fri 2.81     - .37         50 CFS
10/24 Thu 2.80     - .40         50 CFS
11/05 Tue 2.46     - .64       1000 CFS
11/15 Fri 2.25     - .83        250 CFS
*--------------------------------------

 

For height above sea level, add 500 feet
Click here for NH DES graph of the last two weeks.

Notes:

• The flow is the amount of water leaving Lake Winnipesaukee at the Lakeport Dam.  It is measured in cubic feet per second (CFS).  To put this in perspective, 1920 CFS is enough to fill about 45 swimming pools each minute.  For a period of 24 hours, 1920 CFS yields 1.24 billion gallons, or enough water to lower the level of Lake Winnipesaukee one inch.  The flow fluctuates depending on the time of year and the lake's height.  The long-term average is about 550 CFS. 
• Bridge heights reported on Bizer's chart assume a full lake level of 4.3 feet.  To calculate today's bridge clearance for any bridge on Lake Winnipesaukee, add 4.3 feet to the height shown on Bizer's chart.  Then subtract the most recent lake surface-level reading to obtain the actual clearance of any bridge.  For example: to compute the clearance of the Long Island Bridge on 14-SEP-2023, add the published bridge clearance (7.7 feet) to the full lake reading of 4.3 feet to get a subtotal of 12.0 feet.  Now subtract the September 14th surface-level reading of 3.5 feet to get the actual clearance of 8.5 feet.

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Additions & corrections to Bizer's twelfth edition (2019) Winnipesaukee chart.

Bizer printed two editions in 2019: 12 and 12B.  Prior to 2019, Bizer's folded-laminated chart was produced by printing the map on posterboard and cutting the map into four sections for laminating.  Some boaters commented that the map was difficult to use when crossing from one quarter to another.  For edition 12, which is only available in laminated-quarters, four separate maps were printed.  Each quarter has an 8mm (1/3 inch) overlap with the adjoining map so there is continuity when navigating from one quarter to another quarter. 

Edition 12B is the folded-waterproof version of Bizer's Winnipesaukee chart.  Edition 12B was printed in September, 2019, after edition 12.  It contains only two minor changes from edition 12. 

Corrections & changes: The map grid is enclosed in [brackets]

• Editions 14 and earlier: A new 4-foot shallow area has been found in Peggy's Cove, just south of Echo Point in Alton.  On Bizer's chart, it is about one eighth inch (3mm) to the left of the "18" foot depth south of Echo Point.  (September, 2022)
• Editions 14 and earlier: A new 4 foot shallow area has been reported to Bizer.  It is 47m (150 ft) west of Treasure Island, Grid G-14.  On Bizer's chart this is about half way between the "C" in "Cub I." and the bottom of the "$" in Treasure Island.
• Editions 14 and earlier: There is a new NO-WAKE zone between Lockes Island and Pig Island.  The eastern boundary runs from (A) the black-and-white buoy southeast of Lockes Island to (B) the NO-WAKE buoy southeast of Pig Island. The western boundary runs from (C) Light #53 off Lockes Island to (D) a small cove on Varney Point that is\ about 150m west of Pig Island. (May, 2022)
• Edition 12 (laminated-quarters) only: The definition of the speed limit in a NO WAKE area has been changed (see paragraph in lower left corner of map).  Remove the words, "6 miles per hour or".  The first sentence was changed to, "The maximum speed in a NO-WAKE area is the slowest speed that a boat can be operated and mintain steerage way." 
• Edition 12 (laminated-quarters) only: Remove the boating route between Big Island and Little Island in Paugus Bay.  While the area is safe IF YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING, the route was removed because many boaters (usually first-time renters) were not staying on the narrow safe-route between the two islands. 

The map grid is enclosed in [brackets]

• Aug-2018 - On all Bizer's charts since 1996, Bizer states "The maximum speed in a NO WAKE area is six miles per hour." In future versions, Bizer's chart will state the complete law: "The maximum speed in a NO-WAKE area is 6 miles per hour or the slowest speed that a boat can be operated and mintain steerage way."
• Mar-2018 - This only applies to Bizer's waterproof (not laminated) version of Winnipesaukee.  The back of the chart has map enlargements of the areas near public docking facilities in Alton, Center Harbor, Meredith, Weirs, and Wolfeboro.  Someone noticed that many of the restaurants shown on the back have closed their doors or been renamed.  See Bizer's web page for a more-current list of places to eat by boat.
• Feb-2018 - The lone red-and-white spar buoy 400m (1/4 mile) northwest of Sawyer's Point (800m north-northeast of the Graveyard) has been removed and will not be replaced.  It marks an eight (8) foot depth (as depicted on Bizer's chart) which has been deemed not worthy of a buoy.
• Feb-2018 - There have been several groundings between Big Island and Little Island in Paugus Bay.  The Marine Patrol is considering placing channel markers in this area for better clarity.  Channel markers are paired red/black buoys to mark a channel similar to Six Pack (Long Island) and The Graveyard)
• Jan-2018 - The private airport in Melvin Village (Grid A7) has been deleted as it no longer appears on aeronautical charts.
• Apr-2017 - East Coast Flightcraft has taken over Weirs Pier.  They report the following services for boaters: Open 8am-8pm through October 1st; Boat Fuel; Boat servicing; Rest Rooms for customers; Convenience Store,
• 2016 - For those of you asking what happened to Bizer's 10th edition, that edition was printed in paper only for wall mounting.  Only those ninth edition corrections discovered after June, 2015, need be applied to the tenth edition paper chart.