Swimming
When is the best time to go to the beach?
The best time to go SWIMMING is from the end of June through the end of August, when the water temperature is in the 70ºs—cool, clear and refreshing. In late May, early June, and September, water temperature is in the 60ºs —brisk and invigorating for a short dip. From October through April, water temperature is in the 50ºs or lower—time to put away the bathing suit. To see a typical summer’s worth of water temperature data, click here.
You can check the current water temperature at Weirs Beach, from the State of NH’s Lake Winnipesaukee monitoring station, by clicking here. Find the Lake Winnipesaukee monitoring station by moving your cursor over the triangles on the NH map. Click on the Lake Winnipesaukee triangle. Then, find the drop-down marked “Observed Reservoir Pool Elevation”. Change the drop-down to “Water Temperature”. You will see a graph with a month’s worth of lake temperatures. To see today’s water temperature, move your cursor until it is over the last dot in the graph.
The State of New Hampshire’s Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) monitors the water quality of the beach at three different locations to make sure that it is safe for swimming. Each summer, the department sets up a Beach Monitoring Station at Weirs Beach, and a website where the results are reported. You can check the current status of Weirs Beach for swimming by clicking here. If the Beach is closed, it is usually only closed for a day or two. Longer term closures are rare.
HISTORIC BEACH PHOTOS
In this circa 1958 photo, the public docks have not yet been extended South past the footbridge. Note the little shack at the bottom of the stairs to the beach – purpose unknown.
Beautiful 1960’s beach scenes, showing the Mount departing Weirs Beach.
At the center of the photo is the boulder at Interlaken Park from where many pictures where taken of Weirs Beach from the 1900’s through the 1940’s.
More postcards of beautiful Weirs Beach.
Postcard of Weirs Beach from the early 1950’s. Part of this image is used for the logo atop the series of historical signs on the Weirs Beach boardwalk.
Linen postcard from the early 1950’s. Note the roof of the Endicott Rock Monument, off in the distance in the background of the photo, which has been mistakenly colorized red. The roof has always been natural unpainted stone. Also one can see that the beach does not extend as far as the monument. In the early 1950’s when the beach was first created, and when this photo was taken, the beach had only been half built, starting from the north end, nearest the public docks. Fairly wide at the time, it was only a few years before erosion narrowed the north end of the beach, moving most of the beach sand south towards the Weirs Channel end of the beach. Click here to see a 1952 aerial photo of the half-built beach.