Winnipesaukee River

The Winnipesaukee River is a 10.5-mile river in New Hampshire's Lakes Region. It links Lake Winnipesaukee with the Pemigewasset and Merrimack rivers and drains about 488 square miles. The river begins at the dam at Lake Winnipesaukee's outlet in the Lakeport section of Laconia and runs almost immediately into Opechee Bay. It leaves the bay over a dam and drops for about 1 mile through central Laconia, past 19th-century industrial buildings, into Lake Winnisquam. From there a 5-mile stretch across Winnisquam leads to the outlet dam and on to Silver Lake. The lower river starts at Silver Lake's natural outlet on the Belmont-Tilton line. It passes through the twin towns of Tilton and Northfield, then descends a narrow valley to Franklin, where small dams use its power. Just downstream of Franklin's center it joins the Pemigewasset to form the Merrimack. The USGS keeps a stream gage at Tilton.

The State of New Hampshire maintains a public boat launch on the river off Shaker Road in Northfield, set in a cove near the Route 140 bridge. Carry-in sites include Rotary Park in Laconia, Riverfront Park in Tilton, Cross Mill Road in Northfield, and Trestle View Park in Franklin. American Whitewater rates the 2-mile reach from Tilton Road to Riverfront Park as Class I-II. Between Tilton and Franklin the river drops as much as 90 feet per mile. Whitewater paddlers put in at Cross Mill Bridge and take out at the U.S. Route 3 Sanborn Bridge in downtown Franklin.

In downtown Franklin, Mill City Park is a nonprofit that runs New England's first whitewater park. Construction began in 2021, and the first phase opened with a standing wave and an amphitheater on the river's south bank.