Lake Sunapee's Lake Host Program

The Lake Host program at Lake Sunapee was originally established in 2000 and Hosts were called Launch Site Monitors. Currently, this program is administered by NH LAKES, a non-profit organization devoted to protecting NH waterbodies and we work in partnership with them to bring the program to Lake Sunapee.

The Lake Sunapee Lake Host program covers all five ramps on the lake and usually consists of ten or more Hosts.

Lake Hosts are on duty from May through September and perform courtesy boat inspections looking for and removing any aquatic invasive species (AIS). The Lake Hosts educate boaters about how to prevent the spread of AIS and why it's important to Clean, Drain, & Dry watercraft and gear between waterbodies. Any plants or animals found on boats and/or trailers are removed and disposed of by the Lake Host. If you are visiting Lake Sunapee, please clean drain and dry your boat, gear and anchor before launching into Lake Sunapee.

Click here if you need to find a boat friendly washing station courtesy of the NH LAKES.

Click here to see a video of where to park in Sunapee Harbor (courtesy of Sunapee Police Department).

Educational materials are also provided as needed. 

2023 Season Statistics

Twelve paid Lake Hosts conducted over 5,800 courtesy boat inspections in 2022. The chart below displays the number of watercraft inspections per ramp in 2023 (keep in mind that some watercraft may have been inspected twice in a given day, once upon arrival and again when departing the lake). There were no “saves” on Lake Sunapee this year but 9 were recorded by NH LAKES statewide. A '“save” is when an invasive plant or animal species is found either before a boat is launched or when a boat is departing a waterbody.

Click here to learn more about Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS).