Location
Sandy Island, Lake Winnipesaukee — "The Smile of the Great Spirit"
Camp Nakamoto takes place on a 66-acre private island in the middle of New Hampshire's largest lake. No roads. No cars. No distractions. Just 72 square miles of crystal-clear water, pine-covered shoreline, and some of the best sunsets in the Northeast.
The Abenaki people called this lake Winnipesaukee — "The Smile of the Great Spirit." According to legend, a chief's daughter was married on these waters. Dark storm clouds suddenly parted, the sun broke through and shone on the couple's departing canoe, and the chief declared the lake blessed. One look at sunset from the dock and you'll understand why the name stuck for a thousand years.
The Island
125+ Years of History
Sandy Island has hosted campers since 1899 — over 125 years of continuous operation, making it one of the oldest camp facilities in the country. Author John Updike worked here in the 1950s and was so moved by the place that he wrote a short story about it. One camper, Alice Erickson, came back for 75 consecutive summers starting in 1934.
This isn't a convention center. It's not a hotel. It's a place that has been pulling people back for over a century because nothing else feels quite like it.
The Lake
72 Square Miles of Pristine Water
Lake Winnipesaukee is an oligotrophic lake — spring-fed, low-nutrient, with 27 to 29 feet of average water clarity. That means you can see the bottom. It holds 625 billion gallons across 72 square miles, with over 260 islands scattered throughout. Legend says there are 365 — one for each day of the year.
The lake sits at 504 feet of elevation in the foothills of the White Mountains. From Sandy Island you can see mountain ranges in three directions — the Ossipee Range to the northeast, the Belknaps to the southwest, and on clear days, the Presidential Range including Mount Washington to the north.
Waterfront Living
Your cabin sits steps from the shore. Sandy beaches, sheltered coves, and pine groves line the island. Swim before breakfast. Kayak after lunch. Watch the sun drop behind the mountains from your porch. The only thing between you and the water is a short walk through the pines.
The town of Wolfeboro, on the lake's eastern shore, has been a vacation destination since the 1760s — making it the oldest summer resort in the United States. You're not just visiting a lake. You're visiting the lake that invented the American summer getaway.
Getting There
Leave the Mainland Behind
Drive to our dock in Mirror Lake, NH. Park your car. Board the ferry. That ferry ride across the open water is the moment the outside world falls away. No more roads, no more traffic, no more noise. Just the sound of water against the hull and the growing silhouette of pine-covered Sandy Island ahead.
When you step off the boat, your luggage is already at your cabin. Your adventure has already begun.
Fun fact: Sandy Island is one of eight islands served by the M/V Sophie C — America's oldest floating post office and the only one on an inland waterway. It's been delivering mail to lake islands since 1892. Send a postcard home stamped from the water.
After Dark
Dark Skies, Bright Stars
No streetlights. No car headlights. No light pollution. On a moonless night, the Milky Way stretches directly overhead. You'll see constellations, satellites, and shooting stars with your naked eye — the kind of sky most people haven't seen since childhood.
The Sound of Loons
After dinner, walk down to the dock. As the sun sets, you'll hear them — the haunting, unmistakable call of loons echoing across the water. Their calls have been described as "the embodiment of wildness and the soul of solitude." It's the sound of a place untouched. It's the sound of Lake Winnipesaukee.
The Bottom Line
You're not attending a conference in a hotel ballroom. You're spending three days on a private island in the middle of a pristine New Hampshire lake, surrounded by mountains, sleeping in lakeside cabins, eating lobster and steak, debating the future of money around a bonfire, and falling asleep to the sound of loons. This is Camp Nakamoto. Nothing else comes close.