Lake Sunapee's Lake Host Program

The Lake Host program, managed in collaboration with NH LAKES, is a complimentary boat inspection program to look for and remove any aquatic invasive species (AIS). Lake Hosts educate boaters about how to prevent the spread of invasive species and why it's important to Clean, Drain, & Dry watercraft and gear between waterbodies.

The Lake Sunapee Lake Host program covers all five ramps on the lake and usually consists of ten or more hosts who are on duty from May through September.

In 2024, 12 paid and three volunteer Lake Hosts conducted a total of 5,531 inspections. A critical ‘save’ happened on Memorial Day when a Lake Host found a piece of invasive curly-leaf pondweed on the trailer of a departing boat at the boat ramp in Georges Mills. We found a small patch of the invasive plant in the lake and hired trained divers to remove approximately 15 plants before they could spread throughout Lake Sunapee. Our great partnerships with NH LAKES, NHDES, and the Town of Sunapee made this success story possible. 

If you would like to become a Lake Host, please contact Susie Burbidge at susieb@lakesunapee.org or fill out this form with NH LAKES.

Click here for a list of boat friendly car washes courtesy of the NH LAKES.

Click here for an interactive map of parking in the Town of Sunapee

2024 Season Summary

Our Lake Hosts conducted over 5,500 courtesy boat inspections in 2024. The pie chart to the right displays the number of inspections by ramp (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 was one “save” on Lake Sunapee this year and seven 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.

History of the Lake Host Program on Lake Sunapee

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. In 2001, variable milfoil, an invasive aquatic plant, was first discovered in Georges Mills, and later in Sunapee Harbor. In both cases, LSPA, with the assistance of NHDES, successfully eradicated the plant.