Burkehaven Lighthouse
Lake Sunapee, NH
Sunapee, New Hampshire
Built in 1893
Location:
Located just offshore on a rock near the tip of Burkehaven Isle in Lake Sunapee, south of Sunapee Harbor.
Latitude: 43° 22' 18" N
Longitude: 72° 03' 57" W
Historic Stories:
The original lighthouse was built in the 1893 by the Woodsum Brothers along with two other lighthouses on Lake Sunapee to protect their interests in the steamship service that they offered for travelers who would frequent the many resorts along the shoreline of Lake Sunapee. In the 1930's, due to the economic hardship of the government and local communities from the Great Depression, the region was hard hit which resulted in the dramatic decline of steamship travel and tourism in the area. Steamship travel never recovered here and ended abruptly.
In 1935, Burkehaven light was destroyed by ice and was left to further deteriorate from lack of funding for repairs, due again to the Great Depression.
| In 1983, the Lake Sunapee Protective Association raised funds and rebuilt the lighthouse. By 1994 the crib on which the lighthouse stands had again been badly damaged by ice and was rebuilt again. | 
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Places to Visit Nearby:
Sunapee Harbor is very rustic as if stuck in time. It has a quaint country store and a few specialty shops, artists' galleries, restaurants, and entertainment.
The Lake Sunapee region is named for the spectacular lake and the mountain that rises from its southern shore, it is nine miles long and three miles wide.
| Lake Sunapee’s rocky shore with its three working lighthouses also contains many private and public beaches, especially the public beach at Mt. Sunapee State Park. |  |
You can also hike some of the well-marked trails on Mt. Sunapee, which is also a favorite skiing spot in the winter. Each August the State Park is the site for the nation's oldest crafts event, the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen's Fair.
Mount Sunapee is a 5-mile long mountain ridge in the towns of Newbury and Goshen in western New Hampshire.
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The state park's extensive trail system is used in all seasons for hiking and in winter for snowshoeing. |
The Mount Sunapee State Park is used by visitors who prefer a more rustic appeal to the area, without the amenities. In the winter, alpine skiing is available at the Mt Sunapee resort. There are three trails that lead from the base to the summit of Mount Sunapee. Near the top of Mount Sunapee, about a mile hike from the summit lodge, is Lake Solitude. This small isolated lake is in the crater of an ancient volcano.
- The Province Trail leads from the base of the Mount Sunapee ski area to the summit of Sunapee Mountain. From the trailhead to the summit is about 3 miles.
- The Newbury Trail leads from near the shore of Lake Sunapee to Lake Solitude on Sunapee Mountain
- The Andrew Brook Trail leads from Mountain Road in Newbury to Lake Solitude high on the flank of Sunapee Mountain. It also provides access to the 75-mile loop Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway Trail and the 50-mile Monadnock Sunapee Greenway Trail.
Mt. Kearsage Indian Museum is an educational museum about Native American cultures and environmental responsibility.
Explore the 200-year-old Ruggles Mine in Grafton with its giant rock rooms and tunnels.
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Along with plenty of antique shops in the regions, the grand daddy of them all is the spacious Prospect Hill Antiques and Home Furnishings store in Georges Mills. |
Mount Sunapee is also a link within two long-distance trails: Monadnock Sunapee Greenway and the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway for the serious hikers.
- The Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway is a 49-mile hiking trail that runs between Mount Monadnock and Mount Sunapee. It is located in southwestern New Hampshire with scenic rolling hills and ridges in between these two favorite mountains.
- The Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway (SRKG) is a 75-mile beautiful hiking trail located about 25 miles northwest of Concord, New Hampshire. This route forms a big loop that can be hiked using fourteen point-to-point day hikes ranging from 4–9 miles.
Directions to Sunapee Harbor:
All three lighthouses on Lake Sunapee are best viewed by boat.
- Coming up from the south take Route 89 to Exit 12A. Take a left at the end of the exit ramp.
- Or, coming down from the north take Route 89 to Exit 12A. Take a right at the end of the exit ramp.
- At the first light take a right onto Route 11, follow for three miles.
- Take a left at the blinking light, go up and over the hill.
- For more parking turn right up Burkehaven Hill Rd, where there are more spaces next to the bandstand.
Contact Info:
Lake Sunapee Protection Association
63 Main Street
PO Box 683
Sunapee NH 03782
Phone (603) 763-2210
Boat Tour on Lake Sunapee, NH
Sunapee Cruises
The M.V. Kearsarge, which includes dinner cruises, runs various tours that go past the lighthouses. The M.V. Mt Sunapee runs a lighthouse and nature tour every day in the summer.
Sunapee Harbor, Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire 03782
Phone (603) 763-4030
Email: tours@sunapeecruises.com
My 300-page book (with over 360 images), Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Northern New England: New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, published by Schiffer Publishing, provides human interest stories from each of the 76 lighthouses in the northeast, along with plenty of coastal attractions and tours near each beacon. Look inside! |
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