"We don't have anything right now, other than looking into Laconia," Paul LaRochelle told the Alton Selectboard at its September 9 meeting. He was talking about weather data for Alton Bay. For years, a pilot checking wind before landing on the ice and a resident deciding whether to take a boat out on a gusty afternoon had to rely on readings from another town.
On September 22, 2026, the board voted 3-0 to fix that. The water bandstand will get a live camera and a small weather station. Alton will pay nothing toward the equipment. The equipment is minor. What it shows about the bay matters more. Alton's recent waterfront decisions are being made for the months after the boats come out, when the bay's busiest traffic arrives by air.
What goes on the bandstand
The plan is deliberately small. The camera will mount on the east side of the bandstand trim. The weather station will sit on the roof or on the windsock itself. LaRochelle described both as "low profile" and only inches in size. The committee looked at other spots, including the community center, and settled on the bandstand.
The camera covers 180 degrees. "It's a 180 camera that will shoot down the bay, heading towards Sandy Point, and down to the south end heading to the bridge," LaRochelle said. "You'll be able to see the water and anything coming in, anything exiting." The weather station will report barometric pressure, temperature and wind speed.
The feed is live only. Town Administrator Ryan Heath confirmed that no video or audio will be recorded. The board was told the stream would run on the ice runway's online channels and on YouTube, and that the access code would be available at the community center. Coverage of the vote describes the installation as something still to come. Selectman Drew Carter also asked about the town docks, and LaRochelle said a second camera covering the other side could come before the board later if this one works well.
Paid for in T-shirts, run by the runway
The source of the money says a lot about the project. The Alton Bay Seaplane Base and Ice Runway Committee is buying the camera and weather station with money raised from T-shirt sales. It is also paying for a Wi-Fi booster off the community center's signal and will maintain the equipment. LaRochelle estimated the total at "less than $1,000." The town's only cost is electricity and internet, and Carter called the camera's power draw "next to nothing."
LaRochelle chairs the Selectboard and also manages the seaplane base and ice runway, so he stepped aside for the vote and gave the chair to Carter. He said the committee had talked about the camera "for a couple years," and he described it as "great for pilots in the winter" and also for year-round residents who can watch the video. Selectman Jack Sleeper called it "a no-brainer." The Baysider's October 1, 2026 roundup of board business reported the vote the same way, with the Runway Committee covering equipment, installation and maintenance.
A volunteer committee with T-shirt money doesn't spend it on summer boaters, who already have plenty of help. It spends it on the season it exists for.
The season that made the case
Alton Bay is listed by NHDOT as airport B18. In summer it is a public-use seaplane base. In winter, ice permitting, it becomes a plowed ice runway, and it is the only FAA-certified ice runway in the Lower 48. Last winter was its busiest on record.
| 2026 ice runway season | Figure |
|---|---|
| Opening day | January 31 |
| Landings on opening day | 82 |
| Closed for the season | by March 4 |
| Days open | parts of 19 days across five weeks |
| Total landings, 2026 | 1,011 |
| Total landings, 2025 | 764, the previous record, per Photorecon |
| Accidents | none |
Using Photorecon's 2025 figure, that works out to roughly a third more landings, packed into about five weeks. New Hampshire Magazine put the 2025 count lower, at 733, which would make the 2026 jump even bigger. The visitors came from farther away, too. Ken Kula's season recap for Photorecon, published April 9, 2026, noted an arrival from Daytona, Florida, the runway's first foreign visitor in a Canadian-registered Piper Tri-Pacer, and a Cessna Caravan as the largest aircraft on the ice.
Weather is the reason the camera matters here. The runway opens only when there is at least a foot of ice across the whole operating area. That area includes a 2,600-foot runway, a parallel taxiway and a parking ramp that holds about two dozen aircraft. Winds have to come out of the north at a reasonable speed, and a wet surface can shut the field down even on a clear day. A pilot deciding whether to fly in from out of state has needed exactly what the bandstand camera will provide: live wind and a look down the bay from Alton itself.
People on the ground do much of the work. NHDOT's Bureau of Aeronautics plows the runway, parallel taxiway and parking area to a set plan and GPS coordinates. New Hampshire Magazine reported in November 2025 that volunteers and state staff mark and shovel those areas and direct and park aircraft, and that clearing and resetting after even a minor snowfall can take six to eight hours.
A dock pitched for October
The second proposal moves the bay's aviation calendar earlier in the year. On July 14, 2026, Thomas Wood, president of Epic Seaplane Adventures, asked the Selectboard for a 10-year capital lease on the waterfront parcel between Alton Town Beach and Harmony Park. He wants to build and operate a seaplane dock there. His appearance had been pushed from the June 23 meeting.
Under his proposal, Epic Seaplane pays for construction and gets credit for that investment over 120 months instead of paying cash rent. When the term ends, the town owns the dock. His company would keep a commercial berth, and any remaining slips would be free and open to the public. He described a dock for "at least" two planes, ideally U-shaped, running daytime scenic tours and charters in a de Havilland Beaver that seats up to seven, along with a smaller four-seat plane. No planes would stay overnight.
Wood's reasons tie back to the bay's aviation history. Alton Bay is already a registered seaplane base and once operated as one at Downings Landing, but it has no dock. He said pilots have tried to tie up where there isn't a spot, and that a dedicated dock would keep seaplanes away from the New Hampshire Fish and Game dock. He picked the site because it is in a no-wake zone. At the Weirs Beach pier, he said, boat wakes slam planes into the docks.
The detail that ties his proposal to the camera came near the end of his pitch. "Our business picks up extremely during the October month, for foliage season," Wood said. He expects most activity in the fall, and he presented the dock as a four-season attraction.
For now it remains a proposal. LaRochelle told Wood to come back with a definitive plan, including measurements, and present it at a public hearing. After that it would need a place on the next Town Warrant. The board also recommended that he talk with NHDES staff about permitting. Alton held its 2026 ballot vote on March 10, months before the pitch, so this year's warrant didn't include it.
The bay between now and ice
Taken together, the camera, the record season and the dock pitch point the same direction. Alton Bay's aviation calendar is getting longer, and fall is when it changes over. Here is what the next few months look like from the shore:
- October 25 is the last day of the 2026 season at Shibley's at the Pier, which is serving lunch only through the close.
- Bayside Diner and Eatery has hours in its 2026 Alton Business Association listing of 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays. Call ahead to confirm winter hours.
- Early December is when the Alton Bay Ice Runway Facebook page usually starts filling up, according to Kula's recap. NHDOT's B18 page links to that Facebook page, and the two are the places to check ice conditions and operating notices.
- Opening day depends on a foot of ice. Last winter it came on January 31.
On the ice, the crowd goes well beyond pilots. Coverage of recent seasons describes spectators with lawn chairs, people taking photos and walking dogs, ice fishermen and snowmobilers all around the runway. AOPA's 2026 report recommended checking current advisories and wearing proper footwear and cold-weather gear, because plowed ice gets slippery. Kula noted that several restaurants near the cove serve breakfast and lunch, and that pilots, passengers and spectators all use them. New Hampshire Magazine reported that pilots who show their ice-chip token can get a meal discount.
The busiest day last winter ran on the same model of volunteers and local businesses. The Alton Bay Winter Carnival on Sunday, February 15, 2026 was planned with the runway expected to be open. Parking at the Bay was limited, so organizers ran a free continuous-loop shuttle from Alton Central School. If the bandstand camera is streaming by then, anyone in town will be able to check the wind on the bay from their kitchen before deciding whether to make the drive.
Questions about owning on Alton Bay often come up in winter: how the water behaves past October, what the ice season brings to the shoreline, and which stretches of the bay stay busy year-round. Lake Mountain Property Group follows Alton's waterfront through all four seasons and can talk through any of them with you. Start your lake property search with a team that keeps up with the bay's whole calendar.
