Our first trip to Ragged Island was at least ten years ago, maybe more; a friend invited us to meet at Ragged Island. We said, “what’s Ragged Island?”. We soon learned that Ragged Island is a special gem of a place on Lake Winnipesaukee. An island owned by Lakes Region Conservation Trust and open to the public.
Back before Facebook was mainstream not many people knew that this eleven-acre island was open to the public. There was only one dock and it appeared as though it was a private residence. Now there are two docking areas and space for 5-6 boats to dock.
Many boats will anchor around the perimeter of the island in the shallow sandy areas and hop out into the water and walk to the island to walk the trail or have a picnic at one of the tables. Since our boat can’t be easily hopped off of, and certainly nearly impossible to get back onboard at our age, we need to be able to dock to get on the island.
With the growing popularity of the island, it became increasingly difficult to get a slip. It is a bit frustrating to boat over intending to spend some time enjoying the sunset while having cocktails and food. So we put it on the back burner and gave up.
Ragged was a favorite for Homer. He would get off of the boat and start to explore. He would bushwhack and walk the trail; we didn’t see him for a while as he enjoyed the freedom. Now that Homer has advanced degenerative myelopathy, we wanted to get him back to the island (and let’s not say it may be his last time there).
We scheduled for a Thursday September 8. After Labor Day and during the week we should have a good chance to be able to dock and have a spot on the porch for a picnic dinner. Friends met up with us there and we all brought food to share.
The weather was absolutely perfect! No clouds, no wind, temps in low 70’s then dropping below that with an almost full moon for the ride home. What a blessing.
Homer did enjoy his time on the island. It was, however, sad to see that the ability for him to be free to explore was gone.
Get the full experience of our evening watching our video.
Our dinner was an abundance of good food. I love how potlucks work out with a variety of different dishes that are delicious together.
FYI, there is an outhouse on the island.
Good friends, good food, good dog, an outhouse, and a beautiful place to live and enjoy. We are grateful.
Resources & Links