Busy little place near a great big lake

If you haven’t been to Meredith on Lake Winnipesaukee since the days when you were a child vacationing with your parents you may not recognize the place. Long a sleepy little town on winding Route 3, Meredith is now a bustling tourist destination, with new hotels, restaurants, marinas, and stores - along with some old ones - offering boating, fine dining, quality stays, and killer views of Meredith Bay on which its main village sits.

STAY

Church Landing at Mills Falls (281 Daniel Webster Highway, 800-622-6455, millfalls.com/inns/church_landing.htm, rates $239-$269) is the prime spot to stay on the water, located on the site of an old church that owner Rusty McLear turned into an Adirondack-style lodge. It is the biggest hotel in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, featuring well-appointed rooms facing the water and a swimming pool that starts indoors and opens to the outside. Check out its Cascade Spa for an aptly named Tranquility Massage for $100. The Meredith Inn (Main and Waukewan streets, 603-279-0000, www.meredithinn.com, rates from $139), a bed-and-breakfast of Victorian design, sits steps away from the town’s shops and restaurants. Oliver Lodge (92 Powers Road, 603-279-3940, www.oliverlodge.com, rates from $1,000 a week) is a terrific family getaway with five houses and a main lodge on five private acres of Winnipesaukee shoreline.