Alton Bay Is Getting a Camera Built for Pilots. Residents Get the View, Too.

On February 16, 2026, a pilot drew a smiley face in the sky over Alton Bay. Earlier that day the ice runway had logged its 765th landing of the winter, which broke the 764 it recorded during its record 2025 season. By evening the count stood at 774, "with more to come." The base announced it on Facebook, and General Aviation News picked it up. The runway stayed open until March 4.

The airport stays open after the ice goes out. The State of New Hampshire lists Alton Bay as a seaplane base in summer as well as a plowed runway in winter. This fall the town took up two projects that would make that year-round airport much easier to see from shore. One is a live camera and weather station on the water bandstand, which the Selectboard approved in September. The other is a proposed seaplane dock beside the town beach, which has not yet been decided.

Four to Eight Weeks a Year, the Bay Is an Airport

The official name is the Alton Bay Seaplane Base and Ice Runway, and its FAA identifier is B18. According to the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, the state owns, operates and manages it through the Bureau of Aeronautics. In winter, Bureau staff plow the runway, a parallel taxiway and a parking area to a fixed plan set and GPS coordinates. The DOT describes a season of four to eight weeks and says the runway "can be one of the busiest airports in the state on winter weekends."

Last winter fit that window. AOPA reported that the runway opened January 31, 2026, after weeks of ice measurements and snow removal. Crews checked ice thickness about every 400 feet across the runway, taxiway and ramp, and flying began once the ramp reached the required 12 inches. Opening day brought 82 landings on Runway 1/19, which runs 2,600 feet long and 100 feet wide across the frozen bay. On February 3, the base counted 112 landings, a number it said "might be a record for a weekday."

Weather still decides when the airport runs. A snowstorm closed the runway around February 11. The base posted that plowing was scheduled for the next day and that it planned to reopen "on Friday the 13th at 0800." The Recreational Aviation Foundation listed the runway as closed for the season as of March 4, 2026.

AOPA calls it the only officially recognized seasonal ice runway in the contiguous United States, first established in the 1960s. A visiting pilot from Michigan described the scene on the ice to AOPA as "fishermen there fishing on the side," along with snowmobiles, food trucks and people walking their dogs. He called it "a winter version of Oshkosh."

For most of the year, though, nothing on shore shows that any of this exists.

The Committee Wanted Eyes on the Bay Before Ice-In

That begins to change at the water bandstand. The Laconia Daily Sun reported that on September 22 the Alton Selectboard unanimously approved a weather station and live camera at the bandstand, with no equipment cost to the town. Chair Paul LaRochelle manages the Alton Bay Seaplane Base and Ice Runway, so he recused himself from the vote, and Drew Carter chaired that part of the meeting.

LaRochelle first brought the idea to the board on September 9. He said the Seaplane Base and Ice Runway Committee had discussed it for several years, and he explained why the bay needed it in plain terms:

"We don't have anything right now, other than looking into Laconia. So, it would be helpful to pilots. It would be helpful for people going out on the water during the summer."

The details from that reporting show how small the project is:

• What it shows: 180 degrees of video down and up the bay, plus barometric pressure, temperature and wind speed.
• Where it goes: The camera mounts on the east side of the bandstand trim. The weather station goes on the roof or on the windsock itself. LaRochelle described both as "low profile" and only inches in size.
• Who pays: The committee buys the equipment with money raised from T-shirt sales, and LaRochelle put the cost at under $1,000. The committee also pays for a Wi-Fi booster off the community center signal and handles maintenance. The town covers only electricity and internet, which Carter called "next to nothing."
• How to watch: LaRochelle said the access code will be available at the community center, and the video will also play on the ice runway website and on YouTube.

Selectboard member Jack Sleeper said the station "offers added information to all residents, but also anyone coming to use the runway." The board also heard a suggestion that the stream could earn YouTube revenue. LaRochelle said nobody had pursued it, and that the camera was there "for the pleasure of the people to look out."

The committee built the camera for pilots, and the same feed gives every resident with a phone a live view of the bay.

A Summer Address for the Same Airport

The seaplane dock proposal would extend the airport's presence on shore into summer. On July 14, Thomas Wood, president of Epic Seaplane Adventures, asked the Selectboard for a 10-year capital lease on the town waterfront parcel between the Alton Bay town beach and Harmony Park so he could build and run a seaplane dock. The Laconia Daily Sun's account says his company would pay the full capital cost and would receive credit for that investment over 120 months instead of paying cash rent. When the lease ends, the town would own the dock.

Wood pointed out that Alton Bay is already a registered seaplane base and that planes once used it at Downing's Landing. What the bay lacks is the infrastructure. He said a dedicated dock would keep seaplanes away from the New Hampshire Fish and Game dock and would end attempts to land planes wherever shoreline happens to be open. His company would keep the commercial berth, and he said any other slips would be free and open to the public.

He chose the spot because it sits in a no-wake zone. According to the Sun, he said operating off the Weirs Beach pier had raised safety concerns because boat wakes push planes into docks. The dock would hold at least two planes, ideally in a U shape. He plans to fly a de Havilland Beaver that seats up to seven, plus a smaller four-seat aircraft, on a daytime-only schedule with no planes staying overnight. He said no town beach property would be lost, a walkway would lead to the dock, and pontoons shield the propellers, so the nearby swim rope would face no risk.

The timing also matters. Wood told the board that his business "picks up extremely during the October month, for foliage season." Busy October flying would fill the gap between the last boats of summer and the ice runway.

What Stands Between the Proposal and the Water

Selectboard member Richard Shea said there are always hidden costs and that legal counsel would likely be involved. Wood said he would cover those costs. According to the Sun's July report, the board laid out the following order of steps:

1. Talk with New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services staff about permitting limits.
2. Come back with a definitive plan that includes measurements.
3. Present it at a public hearing and take questions.
4. Put it on the next Town Warrant.

Chair LaRochelle also asked Wood whether he had considered other locations, and Wood said he was open to suggestions. Until a hearing is posted, the project remains a proposal. If it moves forward, residents will get to weigh in twice: once at the hearing and again when it reaches the warrant.

The Bay Floor Has Its Own History

Building anything new on Alton Bay's waterfront takes more than plans. This summer, the M/S Mount Washington's southernmost port showed how hard the existing structures can be to work with. In its own announcement, Mount Washington Cruises said the ship's Alton Bay stop depended on a "stern cluster," a freestanding deep-water piling system about 100 feet from the dock that the vessel rests against, which the company called essential for docking safely, especially on windy days.

The company said today's structures at its ports sit on top of "pilings, cribs, and foundations that have been there since the 19th and early 20th centuries," and that each site comes with its own wetlands footprint, lakebed composition and permitting history. To do the work, it chose Legacy Lake Builders, which operates alongside Goodhue Boat Company, as its official shore infrastructure partner, and it announced the ship's return to Alton Bay for August 9. The company listed its 2026 season as running May 16 through October 18.

A new seaplane dock would be built over that same lakebed, which is why the board's first step for the proposal was a conversation with DES.

Where to Watch This Winter

The 2026–27 ice runway season will depend on the ice, and AOPA notes that openings depend on the weather and are temporary. Last winter shows how a season can unfold:

The base posts runway status, storm closures and reopening plans on the Alton Bay Seaplane Base and Ice Runway Facebook page, which the state DOT links from its directory listing. If you're heading out on the plowed ice, AOPA reports that volunteers warn it can be slippery and recommend proper footwear and cold-weather gear. Once the bandstand camera goes live, you can stop by the community center for the access code and see wind and temperature on the bay before you go.

Ellen and Jill follow Alton Bay's waterfront decisions closely, from the bandstand to the town beach. If the seaplane dock hearing or a shoreline project near you raises questions about your own waterfront, Mulligan Property Group is glad to talk it through. Schedule a private consultation.