Lakeside Vacation Cottage

This was a wonderful getaway that felt safe for our family during Covid. We chose this location to have access to the White Mountains with a lake front place to relax after hikes and on non-hiking days. It ended up that we weren’t able to hike as much as planned, so we were so glad to have such a wonderful lakefront place to be. Crystal Lake is clean and deep, perfect for long swims or playing at the dock and raft. They provide kayaks and canoes along with plenty of life jackets in many sizes. This was a perfect place for our dogs, as they were welcome on the beach with us and there were many other dogs. Darcy and Dave helped is right away to tell us the personalities of different dogs so that we were all able to manage peaceful intermingling. One consideration is that the cabins are close and no sound proofed so if you have dogs that bar at every little thing, you’ll have to manage that. We do so we kept them with us, but we know that about our guys. The cabin was clean and very well equipped. It had a washer and drier in the bathroom, and plenty of cleaning products and paper goods. The owners were extremely hospitable, all greeting us and going above and beyond to make us feel comfortable. Art is a great source of knowledge about hiking. We considered an indoor fire one night due to rain before we realized it would get too hot and Dave chopped kindling for us and brought it to our door. We had a lovely evening with everyone around a fire with cocktails and s’mores. You are sharing this property with a couple of other guests and Sue and Art’s family, but they are lovely people who go out of their way to take care of their guests and allow them their own space too.

My wife and our two boys, aged 2 and 4 were looking for a place close to a lake, but far enough away that our boys couldn’t simply run into the water. We didn’t want to be on top of a steep rock wall to get to the lake either. We wanted a place we could bring our family dog. We wanted a place that we could enjoy a good old fashioned family vacation. This place checked all the boxes. We had been to Winnipesaukee before and loved all it had to offer, but had found it hard to find a house to rent that offered all of the things we wanted while being in our price range. Not to mention that we wanted to have a nice beach on a lake. The beach at Crystal Acres is perfect for the children to play, the dog to enjoy and for my wife and I to go and sit in one of the Adirondack chairs and watch the kids in the refreshing lake against the most beautiful backdrop of the Belknap mountains. Both the Cloutman’s and other guests are respectful of others while being warm and appreciative that you chose their place to stay. They provide paddle boats, row boats, and life vests amongst other things for you to enjoy the lake. We don’t get as much time with our kids as we would like and I was so grateful to have taken my older one for a row boat ride onto the lake. It was the definition of family and/of father son bonding.

There are 2-3 cabins/homes on the property so you will most likely see others on the property throughout the week. Everyone is very friendly while also being polite and respectful that everyone else is there for the same reason...their own vacation. We were lucky enough to have been there when the Cloutman’s had there daughter, son in law and 2 grandchildren there. They couldn’t have been a more accommodating family. Our children played together and we enjoyed their company, but they were also so attentive to letting us enjoy our family time. From the property we made regular trips to Alton bay, weirs beach, Harts, and to Storyland, and felt as if we were both in a secluded beachfront lake spot in a beautiful clean refreshing lake while being minutes away from all that Winnipesaukee offered. Our family is so grateful to have found this property and these hosts to have enjoyed our summer vacations the past 2 years. Time seems to slow down when you’re there. For a family that’s always on the move and doesn’t get to enjoy our own time together much, Crystal Acres gives us exactly what we need.

Our family had the most wonderful week staying in the "Villa" at Crystal Acres. The cottage itself was so cozy - the bathtub, laundry and TV with Netflix were a huge bonus for a family with three small children! The kids loved running around the property with Sue's (the owner's) grandchildren, jumping off of the piers, playing shuffleboard, digging moats in the sand with the large collection of sand toys, making s'mores in the fire pit, and touring the beautiful lake in the canoes, paddle boat, kayaks, various inflatable floats, and especially the kids kayak! Sue and her family were absolutely lovely, and we loved hearing about the history of the lake and the property - what a special place!! We felt like the cottage was just the right mix of being in a secluded, quiet location, while being within driving distance of civilization for grocery stores and little trips out to dinner or ice cream around the bigger lakes (we went to Weirs Beach, Wolfboro, to the Speedway in Loudon, and for a hike up Mount Major). Sue and her family have a wealth of knowledge and great recommendations for tucked away spots to check out around the area too. We can't wait for our stay on Crystal Lake next summer!