Editing Laconia, New Hampshire (section)

== Geography ==
Laconia is located northwest of the geographic center of Belknap County. The city lies at the center of [[New Hampshire]]'s [[Lakes Region (New Hampshire)|Lakes Region]], and all or part of four major bodies of water lie within its limits: [[Lake Winnipesaukee]], [[Lake Winnisquam]], [[Opechee Bay]] and [[Paugus Bay]] (sometimes counted as an arm of Winnipesaukee, but historically a separate body of water).

Laconia contains three main villages. Downtown Laconia, where the Belknap County Courthouse is located, can be found in the southern tip of the city, along the [[Winnipesaukee River]] between Opechee Bay to the north and Lake Winnisquam to the southwest. [[Lakeport, New Hampshire|Lakeport]], located between Opeechee Bay and Paugus Bay, is near the geographic center of the city. [[Weirs Beach, New Hampshire|Weirs Beach]], around the channel connecting Paugus Bay with Lake Winnipesaukee, lies at the northern edge of the city.

[[U.S. Route 3]] passes through parts of the city, bypassing downtown but passing through Weirs Beach. [[New Hampshire Route 11]] bypasses the city in a concurrency with US 3. The two highways lead southwest from Laconia to [[Tilton, New Hampshire|Tilton]] and [[Franklin, New Hampshire|Franklin]]. [[New Hampshire Route 11A]] represents the old routes 11 and 3 through downtown as Court Street and Union Avenue, but then turns east on Gilford Avenue to lead to [[Gilford, New Hampshire|Gilford]] and [[Alton, New Hampshire|West Alton]]. [[New Hampshire Route 106]] runs north-south through downtown, leading south to [[Concord, New Hampshire|Concord]] and north to [[Meredith, New Hampshire|Meredith]]. [[New Hampshire Route 107]] leads southeast from downtown towards [[Gilmanton, New Hampshire|Gilmanton]] and [[Pittsfield, New Hampshire|Pittsfield]]. Route 107 turns north in downtown and follows Union Avenue (former Route 3) to a junction with US 3 near the north end of the Laconia Bypass. US 3 continues north along the east shore of Paugus Bay, through Weirs Beach and into Meredith. Route 11 leads east from the Laconia Bypass past [[Glendale, New Hampshire|Glendale]] and into [[Alton, New Hampshire|Alton]]. [[New Hampshire Route 11B]] leads east from Weirs Beach into Gilford.

The former [[Boston and Maine Railroad]] White Mountain Branch, originally built as the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad, enters Laconia at the Belmont town line near Lake Winnisquam and runs north through the city, through Lakeport and along Paugus Bay to Weirs Beach and Meredith.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bmrrhs.org/abandonment-notices|title=Abandonment Notices|access-date=2019-10-31|archive-date=2019-10-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031080653/https://www.bmrrhs.org/abandonment-notices|url-status=dead}}</ref> Purchased by the State of New Hampshire in 1975, the tracks are actively used for freight purposes by the [[New England Southern Railroad]] and for tourist train service by the [[Plymouth & Lincoln Railroad]] between Meredith and Lakeport, with occasional service out of Laconia. The line is also a vital active link to the [[National rail network]] for the tourist operator to ship and receive equipment for their own use and also to perform contract work at the railroad's [[Lincoln, New Hampshire|Lincoln]] repair shops.<ref name="laconiadailysun.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news/local/wow-trail-backers-look-to-pick-up-steam/article_8e332f6c-f058-11e9-930a-ef70bd807e04.html|title=WOW Trail backers look to pick up steam}}</ref>

[[Laconia Municipal Airport]] is located just east of the city limits in Gilford.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://laconiaairport.com/|title=KLCI - Laconia Municipal Airport - Laconia, New Hampshire|website=laconiaairport.com|access-date=2020-04-22}}</ref>

A recreational trail called the W.O.W. Trail ([[Lake Winnipesaukee|Winnipesaukee]]–[[Opechee Bay|Opechee]]–[[Lake Winnisquam|Winnisquam]]) links several parts of the city, following the railroad tracks from Lake Winnisquam, skirting the downtown area, and running to Lakeport.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wowtrail.org/|title=wowtrail|website=wow1|language=en|access-date=2019-01-24}}</ref> A desire to extend the trail to Weirs Beach has been contested by residents in private communities abutting the rail corridor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news/local/south-down-long-bay-gearing-up-to-fight-wow-trail/article_bb8e9dd1-4340-5b6a-a34c-7f094da817db.html|title=South Down, Long Bay gearing up to fight WOW Trail extension|website=The Laconia Daily Sun|language=en|access-date=2019-01-24}}</ref> The proposed removal of active rail for said extension is contested also by railroad companies actively using the tracks and the State of New Hampshire Bureau of Rail and Transit.<ref name="laconiadailysun.com"/>

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|67.6|sqkm|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|51.4|sqkm|order=flip}} are land and {{convert|16.2|sqkm|order=flip}} are water, comprising 23.93% of the city.<ref>{{cite web |title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files – New Hampshire |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2021_Gazetteer/2021_gaz_cousubs_33.txt |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=October 28, 2021}}</ref> Laconia is drained by the Winnipesaukee River. It is bounded in the southwest by [[Lake Winnisquam]], and by Lake Winnipesaukee in the northeast. Laconia lies fully within the [[Merrimack River]] [[Drainage basin|watershed]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Water Use in New Hampshire: An Activities Guide for Teachers |url=http://nh.water.usgs.gov/Publications/nh.intro.html |last=Foster |first=Debra H. |author2=Batorfalvy, Tatianna N. |author3= Medalie, Laura |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Geological Survey |year=1995}}</ref> The highest point in Laconia is a {{convert|960|ft|adj=on}} hill in the northern part of the city, west of Paugus Bay's Pickerel Cove and just east of Route 106.

=== Adjacent municipalities ===
* [[Meredith, New Hampshire|Meredith]] (north)
* [[Gilford, New Hampshire|Gilford]] (east)
* [[Belmont, New Hampshire|Belmont]] (south)
* [[Sanbornton, New Hampshire|Sanbornton]] (west)