The Dartmouth - Lake Sunapee region, which occupies the west central part of New Hampshire, offers a wonderful combination of sophistication and beautiful outdoors.

As the name implies Dartmouth College, located in Hanover NH is located in this region. Dartmouth an Ivy League college was founded in 1769 and is the ninth-oldest college in our nation. Hanover offers all the resources you’d expect in a college town - bookstores, a varied collection of restaurants, clothing stores, the Nugget Theater and more. And of course an academic sports loving population adds its own benefits! College town poltiics tend to dominate and there is a peculiar mix of left and New Hampshire conservatism reflected in the region. A major medical center, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, also resides in this area.

Hanover and it’s nearby neighbors Lebanon and West Lebanon are this regions primary hub though Claremont, farther south in the region also offers the resources expected of a larger town. West Lebanon has developed some strip malls just over the river from White River Junction, VT, and draws Vermonters over for tax free shopping. The advantage of this development is access to several grocery stores, a WalMart, KMart, Home Depot, Borders, Penney’s, Kohl’s and more. Claremont has similar resources. Coop grocery stores, located in Hanover and Lebanon, serve the crunchy crowd with a good selection of speciality and mainstream products in a full service grocery. This author finds the Coop comparable to Whole Foods which does not have a presence in New Hampshire.

Also defining this region is the Lake Sunapee area which has Lake Sunapee at its center. This region offers a wide variety of outdoor activities. Mount Sunapee offers world class skiing, the best skiing south of the Notch according to many. It boasts 65 trails, 10 lifts and snowmaking on 97% of all terrain. Lessons are available for all levels and types of skiers and snowboarders. Lake Sunapee offers much in the way of summer recreation with boating, bicycling, and several golfing facilities. Many celebrities live on the shore of Lake Sunapee, most notably Steve Tyler of the band Aerosmith.

Outside of the hubs are many charming small towns, some smaller, some larger, which offer their own conveniences and housing opportunities. Newbury is adorable.  Warner is charming.  For more information on the towns and resources in the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee region see the VisitNH.gov site.