NH-153 · Among the Lakes

A rural two-lane road that goes from lake to lake: NH-153 leaves Union, passes through Wakefield, runs along Province Lake, continues through Effingham and Freedom, passes Purity Lake and Crystal Lake in Eaton and reaches Conway. It's 42 miles of gentle bends, forest and small villages. Beside Province Lake the road dips about 3 km (2 mi) into Maine and then comes back into New Hampshire. There's no shoulder, few places to pull over, and cabin driveways appear in blind curves.

NH-153 is an old-fashioned country road that strings together the lakes east of Lake Winnipesaukee. It starts in Union and passes through Wakefield Corner, the town's original center, where stage roads once met; it's now a historic district of 18th- and 19th-century houses. Province Lake, a shallow lake of about 970 acres, sits right on the state line: most of it is in New Hampshire, but beside the lake NH-153 crosses into Parsonsfield, Maine, for about 3 km (1.9 mi), still signed with its New Hampshire number, before returning to Effingham.

Farther north the road passes Freedom, Purity Lake and Crystal Lake in Eaton Center before finishing in Conway, at the foot of the White Mountains, where the Kancamagus and Bear Notch routes begin. The road has no shoulder and few places to stop, and cabin driveways open onto blind curves, so keep the group tight and the gaps generous. Services are scarce out of season, so fuel up before you start or in Conway.