Why A Traditional, New England, Family Lake Vacation Is Surprisingly on Trend

Last Updated on July 8, 2026

Local experiences. Slow Travel. Quiet. Unplugged. Multigenerational Vacations.

These are the buzz phrases describing current travel trends.

Lake Shore Village Resort, located on Lake Horace in Weare, New Hampshire, has been offering such experiences for over 75 years. With its newly restored lake rental properties, this independent, family-owned resort is ready to continue the tradition.

My husband grew up enjoying summers at the family camp on Lake Horace. It was a small camp, on a small lake, in a very rural town. His youth was spent running wild in the great outdoors. He and his brothers would often take the canoe or their bikes and disappear for the day. They’d visit nearby farms and cornfields and apple orchards and barns and Alice, a large sow that always seemed to have a litter of piglets.

They spent countless hours lake-swimming and performing all manner of acrobatics off the dock, while bringing home fish and blueberries and frog legs for their mother to cook.

Nighttime meant horn-pouting, the seek-and-find game – Manhunt – and daring each other to walk up an old logging trail they called “Spooky Hill.”

My summer visits to the camp happened shortly before we were married and continued with regularity after we had children. My boys and their cousins got to spend many weekends and weeklong vacations – if not the whole summer – at Lake Horace. While they didn’t enjoy as much freedom as the prior generation did, they were given plenty of opportunities to explore and enjoy unstructured playtime. Thankfully, I didn’t get the frog legs.

Both my husband and my kids often reminisce about their time growing up on Lake Horace – some of our best memories.

Lake Shore Village Resort

Lake Shore Village Resort sits at the other end of Lake Horace. Families can rent one of the 19 lake houses on the 18-acre, wooded site. Visitors have access to the lake, a private beach, picnic tables, kayaks and other boats, and a clubhouse with indoor pool and hot tub. Activities include waterskiing, pickleball, and beach volleyball. With each house equipped with private decks and docks, guests can be as communal or solitary as they wish. Multigenerational families are common. So are families who come back year after year – often requesting the same lake house.

We were in Lake House #3 – a three-bedroom, three-floor unit. The lake is center stage. You enter the home on the main level and walk into the view. On the opposite end of the house, floor to ceiling windows reveal crystal-clear water, the winding, wooded lakeshore, and the treed mountainside across the lake. The beauty and calm of Lake Horace is yours, whether you remain inside the open living area, or take advantage of the main deck with chairs awaiting your arrival.

Each of the bedrooms has its own private deck and the same gorgeous view. The upper level has a loft with a table perfect for games and puzzles or a reading space. The lower level sports a lounge room perfect for a kids’ play space, movies or gaming after a long day of swimming and outside activities.

In addition to a full kitchen, this unit has a Blackstone Grill on a covered outdoor deck that offers the chef protection from both sun and rain. Our good friends visited us the first night at the lake. The guys made use of the grill with steaks while the women caught up over a glass of wine looking out over the lake.

The sun was setting, casting glowing streaks of color over the water. We became quiet, allowing ourselves to release the mental baggage of the week and find serenity. Breathing in. Breathing out. That is all that was required at this moment.

Lake Horace Memories

Peace and appreciation for this rural, lakeside spot was exactly what Chester Colburn wanted to preserve when he and his wife purchased the land back in 1948. He had spent his childhood fishing in this lake and in later years started to see cottages dot the shoreline. He dreamed of having a bunch of cottages for people to enjoy as a vacation destination.

After securing the property, he and many local workers and craftsmen, including his own farm help, began the difficult job of clearing the land, harvesting lumber, and building the cottages and boats.

Colburn started with three cabins and grew from there. Lake Shore Resort has managed to retain the innocence and charm of a summer camp atmosphere despite undergoing several changes and upgrades over the years. Some of that has to do with the rustic aesthetic of the cottages. Much has to do with the continuation of the Colburn family ownership.

Michael Colburn is Chester’s grandson and the third generation of Colburns to welcome guests to Lake Shore Resort. Much like his family before him, he is a fixture at the resort and knows many returning visitors by name.

He drives the waterski boat and teaches the activity to those who want to learn. Colburn mans the griddle at the Sunday morning pancake breakfasts and supervises the Monday evening lobster bakes. He checked in with me upon my arrival, and we easily settled into a conversation about the history of the resort, telling me about the small ski area that used to be on the property and showing me some vintage video footage of skiers on a toe-rope. On a walk about, he points out some of the original boats still in use. He talks about his grandfather and his parents and growing up on Lake Horace. They are familiar musings and these memories ensure that Chester’s original plan for a peaceful retreat continues to be realized.

Nuptials On the Lakeshore

Eleven years ago, Michael Colburn’s daughter – who with her siblings also grew up on Lake Horace – decided she wanted to get married at the resort. Michael had never hosted such an event, but he did not want to disappoint his daughter. He arranged for large function tents to be set up at a neighbor’s lawn and got buses to transport the guests to and from the event.

It was a success and plans to make Lakeshore Village Resort a destination wedding venue began. Two event tents were constructed on site, and lakeside weddings are now hosted in spring and fall. Lakeshore Village Resort has its own wedding coordinator to help curate the couple’s experience. 

A Vacation You Don’t Need a Vacation From

A vacation at Lakeshore Village Resort is a form of respite care. The days begin and end with the gentle movement and mesmerizing sights of Lake Horace: the slight wake caused by a loon or kayak, the reflections of the surrounding trees, the kaleidoscopic color over both the sky and water from the setting sun.

In between, the days are filled with simple pleasures. Time is available – not made or scheduled – for finding yourself and connecting with others. This is not just a vacation; it is an opportunity that’s been steeped in time and is awaiting your arrival.