Cow Island is the third-largest island on Lake Winnipesaukee, about 520 acres on the Tuftonboro side near Wolfeboro, two high wooded rises nearly separated by coves, with views across the Broads to the mountains. It is also, by a comfortable margin, the most storied island on the lake.
Before the first summer cottage, this island was a working farm famous enough to carry two names, then home to one of the longest-running boys camps in the country, and for a stretch it even had its own reservation-only restaurant. Today it is a private residential island of classic camps and substantial homes, one of the most active island markets on the lake, and the one island where we can offer you a week's stay as well as a deed.
The name is earned. In 1831 a Captain Prince brought heifers and a bull from the Isle of Guernsey to the island, making Cow Island the recorded first home of Guernsey cattle in America. The herd grew to about 40 head, the island ran as a working dairy farm, and older records know it by its alternate name, Guernsey Island. It had been formally annexed to Tuftonboro in 1799, and an 1880 Boston and Lowell Railroad pamphlet describes it in its farming era, given over entirely to sheep and cattle.
Even earlier, shortly after the War of 1812, Paul Pillsbury raised a three-story wind-powered grist mill on the island's highest point, its heavy timbers hewn on the mainland and hauled across the frozen lake by hand. The mill ground flour and cattle feed for roughly 90 years until a storm took it down around 1902; in 1935 the New Hampshire Guernsey Breeders Association built a replica on the same site using some of the original pieces.
From 1891 into the 1970s, a 200-acre stretch of the island was Camp Idlewild, a private boys camp and one of the longest-running in the country: horses barged over from Harilla Landing, mail delivered by the Sophie C. For years Back Cove also held the lake's best-kept dining secret, the reservation-only island restaurant known first as Gus' Lodge and later as Mama Lucy's. The camp grounds became a residential association, and today's cottages carry that summer-camp legacy quietly.
Drawn from Lake Winnipesaukee Historical Society accounts and the 1880 Boston and Lowell Railroad pamphlet "Winnipesaukee and About There."
Read the full story of Cow IslandHover a marker for the listing, or tap on a phone. Use the Depth toggle to see the water around Cow Island.
Tuftonboro, NH 03894
2 BD | 2 BA | 976 sqft | 0.99 acres
Listing by Maxfield Real Estate/Center Harbor · Mark Ashley
Tuftonboro, NH 03816
2 BD | 1 BA | 1,147 sqft | 0.85 acres
Listing by Maxfield Real Estate/Wolfeboro · Jen McCullough
The MLS record shows 46 sales on Cow Island, 10 in the last five years, with recent home sales averaging $678,250. You can also search Cow Island in the full listings browse.
IDX display courtesy of Yankee Pedlar Realtors, Wolfeboro NH.
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This is the rare island where you can live the boat-access life before deciding whether to own it. We rent this home on Cow Island all summer, Saturday to Saturday, booked personally through our Wolfeboro office.
Over 1,000 feet of shoreline on a private 5.7-acre island point, with a sandy beach and panoramic Winnipesaukee views.
2 bedrooms · 2 baths · sleeps 6 · 2 dock slips
South exposure · Sandy beach
Cow Island is boat access only, a short run from the Tuftonboro shore. Mainland points near the island include Harilla Landing and the Nineteenmile Bay boat launch, and some island properties come with a deeded mainland slip, which solves the practical puzzle of island ownership before you unpack.
The island itself is private, with no public docks, beaches, or trails. For a public island landing in the neighborhood, Ragged Island just to the west is an 11-acre Lakes Region Conservation Trust preserve with two paddle-craft beaches and a perimeter nature trail.
Looking for a slip or mooring on the mainland side? See boat slips, marinas, and launches.
By boat only; there is no bridge. Mainland access points near the island include Harilla Landing and the Nineteenmile Bay boat launch in Tuftonboro. Renters staying on the island bring or arrange their own watercraft, and many owners keep a slip or mooring on the mainland side.
Because of a genuine agricultural milestone: in 1831 a Captain Prince brought Guernsey cattle from the Isle of Guernsey to the island, the first recorded in America. The herd grew to about 40 animals and the island ran as a dairy farm, known in older records as Guernsey Island.
Cow Island is a private residential island with no confirmed public docks, beaches, or trails, so plan to enjoy it from the water. For a public island landing nearby, Ragged Island Conservation Area just to the west has two paddle-craft beaches and a perimeter trail managed by the Lakes Region Conservation Trust.
A private boys camp that ran on a 200-acre section of Cow Island from 1891 into the 1970s, among the longest-running in the country. The Sophie C mail boat delivered letters to campers and horses were barged out from Harilla Landing for trail riding. After the camp closed, its grounds became a residential association.
About 520 acres, the third-largest island on Lake Winnipesaukee. It sits in Tuftonboro, formally annexed to the town in 1799, near the Wolfeboro side of the lake.
Yes. We rent a home on Cow Island all summer, Saturday to Saturday, which makes it the rare island where you can live the boat-access life for a week before deciding whether to own it.
New to island buying? Start with our island guide and the NH buyer's guide.
Island sales often happen by word of mouth before they happen on the MLS. We have worked this lake from Wolfeboro since 1940. Tell us what you are looking for and we will keep you ahead of the listings.