Alton Bay Ice Runway Opens For The Season

The ice runway at Alton Bay Seaplane Base on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire opened for the 2026 season Jan. 31.

Officials note “the weather was perfect for the 82 landings that we had, with the first one at 0802 in the morning. There were aircraft from as far away as Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. We saw many familiar faces and a lot of new first-time travelers to the Ice Runway. All and all it was the perfect start to the 2026 season.”

The ice landing strip, which opens only when the ice reaches a minimum thickness of 12 inches, is the only FAA-approved ice landing strip in the Lower 48 states.

It’s a strip that’s on a lot of pilots’ bucket lists. If you’re interested in landing there this year, you can find the schedule on the Alton Bay Seaplane Base and Ice Runway Facebook page.

Posts on the page note that on Feb. 3 there were 112 landings, “which might be a record for a weekday.”

After just a few days open, the ice runway had already reported 264 landings.

The Feb. 11 post reported the runway was closed due to a recent snow storm.

“At this time plowing is scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday the 12th, and we plan to be reopened on Friday the 13th at 0800! We are looking forward to a great weekend!”

Find out what it’s like to land on the ice runway in Steve Schapiro’s 2022 story, “Pilot’s Bucket List: Landing on an ice runway.”