The feeling strikes almost as soon as you catch a glimpse of Lake Winni’s vast, folded shoreline—you’ve got to get out there! Thankfully, you don’t need your own motor boat or personal watercraft to ply the waves. There are several boat-rental marinas and cruise companies that are more than willing to let you climb aboard, the same way that tourists to this region have been doing for the past 100 years.

The grande dame of the lake is the M/S Mount Washington (211 Lakeside Ave., Weirs Beach, 603/366-5531 or 888/843-6686, www.cruisenh.com, May–Oct., $25–49 adults, $12–37 children 4–12, free children under 4), so named—the tour guides will tell you—because when the sky is clear you can see New Hampshire’s tallest peak from the deck (M/S stands for motor ship).

The current cruise ship is actually the second Mount Washington to cruise the lake. The first ship, built in 1872, was destroyed by a fire in 1939. Her replacement is an 1888 steamship that was completely overhauled and rebuilt in 1940. The ship is a whopping 230 feet long, and re-creates the era of the old paddlewheel steamships, even though she is now propelled by twin diesel engines.

The Mount Washington leaves from Weirs Beach as well as other locations around the lake, making a variety of cruises. The most popular are the 2.5-hour narrated sightseeing cruises, which give passengers a feel for the history of the lake. These are particularly breathtaking in foliage season in early October. “The Mount” also makes dinner cruises in the evening with entertainment that might charitably be called “campy.”

The same company also has two smaller boats in its fleet that are ideal for those wanting to avoid crowds or poke into some of the smaller bays the Mount can’t get into. The M/S Sophie C. ($22 adults, $11 children) is the only U.S. Mail Boat on an inland waterway; it allows passengers to hitch a ride along its delivery route to the lake’s various islands. The M/S Doris E. ($15–22 adults, $7–11 children) leaves Meredith for one- and two-hour guided cruises around Meredith Bay and its surrounding islands.