The Alton Bay Runway on Lake Winnipesaukee, the only FAA-sanctioned ice runway in the Lower 48, is not opening this season due to warm weather.
Although it’s snowing to beat the band as I write this, the winter has been a dud so far and doesn’t look like it will improve much.
The runway needs a minimum of 12 inches of ice on the lake but there is barely enough for ice fishing.
The runway also failed to open in 2011, 2016, and 2020, so this isn’t unexpected. But depressing, nonetheless.
The runway is mostly a novelty – pilots flock to it, just to say they’ve landed on ice. Here’s the state DOT page about it.
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