By October 15, the town of Madison expects Silver Lake to be at its normal winter level. Four days later, on October 19, the lake goes down another two feet and stays there through October 23. The town's notice asks that boats be out of the water before that second drop. The reason sits at the boat launch on East Shore Drive.
That second drawdown is the most date-specific item on Madison's fall repair list. The launch, the town roads, Route 113 and the Madison Boulder each belong to a different owner. Each owner is working on a different timeline, and this year's list has more on it than usual.
The Second Drawdown Is a Work Order
The town's notice describes the first drop as the lake's normal winter level. The extra two feet come with a stated purpose, which is to let the Department of Public Works repair the damaged area of the boat launch.
The Silver Lake Association of Madison, known as SLAM, described what that damage looked like during a low-water stretch. Boats "power loading" back onto trailers had built a mound of rocks and dug a large hole at the ramp. SLAM warned that boats could ground out on the mound. Its notice put the water at about 14 inches when a boat came straight into the ramp, and about 2 feet near the dock. It also said the town was evaluating repairs and whether state approvals would be needed while levels were so low.
The launch has more rules than most boat ramps, which is part of why a repair there draws attention. It sits at the south end of the lake, where SLAM lists mandatory boat inspection and washing and parking by permit only. SLAM's Lake Host program runs the inspections and power washes boats and trailers before they enter the water. Launch stickers come from Town Hall. The town's May 2025 permit sheet lists $100 for non-residents and non-property owners, with proof of watercraft ownership required.
The town's homepage carries the drawdown notice, and it is undated, so calling Town Hall at 603-367-4332 before pulling a boat is the safe move. Town Hall is open Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Fall Calendar, With Owners
The town's own dates share the same weeks, and the table below shows who holds each one.
| Date | What happens | Who runs it |
|---|---|---|
| By Oct. 15 | Silver Lake lowered to its normal winter level | Town of Madison |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Halloween Dance at the Madison Elementary School gym, pumpkin carving 5 to 7 p.m., DJ dancing 7 to 9 p.m. | Madison Recreation |
| Oct. 19 to 23 | Lake lowered an additional 2 feet for boat launch repair | Town Department of Public Works |
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Trunk or Treat, 6 to 8 p.m., Madison Town Hall upper parking lot | Madison Recreation |
| Sun., Nov. 1 | Photo submissions close for the Master Plan | Master Plan Steering Committee, with North Country Council |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | Scheduled opening day at King Pine Ski Area | King Pine |
Madison Recreation runs both of the October community events. The dance takes over the Madison Elementary School gym. Trunk or Treat fills the Town Hall upper lot, at the same building where launch stickers are issued.
Three Owners, Three Timelines
The road repairs from the June 11 storm are the largest item on the list, and they split across more than one owner. That morning, flash flooding washed out a section of Route 113. The state Department of Transportation closed the route just south of the Eidelweiss district and again between High Street and Route 16. Police listed local closures on Colby Hill Road, Burgdorf Road, High Street and Old Colony Road. Fire Chief Michael Brooks told the Boston Globe that morning that Madison had lost roughly 40 percent of its town roads to severe damage.
Route 113 is a state highway, so its repair follows the state's schedule and is run through NHDOT. The town roads fall to the Department of Public Works, whose director is Dylan Eldridge. The town's homepage now says previously closed roads may not be fully repaired. It asks drivers to pass slowly with attention to the road edges, and it thanks the DPW team and the contractors rebuilding the roads. The same page links a 2026 updated paved road condition list, which is the closest thing in the research to a road-by-road status. I did not find a published completion date for the repairs, so the notice above is the current word.
That gives a working rule for a reader with a question about a road.
- Route 113: NHDOT owns it, and New England 511 was the system DOT used to map the June closures.
- Town roads such as Colby Hill Road or Old Colony Road: the town's DPW owns them, and the town's condition list is the place to look.
- The launch on East Shore Drive: the town owns it, and the October dates come from the town's notice.
The same logic reaches the Madison Boulder. In late April 2026, someone spray-painted anti-tourist messages on the boulder and on a nearby kiosk, according to the Conway Daily Sun's reporting. Police Chief Jimmy Hayford said police suspected a juvenile and that New Hampshire Parks, which manages the natural area, would sandblast the graffiti off the rock. The state acquired the 17-acre site in 1946, and the boulder became a National Natural Landmark in 1970. It measures 83 feet long, 23 feet high and 37 feet wide, and it weighs upwards of 5,000 tons. I could not confirm the date the cleanup was completed, so a visit to the rock is the only way to check its current condition.
The trail to it is short. Trail Finder describes a well-graded forest road that runs a quarter mile from the trailhead to the boulder, with a loop trail around the site. The road to the trailhead turns private about a mile along Boulder Road, and a sign points to the parking lot a few hundred feet beyond. That stretch is a separate piece of the same chain of ownership, alongside the woods around the boulder that The Nature Conservancy protects as Madison Boulder Woods.
The Lake Has Its Own List
SLAM's July 11 annual meeting, held at Madison Elementary School, put the lake's longer-term items on the record. The association reported that Silver Lake remains oligotrophic, which it calls excellent, and that the trends are running downward. NH LAKES President Andrea LaMoreaux presented the Lake Smart program. SLAM asked for more weed-watching volunteers. It also said that both SLAM and the town are waiting on the results of the Madison Watershed Management Plan, due in early 2027.
Ted Kramer stepped down as SLAM president after nine years, and he stays on the board. The Silver Lake Boat Club, a social group for boating, paddling and parties, gives lake neighbors another way to meet.
The watershed plan and the launch repair are separate projects on separate timelines. The plan's results are due after this fall's dates.
A Master Plan That Wants Madison's Photographs
The Master Plan Steering Committee is collecting photographs of Madison for the plan. Photos go to [email protected] with the subject line "Madison Master Plan Photos," and submissions close November 1, 2026. Photographers whose work is chosen sign a release waiver for North Country Council, the regional planning commission working with the town.
The committee's call sits on the town's homepage next to the launch permit notice and the drawdown dates.
Then the Snow
King Pine's schedule closes the sequence. Opening day at the East Madison ski area is scheduled for Friday, December 11, 2026, and the final day is scheduled for Sunday, March 28, 2027. Pass pickup times for season passholders will be announced in November.
Pinkham Real Estate knows the Silver Lake shoreline and the back roads of Madison. If the fall calendar raises a question about a launch notice, a road closure or a shoreline access point, contact our team and we will help you work out who to ask.