Belknap County, New Hampshire

Belknap County
County
Laconia District Court on Academy Square in Laconia
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of New Hampshire
New Hampshire's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 43°30′55″N 71°26′10″W / 43.515202°N 71.436073°W / 43.515202; -71.436073
Country	United States
State	New Hampshire
Founded	1840
Named for	Jeremy Belknap
Seat	Laconia
Largest city	Laconia
Area
• Total	470.0 sq mi (1,217 km2)
• Land	401.8 sq mi (1,041 km2)
• Water	68.2 sq mi (177 km2)  14.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	63,705
• Density	158.5/sq mi (61.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	1st, 2nd
Website	www.belknapcounty.gov

Belknap County (/ˈbɛlnæp/) is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 63,705.^[1] The county seat is Laconia.^[2] It is located in New Hampshire's Lakes Region, slightly southeast of the state's geographic center. Belknap County comprises the Laconia, NH Micropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn constitutes a portion of the Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT Combined Statistical Area.

The southwestern half of Lake Winnipesaukee lies in Belknap County, while several other major lakes such as Squam Lake and Lake Winnisquam lie partially or wholly within the county. The Belknap Mountains lie along the shore of Winnipesaukee east of Laconia and feature Mount Major, known for its numerous hiking trails and Gunstock Mountain, home of a popular ski resort. Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion is a concert venue in Gilford which features major national touring music acts, while the Laconia Motorcycle Week attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every June. Funspot Family Fun Center, located in Weirs Beach, is the largest video game arcade in the world.