New gravel driveways built with a real base, and tired ones regraded, crowned, and drained — so a Holderness driveway survives mud season and the next big storm instead of washing down the hill.
Squam sets the tone for everything in Holderness. The Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act applies as it does on any New Hampshire lake — the tree-removal point system in the 50-foot waterfront buffer, the natural woodland buffer requirements out to 150 feet, permits for earth-moving within 250 feet — but here the community’s expectations run ahead of the statute. Clearing on a Squam lot is subtraction with a purpose: selective cuts that open a view corridor while keeping the shoreline reading as forest from the water. Erosion control gets done to a visible standard because everyone on the lake is watching everyone’s shoreline. The estates tucked off Route 113 and around the Squam River bring quieter work — long drives, thoughtful grading, utility trenches routed to spare root zones. Ledge is a frequent guest on these wooded slopes, and we test-pit before quoting any foundation near it.
On Squam, involve the state early and over-deliver on erosion control — double-row silt sock near the water, stabilized construction entrance, mulch on any bare soil before a rain. The Shoreland Permit is the legal floor; the lake community’s standard is higher, and your project’s reputation on that water is set in its first muddy week.
A driveway that lasts is a structure: geotextile where soils are soft, a compacted bank-run gravel base, and a crushed-gravel or stone surface crowned so water runs off the sides instead of down the middle. Culverts go where water crosses, ditches where it runs alongside. Skip any of those and you buy the same driveway again every few years — that’s the washboard, potholed, washed-out driveway we get called to fix.
We build new driveways, rebuild failing ones, and do the annual regrade-and-crown that keeps a camp road drivable through mud season.
New gravel driveways typically run $15–$30 per linear foot built right (base + surface + crowning); regrading and topping an existing driveway costs a fraction of that. Culverts and ditching quoted per site. Flat quote after a quick look.
Built properly — compacted bank-run base, crushed gravel surface, crowned — figure $15 to $30 per linear foot for a standard 12-foot-wide driveway, more on steep or soft ground. A cheap spread-and-go driveway costs less up front and every year after.
Water is running down it instead of off it. The fix is shape and drainage: crown the surface, ditch the uphill side, and put a culvert where water crosses. Once water has somewhere to go, the gravel stays where you paid for it.
Yes — washboard and potholes are symptoms of a thin or uncrowned surface. We regrade to pull material back where it belongs, re-crown, and compact. If the base has failed we'll tell you honestly and price a rebuild of just the failed section.
Free site walks, test pits before quotes, flat pricing, and a crew that knows Lakes Region ground.
Tell us where the property is and what you’re trying to do. We’ll walk the site, talk it through, and give you a straight, flat quote.
