Cold-Water Paddling and Early-Season Boating

In spring, fall and winter, the water can be dangerously cold even on a warm, sunny day. If you paddle or boat then, wear your life jacket the whole time, dress for a fall into the water (a wetsuit or drysuit when the water is below about 70°F), stay close to shore and go with others.

Early-season paddling is beautiful: quiet water, no crowds, the first warm days. It's also when cold water can catch people off guard, because the air feels like summer while the water is still cold.

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Warm air, cold water

The National Weather Service (NWS) warns that warm air doesn't always mean warm water in lakes, streams or oceans (opens in a new tab), and that warm air temperatures can create a false sense of security for boaters (opens in a new tab). It gives an example: in the waters around Annapolis, Maryland, temperatures may only be above 60°F for 5.5 months of the year (opens in a new tab).

The National Center for Cold Water Safety (NCCWS) is even more direct: the air temperature is irrelevant. The only thing that really matters when you fall in is whether or not you're dressed for immersion (opens in a new tab). Based on 2024 boating data, it says you're twice as likely to die in a boating incident in water below 70°F (opens in a new tab).

Check the water temperature before you go. Good places to look:

• NOAA's National Data Buoy Center (opens in a new tab), for buoys on the coasts and large lakes.
• NOAA's water-level stations. NOAA retired its Coastal Water Temperature Guide in 2025, but its page explains that near real-time temperatures come from National Ocean Service tidal stations and National Data Buoy Center buoys (opens in a new tab).
• NOAA's Great Lakes CoastWatch (opens in a new tab), for surface water temperatures on the Great Lakes.
• Local parks, marinas and outfitters, which may post readings.

NWS adds: if the water is too cold, consider staying off or out of the water until it is warmer (opens in a new tab).

Dress for immersion

NCCWS recommends thermal protection like a wetsuit or drysuit if the water temperature is below 70°F (opens in a new tab). It says the colder the water, the more protection you need (opens in a new tab), and explains why: without the protection of a wetsuit or drysuit, most people will experience maximum-intensity cold shock at water temperatures between 50-60°F (opens in a new tab).

What "dressed for immersion" means, according to NCCWS:

• A wetsuit that's thick enough to protect you from the cold and snug enough to work properly. (opens in a new tab)
• A drysuit that doesn't leak and has enough warm clothing underneath it. (opens in a new tab)
• Enough protection to keep you functioning if you have to swim or get towed to shore, and to keep you alive long enough to be rescued if you can't. (opens in a new tab)

Test it before you rely on it. Two of NCCWS's five Golden Rules of cold water safety (opens in a new tab) are to field test and swim test your gear, so you know how it works before you need it.

Life jacket always on

NWS says always wear a life jacket in and around the water (opens in a new tab). "Wear your PFD" is the first of NCCWS's Golden Rules, and for a good reason: in cold water, NCCWS says, cold shock makes most people immediately lose control of their breathing, and many of them drown within 6-10 feet of where they entered the water, even though they know how to swim (opens in a new tab).

Three things to get right:

• Wear it, zipped and buckled, the whole time. NCCWS says most people find it very difficult or impossible to put on their PFD after they wind up in the water (opens in a new tab).
• Choose foam for cold water. NCCWS says manual inflatable life jackets are a bad choice for cold water immersion (opens in a new tab), because cold-shock confusion can stop you from inflating one in time. The Minnesota DNR says inflatable life jackets are not recommended for cold-water activities (opens in a new tab).
• Make sure it fits. NCCWS warns that a life jacket that isn't properly sized and adjusted can rise up around your ears or slip off entirely (opens in a new tab), especially in rough water.

For help choosing one, see kayak and canoe safety and paddleboard safety.

Stay close to shore and paddle with others

Distance from shore matters in cold water. NCCWS says that while hyperventilating from cold shock, swimming as short a distance as 6-10 feet is often impossible, even for good swimmers (opens in a new tab), and that in very cold water, it's possible to lose the use of your hands in under a minute (opens in a new tab). In cold water, plan routes that hug the shore.

• Go with others. On rivers, the National Park Service advises paddlers to travel in groups of at least three boats and keep the boat behind you in sight (opens in a new tab).
• Tell someone your plan. NWS says to file a float plan with someone you trust (opens in a new tab), with details about the trip, the boat, the people and emergency contacts. See how to file a float plan.
• Carry a way to call for help. NWS suggests an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB), a personal locator beacon (PLB) or a VHF radio (opens in a new tab).
• Check the weather. NWS lists turbulent water, waves and surf, which can overturn watercraft (opens in a new tab), among the main causes of cold-water immersion.

If you capsize

Keep your head up and get your breathing under control first, then get out of the water or onto your boat as soon as you can. The full steps are in what to do if you fall into cold water, and the reasons are in cold water shock.

What you can do today

• Look up the current water temperature where you paddle, and compare it with 70°F.
• Check your life jacket: foam, fits snugly, and you'll actually wear it.
• If you paddle before summer or after Labor Day, price a wetsuit or drysuit and plan to test it in shallow water.
• Find a paddling partner, and agree to file a float plan for every trip.
• Plan your next route to stay close to shore.