Water Safety in Colorado

In Colorado, the water is colder than the weather. Wear a life jacket every time you paddle, boat or float, because snow-fed lakes and reservoirs stay cold well into summer, and a sudden fall can stop even a strong swimmer from swimming. Watch the wind, too: it can blow a paddler off a board and away from shore fast.

Colorado drowning and boating numbers

21 deaths

• Boating: The U.S. Coast Guard counted 44 reportable recreational boating incidents in Colorado in 2024, with 21 deaths and 18 injuries (opens in a new tab). Twenty of the 44 incidents involved a death.
• Deaths by year: 17 in 2020, 8 in 2021, 14 in 2022, 15 in 2023 and 21 in 2024.
• Per registered boat: the Coast Guard's 2024 rate for Colorado was 29.3 deaths per 100,000 registered vessels, against 4.8 nationally. Colorado registers boats with a motor or sail, not most paddlecraft, so the rate is not strictly comparable. It does show how deadly an incident on Colorado water can be.
• Drowning: CDC puts Colorado's average annual drowning death rate for 2018-2021 at 1.35 per 100,000 people (opens in a new tab), just above the U.S. rate of 1.31.

CDC counts drowning deaths of residents; the Coast Guard counts all deaths in reported boating incidents. They are different measures. See our Colorado data page.

Cold water, even in summer

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) warns that the water is still really cold and remains cold until at least mid-summer here in Colorado (opens in a new tab). In one spring 2024 release, CPW described kayakers who fell into water in the low 40s at two reservoirs. None was wearing a life jacket.

CPW explains what happens: the instinctive reaction when a person hits cold water is to gasp (opens in a new tab), which can pull water into the lungs. Blood moves to the body's core, so arms and legs stop working well. The National Weather Service adds that cold shock can be just as severe in 50-60°F water as in 35°F water (opens in a new tab).

Mountain reservoirs stay cool all season. At Blue Mesa Reservoir in Curecanti National Recreation Area, the Park Service says surface temperatures average about 65 degrees even in the summer (opens in a new tab), and there are no designated swimming areas.

Read cold water shock and cold water paddling before your first trip of the year.

Wind and paddleboards

CPW warns that getting blown off course can happen quickly (opens in a new tab), and paddling back into a headwind can wear you out. When a paddler falls in, it is easy to become separated from the kayak or board. CPW suggests checking an app with hourly wind predictions before you go.

• Wear the life jacket, don't just strap it to the board. CPW says it will keep your head above water and support your body should your swimming ability fail (opens in a new tab).
• Know when conditions will change. As one CPW park manager put it, the user has a responsibility to know before you go.
• Plan your route so the wind helps you home, and head in early if it builds.

See paddleboard safety and kayak and canoe safety.

Colorado boating rules

• Young operators: since June 1, 2024, no one under 18 may operate a motorboat, including a personal watercraft, unless they are 14 to 17, have passed a CPW-approved boating safety course and carry the certificate. See CPW boating (opens in a new tab).
• Children and life jackets: federal law requires children under 13 to wear a life jacket on a moving boat (opens in a new tab). Everyone in Colorado's cold water is safer wearing one.

This is a summary, not legal advice. Check CPW before you go.

Official Colorado resources

• Colorado Parks and Wildlife boating (opens in a new tab)
• CPW on cold water and life jackets (opens in a new tab)
• Curecanti National Recreation Area swimming (NPS) (opens in a new tab)

What you can do today

• Check the water temperature and the hourly wind forecast before you launch.
• Put on a life jacket, buckled, before you step on a board or into a kayak.
• Dress for the water, not the air.
• If a teen will drive a boat, sign them up for a CPW-approved course.
• Learn the rescue rule: reach or throw, don't go.