Water Safety in Nebraska

Two Nebraska rivers have National Park Service units and clear safety advice: the Niobrara and the Missouri. Wear a life jacket on every float, and treat river sandbars and currents with respect. They move, and the Missouri can run up to seven miles an hour. If you drive a motorboat, know the state's age and course rules.

Nebraska drowning and boating numbers

0.90 per 100,000

• Drowning: CDC puts Nebraska's average annual drowning death rate for 2018-2021 at 0.90 per 100,000 people (opens in a new tab), in the lowest band on its map.
• Boating: The U.S. Coast Guard counted 10 reportable recreational boating incidents in Nebraska in 2024, with 1 death and 8 injuries (opens in a new tab). Deaths by year: 2 in 2020, 1 in 2021, 2 in 2022, 1 in 2023 and 1 in 2024.

Low numbers are good news, and each one is still a family's loss. CDC counts drowning deaths of residents; the Coast Guard counts boating incidents. See our Nebraska data page.

Floating the Niobrara

On the Niobrara National Scenic River, the National Park Service advises that all floaters wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved personal floatation device (opens in a new tab). Children under 13 must wear one at all times while floating the river, and everyone older must have one on the vessel.

The park's river tips:

• New to canoeing or kayaking? Ask your outfitter or a ranger for tips, and get instruction before your trip if you can.
• If you capsize, stay upstream from your boat (opens in a new tab). Water pushing against the canoe can trap you.
• In rapids, swim hard for the bank or an eddy, or float on your back with your feet pointed downstream and let your life jacket hold you up.

See kayak and canoe safety.

The Missouri River

Along the Missouri National Recreational River, the Park Service warns of constantly changing sandbars and snags (opens in a new tab), including "sawyers," tree trunks that bob just under the surface. The channel is not marked, so boaters must read the river themselves. The river can flow very fast, up to seven miles per hour (opens in a new tab), and the prairie wind can push canoes off course.

Swimmers face holes, submerged rocks and snags, and tricky, fast currents. The park says that if you choose to swim in the river, don't swim alone and always wear a life jacket, however strong a swimmer you think you are. Read our river safety guide.

Nebraska boating rules

Nebraska law (Neb. Rev. Stat. 37-1241.06) says:

• No person under fourteen years of age shall operate a motorboat or personal watercraft (opens in a new tab) on Nebraska waters.
• No one under 16 may operate one while towing a person.
• Since January 1, 2012, no one born after December 31, 1985 may operate a motorboat or personal watercraft without passing an approved boating safety course and holding a valid certificate.

Federal law requires children under 13 to wear a life jacket on a moving boat (opens in a new tab). This is a summary, not legal advice. Check Nebraska Game and Parks before you go.

What you can do today

• Fit a life jacket for every person in your group before a river float.
• Practice the capsize rule: stay upstream of the boat.
• Check river levels and wind before you launch.
• Take Nebraska's boating safety course if you were born in 1986 or later.
• Leave a float plan with someone at home.