Water Safety in Wisconsin

Wisconsin DNR's message is blunt: wear your life jacket, don't just bring it. DNR says more than 90% of boat fatalities related to drowning involve people who weren't wearing one, and most people who drown in boating accidents know how to swim. On rivers, watch for moving sandbars; on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, respect the waves, currents and cold.

Wisconsin drowning and boating numbers

90%+

• Boating: The U.S. Coast Guard counted 104 reportable recreational boating incidents in Wisconsin in 2024, with 14 deaths and 73 injuries (opens in a new tab). Deaths by year: 22 in 2020, 23 in 2021, 20 in 2022, 28 in 2023 and 14 in 2024.
• Boats: 602,849 registered vessels in 2024. DNR says approximately 2.5 million Wisconsin residents participate in boating, visiting a beach, or swimming (opens in a new tab) in a lake or stream.
• Drowning: CDC puts Wisconsin's average annual drowning death rate for 2018-2021 at 1.20 per 100,000 people (opens in a new tab), below the U.S. rate of 1.31.
• Shoreline: NOAA lists 820 miles of official Great Lakes shoreline (opens in a new tab) for Wisconsin.

CDC counts drowning deaths of residents; the Coast Guard counts boating incidents. See our Wisconsin data page.

Wear it, don't stow it

Wisconsin DNR explains why: the majority of people who drown in boating accidents know how to swim but become incapacitated in the water (opens in a new tab). After a crash, life jackets usually aren't within reach. They're in cabinets, trapped under the boat, or floating away.

DNR's crash data point to four leading causes of watercraft crashes: operator inexperience, inattention, recklessness and speeding (opens in a new tab), and the leading cause of death is drowning. Its tips:

• Never use alcohol or drugs before or during boat operation. Sun, glare, wind, noise and vibration make alcohol's effects worse.
• Never let passengers ride on gunwales, seatbacks or outside railings, including the front of a pontoon boat.
• Paddleboards count like kayaks and canoes: you need a life jacket for each person on board.
• Don't overload the boat. Follow the capacity plate.
• Watch the weather. Sudden wind shifts and choppy water can mean a storm is coming.

Read how to choose a life jacket.

Rivers and sandbars

DNR warns that sandbars are not permanent (opens in a new tab). They're constantly moving, and the downstream end is often unstable and won't hold a person's weight, especially under a few inches of water. A life jacket keeps you on top of the water if you step off an unexpected drop-off.

On the St. Croix and Namekagon rivers, the National Park Service says water levels can change daily (opens in a new tab), and children under 13, including infants, are required to wear life jackets. Tubes count as vessels there. See river safety.

Lake Michigan and Lake Superior

At Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, the Park Service says Lake Superior is notorious for its cold temperatures, rough seas, fog, and sudden squalls (opens in a new tab). Check the marine forecast before you go out. On Lake Michigan beaches, the National Weather Service says to stay at least 100 yards away (opens in a new tab) from piers and breakwalls, and to treat whitewater as a sign of dangerous currents. See jetties and piers and cold water shock.

Wisconsin boating rules

From Wisconsin DNR:

• Certification: boating safety certification (opens in a new tab), or an out-of-state equivalent, is required for operators born on or after January 1, 1989.
• Young operators: children under 10 may not operate a motorboat. Ages 10 to 15 may operate one only with qualifying adult supervision, or, for ages 12 to 15, after completing the course.
• Life jackets: every vessel, including canoes, kayaks and paddleboards, must carry a Coast Guard-approved wearable life jacket for each person. Everyone on a personal watercraft must wear one. Federal law requires children under 13 to wear one while underway on federally controlled waters.

This is a summary, not legal advice.

What you can do today

• Put on your life jacket before the boat leaves the dock, and ask everyone aboard to do the same.
• Stay off the downstream ends of river sandbars.
• Check the marine forecast before any trip on Lake Superior or Lake Michigan.
• Make "no riding on the pontoon front" a rule on your boat.
• Take Wisconsin's boating safety course if you were born in 1989 or later.