Boating on Lake George

IMPORTANT: Lake George's Boating Regulations differ from other NY State lakes. Please familiarize yourself with and abide by these regulations.

Lake George is a beautiful and fun lake to boat and Sailboat on the sparkling waters of Lake George recreate on. The surface area of Lake George is 28,000 acres-roughly 2.3 acres per boat. Careful attention to safe and courteous boating practices is necessary to protect the quality of Lake George and to keep it beautiful, fun and safe. On this page are a few things that the LGA would like to remind boaters to do.

Click here to check Lake George's lake level on the USGS website.

[Caring for Lake George] [Boating Safety and Regulations]
[Local Marinas] [Boating Tips]

Six Ways You Can Help Care For Lake George

Keep LG Clean: Lake George is drinking water. Do not dump wastewater from toilets, porta-potties, sinks, or showers into or near the lake. All waste must be held on board and disposed of in proper on-shore facilities.
Keep LG Pristine: Motors churn up the bottom and increase the amount of damaging, nutrient-rich sediment in the water. Avoid shallow areas and make sure boat engines do not leak oil, gas or other contaminants. Be extra careful when filling fuel tanks and be sure to clean up any spills.
Keep LG Beautiful: Litter is unsightly, especially in and around Lake George. Place cans, Styrofoam cups, cigarettes, food wrappers and other garbage in garbage bags to be taken ashore and placed in recyclable trash containers.
Keep LG Safe: Boats with deep wakes stir up the lake bottom, erode shorelines, and jeopardize other lake-users. Remember your legal responsibility as a boater. Travel up the center of the lake rather than along the shoreline.
Keep LG Enjoyable: The steep mountains surrounding Lake George magnify noise. Remember that “noise annoys” and do all you can to keep volume down.
Keep LG Special: Stop the spread of aquatic exotics! Be sure to steam clean boats and equipment before launching, remove trapped water, and allow to dry for several days. Clean weeds off boat propellers, trailers, and fishing and recreational equipment before and after boating in Lake George.

Special Rules For A Special Lake

To enhance boating safety and enjoyment at Lake George, special laws, rules, and regulations are in place. These are diligently enforced by the Lake George Park Commission (LGPC) and the Warren County Sheriff’s Department. Do your part by becoming informed and up-to-date. Please visit the Lake George Park Commission website for more detailed watercraft information.

Boat Permits
All vessels 18 feet or longer, or any vessel mechanically propelled by a motor 10 h.p. or greater, must register with the Lake George Park Commission and display a registration decal. http://www.lgpc.state.ny.us/boat_reg.htm

Pollution Prevention
To keep Lake George water pure, dumping of sanitary waste, garbage and debris is prohibited. Boats are required to have sealed heads and holding tanks for showers and sinks. Violators will be fined and their boats removed from Lake George.

Noise Limits
Lake George is narrow and surrounded by steep mountains amplifying noise levels. Do your part to keep volume down. Present limits are 86 decibels when measured not more than 50 feet from the vessel; 80 decibels from 100 feet or more.

Speed Limits
Near shore maximum is 5 mph within 100 feet of shore, dock or stationary boats, rafts, floats, etc. On the main lake: Daytime limit (6am-9pm) is 45mph; Night limit (9pm-6am) is 25 mph. Remember: Safe boaters travel at more conservative speeds.

Personal Watercraft (PWC)
Personal watercraft may be operated between 8am and 7pm(or until sunset)-whichever is earlier. Speed must be limited to 5 mph within 500 feet of shore except when proceeding directly to and from shore.

Restricted Use Zones:
In order to prevent overcrowding and congestion, reduce noise, protect the public health, safety and welfare and preserve the resources of the Park, the Lake George Park Commission may designate restricted use zones on the Lake and adopt regulations for the usage of such zones. Within any restricted use zone, no person shall operate, anchor, moor, recreate from or otherwise use a vessel, or undertake any other activity, in violation of the regulations established for such zone. (Please see the LGPC website for more information)

For information on rules and regulations/ signage & buoys go to www.nysparks.com/boats

Observe Right Of Way

In Crossing Situations: The boat on the starboard (right) side has the right of way. A boat being overtaken by another has the right of way.

Sailboats: (under sail alone) and Windsurfers have the right of way over powerboats except when overtaking a slower boat of any type. Wind gusts can change speed and direction; so do not cut in front of their bow.

Powerboats: When meeting head-on or nearly so shall pass Port-to-Port. Boats leaving a dock do not have the right of way of nearby vessels

Better Safe Than Sorry

Weather changes: The weather can change quickly. Be prepared for sudden wind changes and rough water. Be ready to take shelter quickly.

Safety Equipment: Carry a Coast Guard approved life preserver for each person aboard. Those under 12 must wear a life preserver at all times and all others are advised to do so as well. Class A and 1 powerboats must carry a fire extinguisher; navigation lights by vessel’s length; horn or whistle audible at least ½ mile; distress flag or flares; anchor and line of sufficient weight and length. Flame arrestor, if inboard.

Water Skiing: Boats towing a skier are required to have a passenger who is at least 10 years old to be an observer. Water skiers, wind surfers and jet skiers must wear life-saving devices. Water skiing is prohibited from dusk until dawn.

Boating While Intoxicated: NYS laws prohibiting boating under the influence of alcohol are strictly enforced on Lake George.

Courteous Boating Makes A Big Difference

Boating sports of all kinds are extremely popular on Lake George, particularly in the South Basin. With 12,000 boats berthed on the lake in summer, traffic can become congested at times. Courtesy to fellow boaters and keeping speed and noise levels down is essential.

Some Tips To Keep In Mind

Boats painted with anti-fouling paint containing TBT (Tributylin) are not allowed on Lake George, unless the paint was applied in New York State by a registered Commercial Pesticides Applicator. See NYS DEC website for more details on regulations for anti-fouling bottom paint: http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dshm/pesticid/marina.htm
By law, all boats having toilet facilities must have a sealed holding device to prevent discharge of waste into the lake. Many marinas on Lake George are equipped with pump-out facilities to empty holding tanks.
Clean your boat on shore, and before you launch it in Lake George.
Stay 100 feet away from red scuba divers’ flags, swimmers, paddle boats, and other small objects in the water.
Reduce your speed to prevent too much wake. Look back at your wake from time to time to make sure it is not dangerous to boats and destructive to shoreline property.
Drinking alcoholic beverages while boating is hazardous to your health and that of others. It also is illegal.
Be mindful of weather warnings. Because Lake George is 32 miles long and only 3 miles wide at its breadth, it is susceptible to hard winds and fast storms.
Use a sturdy vessel. Canoes are fine for shoreline boating, but are not safe out on the main body of the lake.
Be familiar with safe boating practices and unusual site conditions. Water depths vary from sandy shoals to sudden depths of almost 200 feet, with sunken islands lurking at many turns. Boaters should obtain the Lake George navigation rules and buoys plus the hydrographic map available at marinas on the lake.
Caring boaters clean weeds and debris off propellers and boat trailers prior to launching so they won’t bring nuisance aquatic species to Lake George. They avoid weed beds and clean blades and trailers again after removing boats, and use on-shore bins to dispose of weed fragments.
Use on-shore restroom and bathhouse facilities. This will minimize the need to pump out your system.
Do not throw any litter overboard. Bring everything ashore including “biodegradable” food wastes.
Don’t be a litterbug.

^{Marinas On Lake George}

Click here to view a List of Marinas
Click here to view a comparison chart of local Marinas