On May 21, 2026, the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules approved the stronger wakesport regulations proposed by the Agency of Natural Resources. These rules protect twelve additional lakes from the dangers of wakesports, and call for wake surfers to stay 500 feet away from swimmers, boaters, anglers, loon nests, moored boats and docks, as well as from the shoreline, on all inland lakes. They also expand the authority of greeters at launch sites to require decontamination to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. The rules go into effect on June 11, 2026.
Lake List
73 Vermont lakes allow motorboats. For the summer of 2026, under the new wakesports rule, 22 of these allow wakesports: 18 inland lakes and 4 border lakes. The rest do not, as indicated below. All lakes require decontamination of ballasted boats before launching. Here is the lake list for 2026.
| Lake | Total Acres | Wakesports Allowed? |
| CHAMPLAIN | 278400 | Yes |
| MEMPHREMAGOG | 5966 | Yes |
| MOORE RESERVOIR | 3181 | Yes |
| BOMOSEEN | 2360 | Yes |
| HARRIMAN | 2040 | Yes |
| SEYMOUR | 1769 | Yes |
| WILLOUGHBY | 1687 | Yes |
| CARMI | 1402 | Yes |
| COMERFORD | 1093 | Yes |
| DUNMORE | 985 | Yes |
| ST. CATHERINE | 904 | Yes |
| WATERBURY REZ | 839 | No |
| GREAT AVERILL | 828 | Yes |
| CASPIAN | 789 | Yes |
| SALEM | 764 | Yes |
| CRYSTAL | 763 | Yes |
| ARROWHEAD | 760 | No |
| MAIDSTONE | 745 | Yes |
| ISLAND POND | 626 | Yes |
| NORTON POND | 583 | No |
| ECHO (Charleston) | 550 | Yes |
| MOREY | 547 | Yes |
| HORTONIA | 479 | No |
| LITTLE AVERILL | 467 | Yes |
| FAIRLEE | 457 | No |
| SHELBURNE POND | 452 | No |
| FAIRFIELD POND | 446 | Yes |
| GROTON | 422 | No |
| MOLLYS FALLS REZ | 397 | No |
| JOES POND | 396 | No |
| HARVEYS | 351 | Yes |
| PEACHAM POND | 340 | No |
| HOLLAND POND | 325 | No |
| PARKER | 250 | No |
| WINONA | 248 | No |
| IROQUOIS | 243 | No |
| ELMORE | 219 | No |
| MILES POND | 215 | No |
| SHADOW (Glover) | 210 | No |
| DERBY | 207 | No |
| SUNSET | 202 | No |
| EDEN | 194 | No |
| SADAWGA POND | 194 | No |
| WRIGHTSVILLE REZ | 190 | No |
| EAST LONG POND | 188 | No |
| NEAL POND | 185 | No |
| RESCUE | 184 | No |
| ELLIGO | 174 | No |
| PENSIONER POND | 173 | No |
| LITTLE | 162 | No |
| NEWARK POND | 153 | No |
| LAMOILLE | 148 | No |
| SABIN (Woodbury) | 142 | No |
| GREAT HOSMER POND | 140 | No |
| BROWNINGTON POND | 139 | No |
| FOREST | 133 | No |
| SHADOW (Concord) | 128 | No |
| COLES POND | 125 | No |
| CEDAR | 123 | No |
| RAPONDA | 121 | No |
| BALD HILL POND | 108 | No |
| ECHO (Plymouth) | 104 | No |
| SOUTH POND | 103 | No |
| SPECTACLE POND | 103 | No |
| GREENWOOD | 96 | No |
| RICKER POND | 95 | No |
| VALLEY | 88 | No |
| HALLS | 85 | No |
| MARTINS POND | 82 | No |
| AMHERST | 81 | No |
| METCALF POND | 81 | No |
| CENTER POND | 79 | No |
| CHIPMAN LAKE | 79 | No |
| Total | 318087 | |
| Lakes open for Wakesports | 22 | |
| Lakes protected from wakesports | 51 | |
| Total acres on wakesports lakes | 306,663 | |
| Total acres on protected lakes | 11,424 | |
| Percent of total protected lakerage | 4% |
About Responsible Wakes
Responsible Wakes for Vermont Lakes (RWVL) is a collaborative group of citizens from across Vermont who began working together in March of 2021 based on a collective concern about the adverse effects of wakesports on Vermont lakes and ponds. Our group represents thousands of individuals from lakes and ponds with a full range of water-based recreational interests.
In 2021, RWVL petitioned Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources to regulate wakesports on Vermont lakes. At that time, wakesports were allowed on 75 of Vermont’s inland lakes. As a result of the first round of rulemaking that concluded in 2024, that number was reduced to 30 lakes.
In the spring of 2026, a second round of rulemaking has further reduced the number of lakes allowing wakesports to 18.
Our work today focuses on helping Vermont implement the stronger rules, and to help five additional lakes to prohibit wakesports: the two Averills, Caspian, Willoughby, and Echo (Charleston). We also work to to assist statewide efforts to control the spread of aquatic invasive species on our lakes.
This website introduces you to the reasons for our petition, the science that supports it, the economic impact of the proposed rule, and our progress so far.
The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) drafted a rule in response to our petition. The DEC conducted three pre-rulemaking meetings in 2022 and 2023 to receive comments on their draft rule. Comments overwhelmingly favored the rule, and most asked for it to be strengthened. A final public hearing on the proposed rule was conducted in August 2023, where again, the written and oral comments overwhelmingly favored a stronger rule by 10-to-1.
The original petition from the RWVL called for wakeboats to operate no closer than 1000 feet from shore, in water at least 20 feet deep, in an area of 60 or more contiguous acres that meets these conditions. These parameters are supported by scientific research and by the reality of life on Vermont lakes where wakeboats have already appeared.
The rule proposed by DEC reduces the distance from 1000 to 500 feet, and reduces the area from 60 to 50 contiguous acres. The DEC’s draft rule would not go far enough to adequately protect Vermont’s lakes and ponds from damage caused by wakeboats. It would allow wake sports on many lakes and ponds too small to accommodate them safely. RWVL has compiled a list showing how each lake would be affected with shoreline offsets of 1000 and 500 feet.
500 Feet is Not Enough – RWVL Position Paper
Following the end of the ANR Petition process on August 10, 2023, RWVL sent this letter to ANR Secretary Julie Moore summarizing our reasons for why a stronger Use of Public Waters Rules for wake boats, i.e., greater than 1,000-feet from shore for wake boat activities, is needed.
In a 12-page memo on September 18, 2023, Oliver Pierson and his staff recommended to Sec Julie Moore a stronger rule than the 500-ft minimum rule the ANR enacted.
If you would like to stay informed of the rule making progress, please go to our News page and sign up to receive our newsletters by email.
Contact RWVL at info@responsiblewakes.org
Wake Boats Educational Handout
Please Note: While the RWVL will periodically update and verify the links on this page, the RWVL is not responsible for the day-to-day functionality of the links. The RWVL is also not responsible for the content or accuracy of any non-RWVL links. Posting of hyperlinks does not signify endorsement by RWVL nor responsibility for hyperlink contents nor for any associated organizations.