Are Wakeboats Right for Blue Mountain Lake?
Wakesurfing Impact Study
The rise of wake boats in the Northeast should make us ask: Are they right for Blue Mountain Lake? While these boats are designed to create large, surfable waves on big, deep lakes, they are poorly suited to be used in wake mode on smaller Adirondack lakes like ours.
What Makes Wakeboats Different
Wakeboats are not simply larger ski boats. They are specifically engineered to produce powerful waves by filling internal ballast tanks with hundreds or even thousands of pounds of water, allowing the boat to sit deeper in the water and displace far more water than traditional recreational boats. The result is a continuous series of large wakes that can travel long distances.
Research has shown these waves can stir up bottom sediments in shallow areas, releasing nutrients that have been buried for years. This contributes to lake browning, reduces water clarity, and can create conditions that favor harmful algal blooms. The waves also accelerate shoreline erosion, damage aquatic plant communities, disturb fish habitat, and can flood vulnerable loon nests during the nesting season.
Blue Mountain Lake Is Too Small and Too Shallow for Wake Sports
The concern isn't whether wakeboats can operate here—it's whether they should operate in wake mode, the setting specifically designed to generate the large waves used for wake surfing.
At the Adirondack Lakes Alliance's recent symposium and wakeboat webinar, this issue generated some of the strongest discussion among lake associations across the Park. Many communities expressed frustration that New York has yet to provide clear guidance for protecting smaller lakes.
Neighboring Vermont has already acted. Its wake sports regulations require wake surfing to occur only on larger lakes, in water at least 20 feet deep and well away from shore, and in areas that have at least 100 contiguous acres or measure approximately 3,000 feet long by 1,000 feet wide. Similar recommendations being developed for Adirondack communities would require even greater setbacks—approximately 1,000 feet from shore—recognizing that many Adirondack lakes simply are not large or deep enough to accommodate wake sports responsibly.
Blue Mountain Lake would not meet Vermont's standards for wake sports and would not meet the recommendations being developed by the Adirondack Lakes Alliance.
Wake boats Should Never Be Operated in Wake Mode on Blue Mountain Lake
A wake boat traveling across Blue Mountain Lake for transportation or recreation is very different from a wake boat operating in wake mode.
Wake mode uses ballast tanks and specialized settings to intentionally create the largest possible waves. Those waves are exactly what cause the greatest environmental impacts—including shoreline erosion, sediment resuspension, damage to aquatic habitat, flooding of loon nests, and increased safety risks for paddlers, anglers, swimmers, and other boaters.
Because Blue Mountain Lake is too small and environmentally sensitive to safely accommodate wake sports, wakeboats should never be operated in wake mode on the lake. If a wakeboat is used on Blue Mountain Lake, it should be operated like any other motorboat—with ballast tanks empty and wake-enhancing features turned off.
Another Invasive Species Risk
Wakeboats also present a lesser-known invasive species concern. Their ballast tanks can take in hundreds of gallons of lake water that may contain microscopic aquatic invasive species or plant fragments such as variable-leaf milfoil. Even after draining, ballast systems can retain water that may transport invasive species to another lake unless they are properly decontaminated using specialized procedures. This creates another pathway for the spread of aquatic invasive species between waterways.
Protecting the Lake We Love
Blue Mountain Lake is valued for its exceptionally clear water, outstanding water quality, quiet character, paddling, fishing, swimming, and wildlife. Large wake-generating boats are fundamentally at odds with those values. Their waves create safety concerns for kayakers, canoeists, paddleboarders, anglers, and swimmers while placing additional stress on the very natural resources that make this lake special.
Blue Mountain Lake is simply too small, too environmentally sensitive, and too important to support wake sports responsibly
As these boats become more common throughout the Northeast, we encourage everyone to help spread the word: wake sports belong on large waters designed to accommodate them—not on Blue Mountain Lake. By educating family, friends, and visitors today, we can help preserve the clean water, healthy shoreline, and peaceful character that have defined our lake for generations.
Help us Keep Aquatic Invasive Plants and Species OUT of our Lakes by following these simple rules BEFORE launching a boat in Blue Mountain, Eagle or Utowana Lakes:
CLEAN.
After boating, before you leave the launch:
Remove all visible plants, animals, fish, and mud from your boat, trailer, or other equipment and dispose of in a suitable trash container or on dry land. Don’t transport any potential hitchhiker, even back to your home. Remove and leave them at the site you visited.
DRAIN.
After boating, before you leave the launch:
Drain water from bilge, live wells, ballast tanks, and any other locations with water before leaving the launch. Invasive viruses, zooplankton, and juvenile zebra mussels and Asian clams can be transported in even just a drop of water!
DRY.
Before you launch to go boating:
Dry your boat, trailer, and all equipment completely. Drying times vary depending on the weather and the type of material. At least five days drying time is recommended.