North Dakota reminds boaters to wear life jackets ahead of summer

Stutsman County’s biggest summer waterways are getting a warning label before the first long weekends hit full stride: wear the life jacket, because the biggest public use areas here can turn dangerous fast.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department highlighted boating safety on May 13 ahead of National Safe Boating Week, May 16-22, as families across Stutsman County head for Jamestown Reservoir, Pipestem Lake and Spiritwood Lake. The message is simple, but the stakes are not. The department said drowning was the reported cause of death in three out of every four recreational boating fatalities in 2024, and 87% of those who drowned were not wearing life jackets.

That warning lands close to home at Jamestown Reservoir, the county’s largest public use area, with 2,095 surface acres, 45 miles of shoreline, seven boat ramps, two swimming beaches and 335 campsites. The Stutsman County Park Board also oversees boating access at Parkhurst on Pipestem Lake and Sandy Beach on Spiritwood Lake, where holiday traffic can build quickly once the weather turns warm. The Bureau of Reclamation also lists the Jamestown Reservoir recreation area as a site with multiple boat launch ramps and a modern campground, underscoring how many people use the water here each season.

State law gives boaters a checklist before they leave shore. Children 10 and younger must wear a personal flotation device in boats less than 27 feet long. People on personal watercraft and anyone towed on skis, tubes, boards or similar devices must also wear life jackets. Boats in Class A and Class 1, along with kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and jet skis, must carry a whistle audible for at least one-half mile.

The department also wants accident reporting taken seriously. Boat accidents involving injury, death or disappearance must be reported within 48 hours. Property-damage-only accidents over $2,000 must be reported within five days. Those rules matter in a county that has already seen how quickly recreation can turn tragic. A September 2025 two-boat crash on Spiritwood Lake led to a Jamestown man’s sentencing in April 2026, and a kayaking accident north of Woodworth in October 2025 killed a Tennessee man.

For Stutsman County boaters, the advice ahead of summer is not abstract. It is about checking the jacket count, making sure the whistle is aboard, watching the weather and remembering that cold water can overwhelm even a short trip from the ramp.