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Boating enthusiasts in New Mexico should look at the coming summer months as an ideal time to take the water less traveled.

That鈥檚 according to Scott Chalmers, the boating safety and education coordinator for New Mexico State Parks. While Elephant Butte Lake is the state鈥檚 largest state park, it might not be the best spot for water recreation as the weather heats up this year.

鈥淭he last I heard, the outlook for Elephant Butte Lake is going to be fairly similar to what it was last year, so fairly low water levels,鈥� Chalmers said. 鈥淗owever, I think the focus of our messaging this summer with lake levels is that there are some other lakes in New Mexico that are still in pretty good shape. Elephant Butte seems to get the most attention from the media and from boaters because it鈥檚 so close to Albuquerque and so close to El Paso.

鈥淭his summer might be a good opportunity for families to start maybe looking at some other spots to go to and explore some new places.鈥�

The majority of lakes throughout the Land of Enchantment are managed by New Mexico State Parks. Abiqui煤 and Cochiti lakes, however, are overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. With those two exceptions, an ideal resource for all things boating is the New Mexico State Parks website.

鈥淥n the State Parks website, we鈥檝e got an alerts page that has current boating conditions as well as announcements and restrictions,鈥� Chalmers said. 鈥淪o it鈥檒l say what the water level is and what the boating conditions are, whether they鈥檙e good, poor or fair. And we also post other announcements like campfire restrictions, whether facilities are open or closed and stuff like that. 鈥� We always encourage people to plan ahead and prepare and check the conditions before they show up to the park so that there are no unexpected surprises when they arrive.鈥�

For boating enthusiasts, Navajo Lake remains a top attraction. The state鈥檚 second-largest lake includes two marinas, two boat docks and allows for a variety of boating options. However, Chalmers also recommends a number of other lakes for recreational boating, including Bluewater, Brantley, Caballo, Clayton, Conchas, Eagle Nest, Santa Rosa, Storrie, Sumner and Ute.

El Vado Lake just recently became a more viable option.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the one that they鈥檝e been doing repair work on the dam for the last several years. And so El Vado Lake up until recently has just been kind of a mud pit,鈥� Chalmers said. 鈥淏ut now the boat ramp is open, and we鈥檝e got enough water to launch at least small motorboats on. That鈥檚 a recent change from prior years.鈥�

There are a couple of other factors to consider if one plans on hitting the water in the near future. New Mexico State Parks raised the boater registration fees (prices vary depending on boat size) on Jan. 1, 2025 鈥� the first increase in more than 40 years. Boats must be registered through the Motor Vehicle Division.

鈥淲e simply raised that fee amount to kind of keep pace with inflation, and we did that kind of parallel to raising some of our park admission and camping fees,鈥� Chalmers said. 鈥淭he fee that they pay to register their motorboat goes back to state parks and it鈥檚 put back into use to directly support boating safety on the water.鈥�

In regards to safety, it is now required that life jackets be worn on all human-powered watercraft, a regulation that also went into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. In the past, it was simply required to have a life jacket on board these vessels.

鈥淭he reason for that is because nonmotorized watercraft like canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, for example, are a lot smaller,鈥� Chalmers said. 鈥淭hey sit a lot closer to the water and they鈥檙e a lot easier to capsize or flip over, and people on top of them to fall into the water unexpectedly.鈥�

It鈥檚 also important to note that boater education courses are required for anyone operating a motorboat or a sailboat, with the exception of those born before Jan. 1, 1989. In-person classes are taught by park rangers throughout the year, and there are also online options that are more self-directed. Chalmers advises everyone to take the course if they haven鈥檛.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got about 20 years of boating accident data since we began requiring boater education for most motorboat operators,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd in that time, about 86% of the people who were involved in a boating fatality never received formal boating safety instruction. That really shows the power and the effectiveness of these courses and how they鈥檝e driven down boating-related deaths, incidents, injuries, property damage.鈥�

Some other factors to consider when boating are speed restrictions, which can vary by lake, and what types of motors are allowed. The various safety equipment required to be carried on a boat varies by its type 鈥� specifics on this can also be found on the New Mexico State Parks website.

鈥淥ur primary interest is making sure that people are safe and also having fun,鈥� Chalmers said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 truly enjoy yourself and have a good time if you鈥檙e not being safe.鈥�