Summit County boat rangers report their busiest summer season since 2021 on Lake Dillon.
Rangers met with more than 1,100 people on motorboats, kayaks and paddleboards. Close to 150 people needed assistance, averaging more than one per day between Memorial Day weekend and late September, when marinas closed in Dillon and Frisco. Nine victims were rescued from the water. There were no fatalities this summer after two fatalities each in 2024 and 2022.
Rangers handed out 160 warnings for violations, mostly paddlers without PFDs, and wrote 24 citations, again, mostly for paddlers without PFDs, along with illegal campfires and camping on the lakeshore. They backed up Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers on 120 calls, including reports of armed men roaming the shores. (Turns out they were hunters with permits for waterfowl season.)
But it wasn’t all rescues and tickets. Rangers also logged 140 hours helping the U.S. Forest Service spruce up campgrounds and trails around the lake.