Boaters born after June 30, 1996 and most personal watercraft operators who operate a vessel in Michigan must have a boater education card (boating safety certificate). There are a few different ways to earn your boating safety certificate.
Counter Clockwise Direction
You should always move in a counterclockwise direction, regardless of the type of watercraft. It’s the law!
Learn more about boating safety such as speed limits, no-wake rules, right of way, jet ski capacity, and much more in this brochure.
Wake Boats and Jet Skis
Getting too close to the shore is deteriorating the shoreline. According to the DNR:
1. Boats operating in wake-surfing mode or wake-boarding mode, during which boat speed, wave shapers, and/or ballast are used to increase wave height, should operate at least 500 feet from docks or the shoreline, regardless of water depth.
2. Boats operating in wake-surfing or wake-boarding modes should operate in water at least 15 feet deep.
Many areas of Woodland Lake cannot accommodate the 500 feet requirement from the shoreline. It is also not 15 feet deep in most of the lake. When using a wake boat on the lake in these non-qualifying locations, please ride at a no-wake speed.