Boaters advised of water levels dropping on Whitefish Lake

KALISPELL — Lake levels on Whitefish Lake are dropping, and the public ramps at Whitefish Lake State Park and Whitefish City Beach are approaching levels that are too shallow to launch or take out large boats.

All boaters should take precaution when launching or taking out in low-water conditions at public ramps across the region.

Landowners with large boats docked on Whitefish Lake should monitor lake levels and consider taking out boats due to dropping lake levels.

Severe drought conditions, earlier-than-normal spring runoffs, and above-average hot, dry summertime weather have created below-average stream flows and lake levels in northwest Montana.

Any time of year, boaters are discouraged from power loading, which damages boat ramps. Power loading involves using the boat motor to load your boat on the trailer, which can erode sediment and dig large, hazardous holes at the base of the ramp. Boat trailer wheels can unknowingly back into these holes and get stuck or cause damage to the trailer. In extreme cases, the end of the ramp can collapse or shift into the hole, leaving the ramp unusable and causing the access to be closed.