If you are a power boat owner, you already know that there are a lot of hoops to jump thru. Meaning, there is a whole list of regulations, titles, and stickers that are required.

  

But Stand Up Paddleboards do not have registration numbers and not much of a visible side for stickers to be attached. So consequently there has been some confusion and it has take a couple of years for the state of Illinois to catch up with the growing number of SUP users.  

  

State Requirements 

The newest ruling from the Illinois Department of Natural Recourses is (in part): IDNR page

Canoes, kayaks and paddle boats are no longer required to be titled/registered in Illinois UNLESS they have a motor or sail; otherwise customers will be able to purchase a 'Water Usage Stamp' for $6.00 per calendar year for the first three vessels and $3.00 for any additional vessels, all passes must be purchased at the same time to receive the discount.

Water Usage stamps are mandatory.  They should be available, over the counter, at any point-of-sale vendor starting  July 1, 2013.

 

For our neighbors in Wisconsin, the Wisconsin DNR handbook shows (in part): Handbook

You must have a Wisconsin Certificate of Number (registration) and expiration decals to operate a recreational vessel legally. Exception to the requirement to register a recreational vessel include: Manually propelled vessels that are not equipped with a motor or sail. 

   

There are so many bodies of navigable water here in northern Illinois and consequently so many ordinances and sticker requirements. Check out this list of the lakes in Illinois.  Each of these lakes as well as quarries, streams and rivers are under the jurisdiction of various government agencies, park districts and privately owned. So as a SUP owner it is your responsibility to contact the right authority for user fees and stickers.

   

If you are a resident of a city that owns a lake, such as Crystal Lake or Lake in the Hills, you can obtain a seasonal user tag for a nominal fee. If you are a non-resident, you will have to get a daily user tag (for the same amount as the resident pays for the entire year, BAH!)

  

To use the lake (old quarry) at The Hollows, a McHenry County Conservation District property, it is FREE. Parking is FREE too.

  

To use the Fox River below the Algonquin Dam is FREE. There are a number of boat launches in Kane County Forest Preserve Parks to access the Fox River. (Use the Boat/Canoe Launch filter on the Find a Preserve page.)

  

But to use the Fox River as well as the Chain of Lakes, above the Algonquin Dam to the Wisconsin State Line, you will have to contact the Fox Waterway Agency to purchase a User Sticker for Class X (Non-motor powered boats 17 feet or less in length, $10.00) See User Fee Schedule  Here is a list of FWA satellites for locations closer to you. Also, be aware that there is a $5.00 Processing Fee (Double BAH!) 

 

NASBLA Approved. The national association that governs state boating law (hence the clever acronym) has approved this, and it is the only online course that can make that claim. You can study in the knowledge that this course doesn't just meet national standards, but exceeds them. Click on the picture link to start the course.   

The BIC One Design Challenge puts challengers against each other using identical equipment on a 1 mile buoyed course.

  

For all of our local SUP Email Subscribers here is some Great News! Alpine Accessories has just been approved to run a BIC SUP One Design Challenge at the Founders Day activities. It will be on the Fox River at Algonquin.  Come join us!

  

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