Spokane River Boating Zones

The bottom line

Loading the river…

–acres in the tow zone (150 ft+)

–acres also meeting the 200-ft surf guideline

–acres no-wake (5 mph)

–straight lanes ≥ 3,000 ft

Every distance below is live. Change one and the map, acreages and downloads follow — handy for asking "what if the county rule were 200 ft?"

How each rule shrinks the river

Options

Apply designated zones (no-wake, no-motor, no-entry) Adjust depths to today's lake level

Edit mode — add, move, tag, and delete map features

Turn on Edit mode (or ✎ on the map). The zone colours hide and the map switches to sharp aerial imagery, where each dock shows.
Zoom in and click the outer (water) end of each dock — every click adds one. Click a pin to name or retype it; drag to move it.
▶ on the map steps along the shore a screen at a time, so no stretch is missed. H shows the zones to check the result.
Edits save in this browser. When you're done, Export features.geojson below and publish it.

Review pins

Step through imported features and auto-detected docks, west to east. Auto-detected docks don't count until confirmed. Keys: Y yes · N remove · T change type · → skip · Esc stop.

Layer counts

Save & share edits

Edits save in this browser automatically. To publish them, export features.geojson and replace site/data/features.geojson.

Import…

Downloads

Take the map on the water. Each file shows the same zones: no wake, wake OK but no towing, the tow zone (150 ft+), water that also meets the 200-ft surf guideline, and 3,000 ft+ straight lanes.

Google Earth on your phone (KMZ)

Download the KMZ on your phone.
Open it — choose Google Earth when asked (or in Google Earth: ☰ → Projects → Open → Import KML file).
Tap the layers to show or hide zones. Your blue location dot shows which zone you're in.

Google My Maps (KML)

Go to mymaps.google.com → Create a new map.
In the first layer choose Import and select the KML.
On your phone, open the Google Maps app → You → Maps to see it. This KML is flattened for My Maps (no folders, no dock pins); use the KMZ for the full layer set.

Chartplotters and navigation apps (GPX)

Copy the GPX to the plotter's SD card or import it in the manufacturer app (Garmin ActiveCaptain, Lowrance/Simrad/B&G via the C-MAP / Navico app). Navionics Boating: open the .gpx from Files or e-mail and choose Navionics (needs an active subscription), then turn on each track under Menu → Tracks.
Zone edges load as tracks and launches, fuel and hazards as waypoints. GPX can't fill areas, so read a tow-zone track as "the tow zone is on the river side of this line."
Older plotters limit points per track; if a track is cut short, use the KMZ on a phone instead.

Avenza Maps and onX

Use the KMZ for both. Avenza Maps: open a base map and import the KMZ as a layer. onX Hunt or onX Offroad: Import File, then pick the KMZ.

Print (PDF)

The PDF is a chart book: an overview page, three close-up sections, and the rules. Print at 100% on letter paper.

The rules this map shows

Distances are measured from the shoreline and from every dock, pier, log boom, swim area, and structure on the map. Rules about swimmers and moving boats can't be drawn, so they're listed but always apply on the water.

About this map

A map like this for your water

Lake associations and watershed districts get the same interactive map, the PDF chart book, and the KMZ and GPX files for their own lake or river — built from your local rules, docks, and no-wake zones.

Send us your water and its rules.
We map the shoreline, docks, depths and zones; you review them in this editor.
Share one link with your boaters.

Contact Cole Van Hersett