Every summer weekend since 2021 the Candlewood Lake Authority has put two person teams at the lake's boat ramps to offer free, voluntary inspections for invasive species, and every fall it writes up what they saw. The 2025 report is 27 pages, "Written and Compiled By: J. Neil Stalter CLA Director of Ecology," funded through a state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection aquatic invasive species grant, and its PDF was created November 17, 2025. It is the only public count of who launches on Candlewood, from which ramp, in what kind of boat, registered where, and coming from which lake last. For a buyer weighing a cove, a town ramp or a dock, that is a traffic study nobody else publishes. Here it is, quoted as printed.
Every figure below is from the report. Where I compare 2025 to 2024, both numbers are printed in the report's own graphs.
What the steward program is
The Authority "stations 'Stewards' at the 7 public launches around Candlewood Lake on peak boating days during the summer to offer free voluntary boat and trailer inspections to boaters." Those seven "include 5 municipally managed launches that are reserved for residents of that town, as well as two public launches managed by the State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP)." Stewards "were stationed at launches from roughly 8am-4pm, and would cover two different launches on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays." An inspection "involved a quick search of the hull, prop, and trailer, followed by asking the boater to empty their bilge, ballast, and live-well (if present). Stewards would feel the boat hull with their hands to search for small juvenile zebra mussels and other mollusk species." The whole thing is voluntary: "it was clear our stewards did not have any enforcement capabilities." The program "is funded through the boat registration stamp program in the state of CT."
The 2025 numbers
"The 2025 steward season stretched from June 1st, 2025 to September 1st. In that time, stewards had 707 boater interactions, conducted 256 thorough inspections, and did not find any invasive species on boats entering the lake." Over the program's life, "there have been 3306 boater interactions and 2540 thorough inspections (77% acceptance)." The report is candid that 2025 was not a good year for acceptance: of the 707, "256 boaters accepted a thorough inspection, leaving 451 boaters that declined an inspection (64%)." It then explains that some steward teams "were not following their training and properly stopping boaters to ask for an inspection," logging boats that drove past as declines; removing those leaves "550 full interactions and still 256 thorough inspections," and a declined rate the report puts at 53 percent, "which is still much higher than we'd like." The consequence, in its words: "there were 157 boats which passed by stewards that did not have a sufficient inspection and may have had invasive species."
Which ramps carry the traffic
The report's launch table for 2025: Lattins Cove 265 interactions, Danbury 173, Squantz Cove 146, New Milford 67, Brookfield 46, Sherman 10, New Fairfield 0. The New Fairfield zero is a staffing decision, not a count: "The decision was made in 2022 to not man the launch at New Fairfield" because of "extremely low usage by daily boaters." The Authority's summary of the pattern: "the ramp utilization on Candlewood generally goes Lattins, Danbury, and then Squantz Cove (if you do not include fishing tournaments which are not covered by Lake Stewards)." Lattins Cove, in Danbury, is "one of the DEEP managed launches, and the busiest on Candlewood Lake." Its conclusion: "It is clear that the majority of boaters visiting Candlewood Lake enter through the two state launches, particularly Lattins Cove, and the Danbury municipal launch."
For a buyer this is the map of where day traffic starts. The two state ramps, Lattins Cove and Squantz Cove, are the public front doors, and the report itself pairs them with the state's own launch listings. The five town ramps are "reserved for residents of that town," which is the quiet reason a town's ramp shows up in a lake house listing as a feature: the five Candlewood town beaches, who gets in and who gets a boat in covers the residency rules ramp by ramp.
What is launching, and what changed
The 2025 vessel count: bowriders 283, personal watercraft 235, pontoons 80, wakeboard boats 58, fishing boats 48, small craft 3, enclosed cabin 0. Against the 2024 graph printed beside it, personal watercraft rose from 142 to 235, pontoons from 36 to 80 and wakeboard boats from 15 to 58, while bowriders slipped from 304 to 283. The report reads the wake boat number two ways: "This year, the count of wakeboard boats has gone up significantly, indicating both proper classification by the stewards, as well as the growing interest in wakesurfing. Wakesurfing is becoming a more prominent activity on the lake and can cause user conflict." It adds a public safety line a cove buyer will recognize: "Ensuring safe towing at legal distances is becoming a point of emphasis for public safety on the water." Wake boats also matter for the inspection itself, "requiring inspectors to look even further beneath the hull," with "large ballast requiring emptying away from the lake to prevent spread of invasives."
Where the boats come from
By registration, 2025 was "74%" Connecticut and "21%" New York, with every other state together "5% of the total between all 10 of them." The counts: Connecticut 520, New York 145, New Jersey 14, New Hampshire 8, Delaware 7, Florida 4, Pennsylvania 3, Mississippi 2, and one each from Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and North Carolina. New York's share "has remained consistent all four years of the steward program," which the report attributes to "the very high population of southeastern New York" and the lake's "closeness to the NY border."
The more important question is the last lake each boat was in. "The vast majority of boaters (84%) had previously been on Candlewood before their visit, presenting no invasive species threat." Of the rest, the report lists Lake Mahopac 3, Lillinonah 3, Long Island Sound 3, Zoar 2, Lake Hopatcong 2, Hartland Pond 2, and one each from Raquette, Oscawana, Lake Champlain and Scoville Reservoir. Over five years, "9% of boaters come from 'High Risk' waterbodies." The lake it names: "Two years ago, Hydrilla was discovered in Lake Lillinonah, immediately making it a lake of primary concern for invasive species spread into Candlewood, and Lake Lillinonah is directly upstream of lake Zoar, which will likely contain hydrilla soon." And the priority has shifted: "since the introduction of zebra mussels in the Candlewood Ecosystem, the primary concern now are plant species, as well as Quagga Mussels." Hydrilla and water chestnut "were stopped and removed by stewards in 2023, but were not found in 2024 or 2025." If you are shopping both lakes, the Lake Lillinonah overview and Lake Zoar for a second home sit on the other side of that sentence.
What boaters say they do, and why the Authority doubts it
Stewards asked each inspected boater three habit questions. In 2025, 218 of 255 said they had visually inspected their boat before leaving that day, which the report rounds to the "roughly 86% number we've seen in the past." Two hundred of 255 said they had washed and dried it, "78%." One hundred sixty six of 255 said they had noticed the invasive species signage at the ramp, up from 54 percent in 2024, which the report reads as a sign "that the new signs are indeed making a difference." Then it discounts its own good news: "it is almost certain that the share of boaters who did not inspect or wash and dry their boat is larger than the amount reflected in the graphs," because boaters report "behavior they expect to be 'correct' rather than answering truthfully." Only 109 of 255 said they had been through a steward inspection before, "42.75" percent, down from a majority in 2022 and 2023, "indicating that a healthy number of new boaters were coming to the lake." One line points at next year: "We plan to ask boaters if they would use a wash station at the ramp, should there be one when they arrive, starting in 2026."
What this means before you offer
- Know which front door your cove is near. Lattins Cove carried 265 stops and the Danbury town ramp 173. A house on the water near either sees the weekend traffic the report is counting. A house on an arm served by a 10 stop ramp, like Sherman's, sees a different lake.
- Treat the town ramp as part of the deed. Five of seven ramps are residents only. Which town you buy in decides which ramp you can use without a trailer line at Lattins, and Candlewood Lake communities, town by town lays out which associations add a private launch on top.
- Read the wake boat line as a neighbor question. Fifty eight wake boats counted at ramps, up from 15, plus the Authority's own "user conflict" phrase, is the honest version of "quiet cove."
- Inspections are voluntary and most boaters skip them. A 53 to 64 percent decline rate means the lake's defense against hydrilla is mostly the boaters themselves. Zebra mussels are in Candlewood, hydrilla is not yet is what a dock owner has to lose.
- Pair it with the water itself. The same Authority's chemistry report for the same season is read in Candlewood Lake water quality in 2025; together they are the lake's own account of a year.
The Authority's year end appeal, dated December 11, 2025, adds two lines to the report: its stewards "have inspected over 3,000 boats since 2021 and the CLA has secured grant funding to continue the program for 2026," and "Over half of boats inspected entering Candlewood from other waterbodies came from high-risk waters. High-risk waterbodies contain invasive species not found in Candlewood, such as hydrilla and water chestnut."
Update, June 2026: the Authority's summer reminder on certificates and speed
On June 26, 2026, FirstLight published a Housatonic River Valley water safety release out of New Milford that carried a statement from Mark Howarth, Executive Director of the Candlewood Lake Authority: "Boaters must follow all boating laws and regulations and ensure they have the required Safe Boating Certificate, including all operators of personal watercraft." The same statement asks everyone on the water to respect "fellow lake users by operating at safe speeds, keeping a safe distance from other boats, paddlers, docks, and shorelines" and calls boating under the influence "one of the leading causes of serious boating accidents, injuries and fatalities." The release also quotes the Lake Zoar Authority and the Lake Lillinonah Authority, whose chairman warns that as the water warms "aquatic weeds can grow from the bottom to the surface" and that "Entanglement in weeds is a very serious danger."
For a buyer, the certificate line is the one to act on before the first season: the Authority's statement names the operator, and names personal watercraft operators specifically, so a household that has never boated should plan the course before the boat arrives rather than after.
Update, September 2026: what the Authority says changed for boaters
The Candlewood Lake Authority's regular meeting minutes for August 12, 2026 list what its public safety chair took up that night: "new PWC legislation, bow riding legislation, contact information requirement on all vessels, and the island closures." The minutes do not say what any of those rules require, so treat the line as notice that three things changed for boaters in 2026 and confirm each against the state before you buy a boat to go with the house. The same report says the Authority is "starting to discuss content for the next term of the 3-year MOA with EnCon," the agreement that puts the state's Environmental Conservation Police alongside the Authority's own Marine Patrol on this lake. Two notes a buyer will actually see on the water: "infractions are down for the year, possibly the messaging from the CLA boating safety videos have helped decrease violations," and "the new wave runners have received a great response from the Marine Patrol officers." As with every set, the document prints that these minutes "are not considered official until they have been approved at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Candlewood Lake Authority."
The officers behind those ramp numbers are counted, equipped and accounted for in who patrols Candlewood Lake.
Common questions about Candlewood Lake boat launches and inspections
How many boats launch on Candlewood Lake?
The steward report does not count every boat. It counts steward interactions on peak days at two ramps per day: 707 in 2025, with 3,306 over the program's first five years. Lattins Cove, Danbury and Squantz Cove are the busiest ramps by that count.
Which Candlewood Lake boat ramps are public?
Two: Lattins Cove in Danbury and Squantz Cove in New Fairfield, both managed by the state. The other five ramps are municipal and "reserved for residents of that town," according to the report.
Are boat inspections required on Candlewood Lake?
No. The Authority's stewards offer free voluntary inspections and "did not have any enforcement capabilities." In 2025, 256 of 707 boaters accepted one.
Were invasive species found on boats entering Candlewood in 2025?
No. Stewards "did not find any invasive species on boats entering the lake" in 2025. Hydrilla and water chestnut were removed from boats in 2023.
Where do Candlewood Lake boaters come from?
By registration in 2025, 74 percent Connecticut and 21 percent New York. Eighty four percent of inspected boats had last been on Candlewood itself. The report names Lake Lillinonah as the lake of primary concern because hydrilla was found there.
Sources: Candlewood Lake Authority, "2025 Lake Steward Program Final Report," written and compiled by J. Neil Stalter, CLA Director of Ecology, 27 pages, PDF created November 17, 2025, posted on the Authority's Reports page as the 2025 Lake Steward Report and downloaded September 4, 2026: results summary, program introduction, total inspection results, previous location of boaters, best practice implementation results, conclusions. Vessel and launch comparisons to 2024 are read from the report's Graphs 1 and 2, which print both years.
Related reading:where Candlewood's weeds went, and when they come back, Candlewood Lake bass tournaments in 2025, the state's own count, Squantz Pond, the natural lake attached to Candlewood, what the Candlewood Lake Authority asks of a lakefront owner and the Candlewood Lake overview.
If you want a cove, a ramp or a dock read against the Authority's own traffic count before you write an offer, reach me through ConnorCTHomes.com.
Connor Kostyra, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson, CT Lic. RES.0836348.
Connor CT Homes is a marketing brand. Real estate services are provided through RE/MAX Rise, 1297 Main Street, Watertown, CT 06795.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Figures are quoted from the Candlewood Lake Authority's 2025 Lake Steward Program report as printed; steward counts cover peak days at staffed ramps and are not a census of lake traffic. Ramp access rules are set by each town and the state and can change. Confirm current rules before relying on anything here.
