GRAND JUNCTION, Colo -- For many, the 4th of July means spending time with family, barbecuing, and in many cases drinking booze. But driving drunk isn't a problem limited to area roadways.

Local law enforcement says they'll be keeping a close eye not only on the roadways this holiday weekend. They say if you're firing up your boat or ATV, you'll want to make sure to stay sober as well.

"Any weekend people are drinking out here on their boats. It doesn't matter if it's a holiday weekend or not," explained Eric Los, the assistant manager of Highline State Park.

Under a hot July sun, many boaters will motor out into Highline Lake this weekend. For many, this means the chance to relax and crack open a cold beer, but that's not the case with fisherman Ryan Schopp.

"I usually don't drink and boat anywhere," said Schopp. "You get caught doing that and it's just the same as a DUI, so it's just not worth it."

In fact, anyone caught boating under the influence faces serious penalties.

"You lose your boating privledges for three months, plus your court costs, fees, fines, all that," explained Los.

But boating under the influence isn't the only off-road drinking danger facing 4th of July partiers. The desert north of 29 Rd is littered with evidence frequent partying. With empty beer bottles and broken glass strewn all over the place, the hope is whoever was partying was only littering, and not driving drunk on ATV's or dirtbikes.

Western Slope ATV Association president Steve Chapel says his group advises strongly against excessive use of alcohol.

"Sometimes ATV's are hard enough to keep on four wheels when somebody's totally sober," said Chapel.

Although DUI's are rarely issued in the desert it doesn't mean law enforcement won't punish those found to be in violation.

"The potential is definitely there, especially if there was an accident where people got hurt and an investigation revealed that there was alcohol involved. You can guarantee that there would be charges related to DUI, and the penalties would be just as severe," explained Lisa McCammon with the Mesa County Sheriff's Office.

It's a simple message law enforcement wants to get across. They want people to have a good time this holiday weekend, but they say no matter where you're traveling and no matter how, you should always have a safe way of getting where you need to go.