public roads and public right of way questions

[loc9fisher]

can anyone explain to me what a public right of way is and how its encorporated into a public road. is it a general state-wide regulation, or does it change from highway to county road to dirt road back in the sticks.

the reasoning behind this question is that i was told by a sheriff that i have 66' from center of the public road in each direction that is considered public right of way, and i can access water from it without asking permission from surrounding landowners. then a dnr officer told me that only applies in certain circumstances, and i can only access the water if i can step from the edge of the road directly into the water without touching the shoulder.

this public road splits the lake, with only about 4' of shoulder on both sides. half way down this public road is a sign saying this lake is open to promiscuous fishing and states the rules for taking fish out of this lake. that makes me think i CAN access this lake legally from this road being that the sign was posted by the dnr, and made the sheriff think that too. when i asked a landowner nearby the status of the road and lake i was told it was "kind of private" and was told i wasn't allowed to hunt there.

any help would be great. thanks............loc9

[Rip_Some_Lip]

I work for a county highway dept. The R/W differs depending on the road or can be several different dimensions on a particular strech of road. Typically on a township road (narrow gravel) the minimum R/W is 66' wide, that means it is 33' from centerline each way. On a county road that is paved, it is usually 50' or more from centerline, but not always. You can check with the county engineering dept on the width, they have maps that you can look at.

R/W is public land and as far as I know, the sheriff is right, you can access water from it. The landowner will tell you that everytime to try to keep you off the spot. In this case, it sounds like you should be able to access the water from it. If in doubt, make a phone call to your local authorities. It seems a little funny what the DNR officer told you about about stepping directly from the road, but he is the one who will write the ticket. I hope this helps a little.

[caseymcq]

Check out the link. It is to the MNDNR Hunting regs. I think page 3 has what you are looking for.

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/hunting/2005/trespass_law.pdf

I have always felt that subject is a grey area depending on who you talk to. You experienced it yourself, getting two different answers from law enforcement personel.

Good luck.

[waskawood]

Very interesting topic and one to which there has been much speculation and never a definite legal answer. Another interesting angle is the difference between state or county road r.o.w. and townshio r.o.w. I understand that the state and county actually buy and own the land that is considered r.o.w. The land owners along a township road actually own the property to the center of the road and grant the township and easment to put a road on their property. I am not sure that grants you and I the right to use anythimg but the road itself and not the ditch. Any answers?