Colorado River Access Regulations

With the many rivers that pour from the summer runoff of the Rocky Mountains and the scenic byways through which they cut, water recreation has long been a major part of Colorado’s outdoor lifestyle. With rafters, anglers and boaters all using Colorado’s rivers, owners of riverside property or property that has a river flowing through it look to defend their property from destruction associated with recreational use of the waterways.

  1. Access

    • The Colorado Constitution declares that all waterways in the state are public property and citizens are granted the right to use the rivers, their bottoms and their banks for recreational use. Although rivers are constitutionally protected public property, gaining access to them is not. You may not trespass on private property on your way to or from the river, nor can property owners bar use of the river as it runs through their property.

    Portage

    • As of July 2010, portage is allowed on rivers that are navigable, although boaters are required to stay as close to the riverbed as possible while bypassing the obstacle in the water. Portage is limited to riverbanks and may not be used as an excuse to cut across private property between rivers or to shortcut large swaths of whitewater by cutting corners and leaving riverbanks to port across private property.

    Colorado HB 1180

    • As of July 2010, many of Colorado’s river rights are in flux, with the State House considering modifying access rights. In response to property owners who claim recreational use of rivers that run through their land can be damaging to their property, Colorado HB 1180 was written to bar all but commercial outfitters from using rivers that ran through private property. People traveling on a river through private property may not touch the bank or the sides, except to free themselves of entanglements or when portaging an obstacle in the river; portages for severe conditions are not allowed. The restrictions on access were amended to allow for private use, although with the same restrictions that bar contact with banks and beds.