Lawsuit Could Open Public Access to Colorado Rivers

Colorado is one of few U.S. states that has decided that private property owners supersede the public when it comes to access to rivers and streams.

2 minute read

June 30, 2022, 10:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


A fly fisher casts on a fog-covered river.

Diane079F / Shutterstock

“Who owns the beds of Colorado’s rivers?”

Ben Goldfarb reports for High Country News about a lawsuit that could change Colorado’s unique law that declares most of the state’s rivers to be non-navigable, and thus owned by adjacent property owners.

“From a river-access standpoint, Colorado is among the West’s oddest states,” explains Goldfarb. “Federal law dictates that the beds of ‘navigable’ rivers — waterways once used as highways for commerce — belong to the states, which, in turn, generally allow boaters and anglers to use them.”

“Colorado has historically denied that it even has navigable rivers,” adds Goldfarb. “In 1912, the state’s Supreme Court opined that the state’s waterways — steep, rushing, canyon-bound — were ‘nonnavigable within its territorial limits.’ By that logic, the beds of even major rivers belonged not to the state, but to the owners of adjacent private properties.”

Enter Roger Hill, who was repeatedly attacked by a property owner while fishing on the Arkansas River and decided to sue the property owners and the state, claiming that the river is, in fact, navigable.

More details on the case Hill has built to prove the river is navigable, with commercial traffic using the river back to the 1870s, is included in the article. Goldfarb also notes that Colorado is not the only state to litigate the issues of public access to rivers in recent years.

“In 2010, the Utah Legislature barred the public from wading non-navigable waters through private property, effectively closing more than 40% of the state’s miles of fishable streams; although anglers and boaters sued, a judge upheld the law last year,” for example. Advocates in New Mexico succeeded in fighting back a law that restricted access to the state’s rivers in 2015.

Monday, June 27, 2022 in High Country News

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight