Colorado "back roads"

[Manderscheid]

Forgive me if this question has been asked to death, and I suppose it has been, but a quick search hasn't shown me the answer... if a simple answer is possible.

Searching on my GPS I find so many pieces of BLM that I would like to have access to, but the only roads into them cross private ground and are simply called "back road". Are these unnamed roads therefor private roads or are they something I can use to drive through private to get to BLM. For an eastern guy it seems that an awful lot of BLM sets within a couple hundred yards of named highways and roads with no apparent way for anyone to get to it.

 

[marksjeep]

Access to public land must be via public right of way. State highway, county road, FS road; some type of legal right of way must cross the private for you to cross it without landowner permission. There are lots of "roads" that are not public rights of way on maps.

 

[COEngineer]

If you use the CO Hunt Atlas http://ndismaps.nrel.colostate.edu/index.html?app=HuntingAtlas you can check the box for "Motor Vehicle Use Map" layer and it will show publicly accessible roads (use the legend to determine if it is open to trucks, atvs, or motorcycles).

Paper copies of these Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUMs) are also available from the USFS.

 

[vanish]

Heck, a lot of "County Road ..." in Colorado are gated. They might be county roads up to the gate, but then they turn private. Maps don't always address that and label the whole thing as county road.

 

[vanish]

If you use the CO Hunt Atlas http://ndismaps.nrel.colostate.edu/index.html?app=HuntingAtlas you can check the box for "Motor Vehicle Use Map" layer and it will show publicly accessible roads (use the legend to determine if it is open to trucks, atvs, or motorcycles).

Paper copies of these Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUMs) are also available from the USFS.

MVUM is good, but only applicable to USFS areas. A lot of the private/blm border areas are not covered by the MVUM.

 

[PoWdA]

State trust lands confuse me out here. I drove to a piece of land ONX Maps says was state trust land. A road bordered this particular square of land but there was a fence with no trespassing signs. Also, like many have said above, often times a road will be on the map, but you hit a gate. I am in Colorado. There doesn't seem to be much method to the madness, at least that I can sort out.

 

[vanish]

In Colorado, State Trust lands are not accessible to the public unless specifically leased by the CPW.

 

[1_pointer]

If you use the CO Hunt Atlas http://ndismaps.nrel.colostate.edu/index.html?app=HuntingAtlas you can check the box for "Motor Vehicle Use Map" layer and it will show publicly accessible roads (use the legend to determine if it is open to trucks, atvs, or motorcycles).

Paper copies of these Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUMs) are also available from the USFS.

A whole lot of the USFS MVUMs are available for a free download pdf that are georeferenced, which allows apps like Avenza to track your location on the map. Works pretty darn slick.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

A whole lot of the USFS MVUMs are available for a free download pdf that are georeferenced, which allows apps like Avenza to track your location on the map. Works pretty darn slick.

No chit... I will have to check this out seems like a game changer.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

State trust lands confuse me out here. I drove to a piece of land ONX Maps says was state trust land. A road bordered this particular square of land but there was a fence with no trespassing signs. Also, like many have said above, often times a road will be on the map, but you hit a gate. I am in Colorado. There doesn't seem to be much method to the madness, at least that I can sort out.

Like vanish said you can't hunt state trust lands (or access them at all for that matter) there are however state rec lands that can be hunted and fished, see brochure below. I would be very careful about using OnXmaps with regard to state lands in CO, I contacted a friend who works at onxmaps about this last year and offered to identify with a shapefile the state lands that were listed in the brochure for public use, because the layer they have is so misleading, he forwarded it to their CEO but I've only heard crickets since.

https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/RulesRegs/Brochure/lands.pdf

 

[LuketheDog]

In Colorado, State Trust lands are not accessible to the public unless specifically leased by the CPW.

I had a long talk with a guy about this with a guy I bumped into while out antelope hunting this year, he had no idea, hope I saved him a ticket...

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I had a long talk with a guy about this with a guy I bumped into while out antelope hunting this year, he had no idea, hope I saved him a ticket...

I was scouting out in the Pawnee this fall... boy you could get yourself into some trouble out there using onx. Nothing is posted and you have onx telling you half the land is public.

 

[1_pointer]

No chit... I will have to check this out seems like a game changer.

FYI...

https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/custergallatin/maps-pubs