American Whitewater has prepared this table as a tool and research guide for understanding the differences between state recreational use statutes on a national basis. It is certainly not the final word on the current state of liability law in America. You should exercise your own good judgement when using the material and we strongly encourage you to verify the status of your state statutes independently with an attorney before relying on this data.

What are Recreational Use Statutes and how do they work?

Clarification of terms used in this table.

Credits and Appreciation.

STATE YEAR PASSED DUTY TO KEEP SAFE DUTY TO WARN ASSURANCE OF SAFETY LIABILITY FOR MISCONDUCT WILFUL/ WANTON PROTECTION LOST IF FEE CHARGED  Alabama Alabama Code §35-15-1 1965, 1981 No No No Yes No, if use of land is non-commercial Alaska Alaska Stat. §09.65.200 1980 Not Specified Not Specified Not Specified Yes Yes Arizona Arizona Rev. Stat. Ann. §33-1551 1983 Not Specified Not Specified Not Specified Yes Yes Arkansas Arkansas Stat. Ann. §18-11-301 1965, 1983, 1991 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed California California Govt. Code §2-2-3-2-846 1963, 1988 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Colorado Colorado Rev. Stat. §33-41-101 1963, 1970 Not Specified Not Specified No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Connecticut Connecticut Gen. Stat. §52-557(f) 1971, 1990 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Delaware Delaware Code Ann. §7-VI-5901 1953 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Florida Florida State. Ann. §XXVIII-375.251 1963 No No No Yes Yes Georgia Georgia Code Ann. §51-3-20 1965 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Hawaii Hawaii Rev. Stat. §3-28-520-1 1969 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Idaho Idaho Code §36-16 1976, 1988 No No No Not Specified Yes Illinois Illinois Ann. Stat. §745-65-1 1965 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Indiana Indiana Code Ann. §14-22-10 1969, 1995, 1998 No, for recreation trails; not specified for other locations. Not Specified No Yes Yes Iowa Iowa Code Ann. §XI-2-461(C) 1967 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Kansas Kansas Stat. Ann. §58-3201 1965, 1988 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Kentucky Kentucky Rev. Stat. Ann. §XXXVI-411-190 1968, 2000 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Louisiana Louisiana Rev. Stat. Ann. §9-III-V-2-2791 & 2795 1964, 1989 No No No Yes Yes Maine Maine Rev. Stat. Ann. §14-1-7-159(A) 1979, 1995 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Maryland Maryland Nat. Res. Code Ann. §5-1101 1957, 1998 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Massachusetts Massachusetts Gen. Law Ann. §I-21-17(C) 1972 Not Specified Not Specified Not Specified Yes Yes, but voluntary payments are allowed Michigan Michigan Comp. Laws Ann. §13.1485{UNVERIFIED} 1953 Not Specified Not Specified Not Specified Yes Yes, but may charge a fee for "U-Pick" crops & not lose immunity Minnesota Minnesota Stat. Ann. §604(A)20 1961, 1994 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Mississippi Mississippi Code Ann. §89-2-1 1978, 1986 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Missouri Missouri §XXXVI-537.345 1983 No No No Yes Yes Montana Montana Rev. Code Ann. §70-16-301 1965, 1995 No Not Specified No Yes Yes Nebraska Nebraska Rev. Stat. §37-730 1965, 1998 No No No Yes Yes, except can charge group rates & not lose immunity Nevada Nevada Rev. Stat. §41.510 1963, 1995 No No No Yes Yes New Hampshire New Hampshire Rev. Stat. Ann. §XVIII-212-34 1961, 1982 No No No Yes Yes, but may charge a fee for "U-Pick" crops & not lose immunity New Jersey New Jersey Stat. Ann. §13-1(B)B-15-133 1968, 1984 No No No Yes Yes New Mexico New Mexico Stat. Ann. §17-4-7; §66-3-1013; §16-3-9 1973 No Not Specified No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed New York New York Gen. Oblig. Law §9-103 1963 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed North Carolina North Carolina Gen. Stat. §113(A)-6-95 1987 Trails Act, 1993 Not Specified Not Specified Not Specified Not Specified Only applies to trails & not other uses of land North Dakota North Dakota Cent. Code §53-08-1 1965, 1993 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Ohio Ohio Rev. Code Ann. §XV-33-18 1963, 1995 No Not Specified No Not Specified Yes Oklahoma Oklahoma Stat. Ann. Title §76-10 1965, 1994 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Oregon Oregon Rev. Stat. §105.672 1971, 1995 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Stat. Ann. §68-11-477 1965 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Rhode Island Rhode Island Gen. Law §32-6-1 1978 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed South Carolina South Carolina Code Ann. §27-3-10 1962 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed South Dakota South Dakota Comp. Laws Ann. §20-9-11 1966, 1990 No No No Yes Yes, but nonmonetary gifts up to $100 allowed Tennessee Tennessee Code Ann. §11-10-101 1988 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Texas Texas Stat. & Codes §4-75.001 1965, 1999 No Not specified No Yes No. Revenue from charges may not exceed 2x prop. taxes Utah Utah Code Ann. §57-14-1 1971, 1997 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed Vermont Vermont Stat. Ann. §10-020-441 & §12-5791 1967, 1993 No Not Specified No Yes Yes Virginia Virginia Code §29.1-509 1950 No No No Yes Yes, but may charge fees to maintain the land & not lose immunity Washington Washington Rev. Code Ann. §4-24.200 1967, 1997 Not Specified Not Specified Not Specified Yes Yes, but may charge for cutting firewood & not lose immunity West Virginia West Virginia Code §19-25-1 1965 No No No Yes Yes Wisconsin Wisconsin Stat. Ann. §895.52 1963, 1995 No No No Not Specified No, so long as total revenues don’t exceed $2000 annually Wyoming Wyoming Stat. Ann. §34-19-101 1965 No No No Yes Yes, but fees from land leased to public agency allowed

CLARIFICATION OF TERMS:

YEAR PASSED: When was the recreational use statute passed or modified?

DUTY TO KEEP SAFE: Does the owner owe a duty of care to keep their premises safe for entry and use by others for recreational purposes?

DUTY TO WARN: Does the owner owe any duty to warn visitors of hazardous conditions, structures, or activities on their property to persons entering for recreational purposes?

ASSURANCE OF SAFETY: Does the owner who gives permission to another for recreational activities on their property thereby extend any assurance that the premises are safe?

LIABILITY FOR MISCONDUCT WILFUL/WANTON: Does the statute limit the landowner’s liability for wilful or malicious failure to guard or warn against known dangerous conditions, uses, structures, or activities?

PROTECTION LOST IF FEE CHARGED: Does the statute limit the landowner’s liability for injuries suffered in any case where access permission is granted for commercial enterprise or profit? In other words, does the landowner lose their protection under the statute if they charge an access fee?

CREDITS:

American Whitewater collected the majority of this data via private research, correspondence, and assistance from the following sources:

International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA)

American Association for Horsemanship Safety (AAHS) & the University of Texas

Liability and Immunity: A National Assessment of Landowner Risk for Recreational Injuries; Ronald A. Kaiser & Brett A. Wright Envrionmental Policy Group, Texas A&M University, Department of Recreation, Park & Tourism Sciences

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