Can you canoe on any river

Post Sep 24, 35 T We've updated our Privacy Policy and by continuing you're agreeing to the updated terms. This website uses cookies for functionality, analytics and advertising purposes as described in our Privacy Policy. If you agree to our use of cookies, please continue to use our site. Or Learn more Continue. Song of the Paddle Forum. Share Share with:. Link: Copy link. After researching as much safety information as possible and buying the suggested flotation devices etc I have just discovered that we also need a licence for virtually all the inland waterways in England.

I have read about British Canoeing membership and that that includes the licence etc. My question is, are there any waterways in SE England where I can put the boats in without the requirement for a licence? Thank you in advance. I'm not sure what additional benefit you would get from paying the extra for the children unless they're going to get involved in BC-affiliated clubs or something. And don't forget the BC membership also gives you public liability insurance in case something goes horribly wrong.

Most of the places you don't need a waterways license such as some reservoirs will insist you have that. Officially, you do need a waterways license for a lot of waterways. I have never carried mine and never been asked for it. Thank you for the replies. Very useful info indeed.

I may take a chance on the rivers for a wee bit without a licence and see how things go. Bobbing Ben. If you post your general location, perhaps on a different thread, and ask for local river recommendations you might be surprised how much is around that is paddleable in some sense.

I'm not a huge fan of canals booooooriiiing so tend to find myself on the smaller 'un-navigable' rivers that I don't believe require a licence.

I do have a licence mostly for the insurance and always carry it, but I have never been asked for it. Much as I'd like it to be true its a bit disingenuous to say there is a right of navigation on rivers dating back to the Magna Carta or before!

It does provide access to certain rivers. Trouble is that isn't what you find on the water. Try canoeing down the Derwent through Chatsworth Park and see what happens! Adrian Cooper. What you might find is someone who doesn't understand the law.

Its technically illegal; though as a canoer there is basically no chance you would get caught, and I don't imagine the penalties are very steep even if you do. The same restrictions due to mussels probably apply to many states.

I know they used to in Colorado, but I think they've lost by now and pretty much all the lakes in the Front Range are invaded. Anyways, watch out for mussels, and please don't spread them through carelessness and apathy. Water use, like everything else in the US, is a patchwork of Federal, State, and Local regulations plus quasi-legal muscle. Multiple overlapping laws and agencies can apply at each level.

Here's some examples in my home state of Oregon. In Oregon ORS Smith upheld that "Every person has an undoubted right to use a public highway, whether upon land or water, for all legitimate purposes of trade and transportation. While the corporation does own the lakebed, the Oregon Attorney General says they don't own the water, it's owned by the public and the public has a right to access.

Lake Oswego Corporation says that only applies to navigable waterways and according to the Federal Water Resources Development Act the lake is not navigable. Police have made it clear they consider the lake public and are not going to pursue charges against anyone using the lake.

This whole mess is currently being adjudicated by the Oregon Supreme Court. If you're interested in the legal issues surrounding public waterway use in the US, that case will provide ample reading.

Each have their own rules. For example, the Wild section of the Rogue River is managed by BLM and requires a permit during certain parts of the year. The images below from the American Water Works Association publication entitled Understanding the Proposed Definition of the Waters of the United States help illustrate what this means:. Sign up to join this community.

The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. So, when you are planning a kayaking trip, it would be your best bet to check the laws in the area that you plan to kayak. Find out if there are any areas of white water, and if that state has any laws about white water rafting.

Many people wonder if they will be paddling through any areas of privately owned rivers, but federally, rivers are dedicated as public bodies of water in the US. This means that it is legal to kayak in any river as long as it is navigable. These misconceptions are not correct of rivers in the United States. The Supreme Court has ruled that rivers are officially public land. Public ownership means that the river and the land up to the highest water mark on the shore are considered free for public use and access.

States do not own rivers and streams, but they hold it trust for public enjoyment. Lakes, however, are a different story entirely. Smaller inland lakes can be publicly or privately owned. If you wish to kayak on a lake like this, you should first verify that the lakes are publicly owned. If the lake is privately owned, then you would need permission from the owner to be able to kayak there.

The Great Lakes in the Midwest are all deemed publicly owned by the Supreme Court, so you are free to kayak in those lakes. Source: American Planning Association. National Parks are owned by the United States government, so they also follow the same regulations as any other river in the country.

The National Park system is free and open for recreational boating, but it has many rules that require visitors to stay away from wildlife and not disturb the environment. Be sure to do your research before you go to a National Park if you plan on camping or fishing.

Certain parks may have rules disallowing any fishing, hunting, or trapping, and they may have designated camping areas. Yellowstone National Park is an exception within this entire system. For people operating on the Barrow, stick to you local area and if you have to move gear and boats, wash and dry for at least 48 hours before going to another water course. Try to avoid paddling in the Barrow and Suir if they are not your local river.

This will help prevent the spread of Crayfish plague to other waterways. For anyone travelling to compete in any Canoeing Ireland competition or event, please wash and dry your gear before competing and make use of wash stations at events before you leave. Biodiversity Ireland. Canoeing Ireland recommends that canoeists endeavour to adhere to the below Code of Conduct to maintain good relationships with land owners and other water users.

Special consideration needs to be given to the impact of canoeing on the natural environment and other water users. Most canoeing activity in Ireland takes place on rivers over the winter, however there is growing activity in the summer and early autumn when angling reaches its peak.

Canoeists should watch out for anglers, pulling in out of the flow and respectfully making anglers aware of their presence until receiving a signal that it is convenient to proceed. Showing this courtesy to fellow river users will prevent the anglers day being ruined and avoid the risk of injury through a paddler being hooked or an angler bumped by a boat. The following is a brief summary of the current legal position in relation to land and river ownership and access.

When a river flows across land, no one owns the water. However, if a single landowner owns the land on both sides of a section of river, that landowner owns the bed of that section of the river and the airspace through which the river flows.

The landowner can prevent trespass on a river the same as if somebody was walking across their land. The trespasser can be asked to leave by the nearest convenient route or whatever is considered convenient in the eye of the landowner. Reasonable force is permitted.

It gets a fraction more complicated where there is a different landowner on each bank. In that case it is presumes that the boundary between them is mid-river.