Tough Wyoming Access Laws

Intro | Upper River | Saratoga | Access | Tailwaters | Miracle Mile | Gray Reef | Encampment

In Wyoming, landowners own the land the river flows over. They own the streambed and banks. But the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled (Day v. Armstrong, 1961) that water flowing over private land is state property and considered public. This decision defined what is public and what is private, but it did not stop angler/landowner conflicts.

Cases of illegal trespass, damage to private property, wires and fences strung across water, stakes driven behind boulders to prevent boaters from "eddying up," and even a few shots fired, have made for poor landowner/angler relations. Be sure of where you are before you anchor or step out of the boat to fish, or you may find the sheriff at the take-out handing you a trespass ticket


Landowners in the North Platte River valley are protective of their property rights and often post their land with warnings to that effect. Wading anglers should be careful to stay within the limits of public leases, and floaters should never drop anchor over private land.

Not all landowners along the river are obsessive protectionists. A polite approach may be rewarded with permission to fish private water. In any case, there is enough public water and access to keep even fanatical anglers occupied throughout a season.

The first nine miles of the upper river (after it crosses the Colorado/Wyoming state boundary) flows through the Medicine Bow National Forest and is public property. There are excellent campgrounds in the area, and plenty of empty water for wading angers. Due to the steep drop through Northgate Canyon, this water is rarely floated.

When the river leaves Medicine Bow National Forest, it flows over mostly private land but there are numerous public leases and access points. To help floating anglers, small red and blue signs placed along the river's banks define the boundaries of public and private sections of water--red means it's private from that point down; blue means it's public.


The Miracle Mile is completely public, and there is easy walk-and-walk access at a number of points. The Grey Reef has marked public stretches, but is best accessed by floating with drift or kick boats.

The Miracle Mile (sandwiched between two huge reservoirs) runs through Bureau of Reclamation land and is open to the public. Gray Reef has public access points to launch a boat, but very few opportunities for wading anglers.

Rod Walinchus is a Fly Fisherman contributing artist and author of Fly Fishing the North Platte River: An Angler's Guide (Pruett Publishing Company, 1994). He now lives on Florida's Gulf Coast.

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