Who owns the river?

[acabtp]

Originally Posted by catfishonthelake

If you could somehow float down a private stretch of river without you boat/kayak/canoe touching the riverbottom or having to get out of the canoe and put your foot down on the ground, technically you would be ok.

keep in mind that on streams that are navigable-in-fact but run through private property, you still only have the right to navigate. without the landowner's permission, the public does not have the right to fish, hunt, swim, etc on these waters even if they do not touch the bottom.

The public does not have any right to use non-navigable, non-tidal waters absent consent by the owners.12) With respect to navigable non-tidal waters, the public may use them only for the purpose of navigation.13) However, the public may not use them for other purposes such as fishing.14)

good summary of NJ water access laws with case law references
https://www.americanwhitewater.org/c...ss:nj?#fnt__13