Access
Access
Access
Information on the location of legal access to a parcel may be obtained from the appropriate regional DNR Public
Information Center. It is your responsibility to properly locate yourself when crossing both public and private
land to ensure you are on a legal right-of-way or section-line easement and to avoid trespass. It is important to
note that while access may be legally reserved, it may not yet be improved.
Important:
Please be advised that legal access to a parcel does not necessarily constitute
practical, developable, or
existing (constructed) access.
The State of Alaska has no obligation to build roads or provide services to or within any subdivision or parcel.
Rights-of-way shown on the survey plats designate areas reserved for access but do not necessarily indicate the
existence of a constructed road. As previously mentioned, although every parcel for sale has some legal, platted
access, in many cases roads might not exist. For instance, access may be via section line easements (unless the
section line easement has been vacated), platted rights-of-way, trail easements, navigable water bodies, or
across unreserved State-owned land. Contact the DNR Public Information Centers for more information.
Physical access may be on rivers and lakes or across land by roads or trails by means of highway and off-road
vehicles, snowmachines, airplanes, boats, all-terrain vehicles, dogsleds, or by foot. You should inquire at one
of the DNR Public Information Centers or appropriate borough land office to see if there is an existing road on
a reserved right-of-way.
There are certain generally allowed uses on State-owned land managed by the Division of Mining, Land, and Water that do not require a permit from DNR (11 AAC 96.020 Generally Allowed Uses and 11 AAC 96.025 Conditions for Generally Allowed Uses). The fact sheet on Generally Allowed Uses is available online at: http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/factsht/land_fs/gen_allow_use.pdf
The fact sheet includes a list of areas where generally allowed uses do not apply and other restrictions.
Travel across unreserved State-owned land may be made without a permit by the following methods:
- Hiking, backpacking, skiing, climbing, and other foot travel; bicycling; or traveling by horse or dogsled or with pack animals.
- Using a highway vehicle with a curb weight of up to 10,000 pounds, including a four-wheel-drive vehicle or a pickup truck, or using a recreational-type off-road or all-terrain vehicle with a curb weight of up to 1,500 pounds, such as a snowmachine (or other tracked vehicle), motorcycle or ATV, on or off an established road easement, if use of the road easement does not cause or contribute to water-quality degradation, alteration of drainage systems, significant rutting, ground disturbance, or thermal erosion. Use of larger off-road vehicles over 1,500 pounds curb weight and off-road travel of construction and mining equipment requires a permit from DNR. An authorization is required from the State of Alaska, Department of Fish and Game, Division of Habitat for any motorized travel in fish-bearing streams. Contact and program information can be found online at: http://habitat.adfg.alaska.gov
- Landing an aircraft (such as a single-engine airplane or helicopter), or using watercraft (such as a boat, jet-ski, raft, or canoe), without damaging the land, including shoreland, tideland, and submerged land.
Access improvements on unreserved State-owned land may be allowed without a permit under the following conditions:
- Brushing or cutting a trail less than five feet wide using only hand-held tools such as a chainsaw (making a trail does not create a property right or interest in the trail).
- Anchoring a mooring buoy in a lake, river, or marine waters, or placing a float, dock, boat haul out, floating breakwater, or boathouse in a lake, river, or in marine waters, for the personal, noncommercial use of the upland owner, if the use does not interfere with public access or another public use, and if the improvement is placed within the projected sidelines of the contiguous upland owner's parcel or otherwise has the consent of the affected upland owner.
Vehicles are required to use existing trails where possible. Where no trails exist, vehicles are required to use the legal access to minimize the number of trails across public lands.
Moving heavy equipment, such as a bulldozer, is not authorized on State-owned land without a permit. A permit can be obtained from the appropriate DNR regional office.
Public access and utility easements, water body easements, and public or navigable waterways may not be obstructed or made unusable by the public.
Establishing new routes or making improvements to existing rights-of-way or easements may require an authorization depending on the type of activity and the site-specific conditions. You are advised to apply for an access easement to reserve legal access to your parcel on routes you may wish to improve. Contact the DNR Public Information Centers for more information.
Driveways, Approaches, and Roads
Driveways and/or approach roads from established roads maintained by the State of Alaska, Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOTPF) may need to be constructed in order to provide access to the subdivision and individual parcels, and a permit may be required. Prior to any driveway or approach road construction utilizing a State-managed right-of-way, you must consult the Right-of-Way Section of the appropriate regional office of DOTPF. Parking on the side or shoulder of roads can cause traffic safety problems and damage to the road shoulder and these activities may be restricted or disallowed.
Types of Access
Parcels are accessed by a variety of means, as specified for each subdivision. In many remote subdivisions, little or no rights-of-way are developed.
Brushed rights-of-way have been cleared of vegetation, but may contain tree stumps. Brushed rights-of-way may not be brushed for the full width of the right-of-way; check the survey plat and look for monuments to determine the width of the rights-of-way and the locations of parcel boundaries. Depending on the soil conditions in the area, brushed rights-of-way may be accessible with a 4-wheel drive vehicle or ATV.
Winter-only trails are accessible via snowmachine when the ground is sufficiently frozen and a sufficient snowpack exists. Winter-only trails cross bodies of water or wetlands that make the trail unusable during summer months. Year-round trails may be accessible by ATV in the summer and snowmachine in the winter.
Pioneer roads are narrow dirt or gravel roads that usually require a 4-wheel drive vehicle and typically do not receive maintenance. Roads or trails indicated as year-round may receive maintenance from the state or a local government. Weather conditions may still make year-round roads impassable during certain times of the year.
Information on the conditions of state-maintained highways only is available from the State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities at 511.alaska.gov.
Alaska Railroad Right-of-Way
The Alaska Railroad Corporatio's 200-foot right-of-way, bridges, and trestles may NOT be used as legal access. Use of the railroad right-of-way is considered trespass and will be prosecuted (AS 11.46.330 Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree). The Alaska Railroad Corporation may issue permits to cross the railroad. Contact the nearest railroad agent for more information at: http://alaskarailroad.com/