The question I have for corner crossing of property lines. I know in the case out west they used a ladder to get from one section to another(never said there was a fence).
There is about 60 acres of state land where one would have to jump the corner to access from another 40ac of state land. Would like to know the legality of that in MN.
Hopefully they can cross it, so the state land is accessible to the public.
Is the private land marked at the corner? If not I would go for it. Think I’ve seen some places like this is SE MN that access is marked for passage through the corner.
I would cross right at the corner and avoid stepping on the private land if I was able to.
You could also just ask the landowner for permission to cross there too.
It may be worth a call to the local CO to see what they say, but the flip side is if the answer isn’t what you want and somehow get called out on it, you may be more liable at that point.
Ultimately I think the situation out west will lead to more states changing the rules on this and allowing corner crossing.
You might “harm” their airspace 
i honestly have no idea. But if it starts a lawsuit you could be the change in MN!
I would say if the other land is not land locked and not posted on the private land that you should be ok? Not saying to walk across private land but if it’s a true corner I don’t see how it could not be legal if you “hopped “ over to the state land. You probably won’t get a good answer from a CO, or even a sheriff, because each situation is different.
I cant believe this is even a thing.
Shows how petty and pathetic people are…
If the private land isnt posted at all and is not agricultural land you should be able to cross without an issue at all, but I would avoid stepping foot on the private regardless. Might not be a bad idea to just ask the owner anyway or at least let them know your intentions beforehand.
Get permission
Unlike the west where some landowners are very militant about contesting corner crossings and some states even have specific laws that corner crossing is always trespassing, things aren’t that clear in MN. This was discussed some years ago on a Facebook group and several claimed that there are no cases in MN that specifically prosecuted someone only for public land corner crossing trespass so it is very unclear as to where MN is on this issue. Also, unlike the west, our trespass laws are slanted toward not being able to prosecute for trespass if the offender voluntarily leaves, whereas in some wester states you can be prosecuted even after you left if evidence can be presented.
The safest move is to get written permission from one of the two “corner” landowners to cross. Next safest move is to contact a CO for an answer.
The problem with landlocked private land, is adjacent landowners tend to start viewing the parcel as part of their own property and are militant about keeping others out. They use call-ins to LE as a method to harass hunters even when they know nothing illegal is occurring. So the potential of getting called in can be very high in some areas.
Do you prosecute the kids who trick or treat and cut the corner on the sidewalk into your yard ? Same argument in my book .
The problem with landlocked private land, is adjacent landowners tend to start viewing the parcel as part of their own property and are militant about keeping others out. They use call-ins to LE as a method to harass hunters even when they know nothing illegal is occurring. So the potential of getting called in can be very high in some areas.
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Grouse don’t you mean that landlocked public land? The adjacent private land landowner tries to keep the public out to basically keep the public land for himself?
Call your local game warden.
I don’t have answers to the OP’s question, but there have been some good suggestions on how to handle the situation. I’m a firm believer in simply asking the landowner or notifying them that you are going to access the public parcel. It likely lowers their suspicion immediately if you make it obvious to them your intentions have nothing to do with their parcel.
As a landowner, there is nothing more frustrating than trespassers. We deal with it on our hunting land occasionally despite the nearest public land being probably 4 miles away. MN laws are not friendly to landowners or holding trespassers accountable . We also deal with it (in a different way) on ag land with snowmobiles and hikers in the winter using a trail that we allow and not staying in designated areas.
Before people bash the corner crossing situation of the West as crazy and the fights put up by landowners, one has to consider how regularly they deal with trespassers owning land that touches public land and the demand for big game hunting. I’d probably go to pretty lengthy legal strategies if I dealt with it daily.
bucky I agree landowners have to deal with trespassers BUT many landowners try to keep public land for themselves. That is exactly what the 4 corners out west case was about. A rich landowner that wanted to keep thousands of acres for himself and profit from it.
That is wrong but JMO.
bucky I agree landowners have to deal with trespassers BUT many landowners try to keep public land for themselves. That is exactly what the 4 corners out west case was about. A rich landowner that wanted to keep thousands of acres for himself and profit from it.
That is wrong but JMO.
I’m with you on this. Greedy land owners trying to block state land. Most people depend on state land
bucky I agree landowners have to deal with trespassers BUT many landowners try to keep public land for themselves. That is exactly what the 4 corners out west case was about. A rich landowner that wanted to keep thousands of acres for himself and profit from it.
That is wrong but JMO.
I’ll be the first to say that people need to respect private property and landowners. However, I fully agree with above quote. Landlocked public land shouldn’t be a thing if you can’t corner cross. Otherwise it is essentially free land for whatever landowner has access to it. Its even worse when the landowners are exploiting the land for its resources.
If the public land is only accessible through crossing a corner boundary, then the state or whatever public entity is responsible for that land needs to step in and offer a route of entry. How do they get in there and maintain the land?
I do almost all of my hunting on private land nowadays. I put in a lot of time scouting and asking for permission every fall and spring. Trespassing is not something I take lightly. I know the regs state I can enter private land without permission to retrieve a wounded animal, but I am very skeptical about doing that. I’d much rather at least attempt to seek permission before hand. I am not a landowner myself (other than my house/yard in the burbs), so I try to put myself in the shoes of someone who owns land for recreational purposes. I’d be pretty upset if people were constantly accessing my land without permission, so I can understand the frustration involved with that sort of situation.
I’ve posted this before but this is a good watch if you haven’t seen it before:
Gim I am with you on the trespassing thing. You just never know what kind of wackjob owns the land you could be venturing onto. Years ago I went up to a farm to get permission to hunt pheasants. They declined to let me hunt which was fine, I had just gotten my venison sticks back and I offered the dude A venison stick. He took the whole back and turned away. I looked at my buddy and I said “yeah go ahead and take the whole thing I guess”. We laughed and drove off. 2 weeks later these two shot and killed a guy on his parents land because he was upset they had their machinery all over the land he was trying to goose hunt by Belgrade. That was a real eye opener for me.
I know the question was directed at land in Minnesota and I am not familiar with trespass laws there. Others keep mentioning to contact a conservation officer. As this may be Ok in Minnesota, it is not in Wisconsin. Here, Sheriff/Police handle trespassing laws and write tickets, a warden will tell you to call them.
I just thought I would mention that so there was no confusion.
That’s a good point riverbassman! I do think in MN its a game warden that responds to trespassing however, but I am not entirely sure either.
Maybe I’m crazy, but my first course of action would be to bring some meat/ bread/ something I made with wild game or garden and speak to the landowner. If they aren’t friendly then take the legal route and go to the DNR with the question. If it’s a no-go, then find a new way to access I guess.
Gim I am with you on the trespassing thing. You just never know what kind of wackjob owns the land you could be venturing onto.
Its a respect thing for me. I will never own my own hunting land. I just won’t. So I’m always going to be the one asking for permission. Keeping on good terms with landowners is how I’m able to continue to hunt.
This particular situation isn’t about trespassing in general, its about how to access public land on a corner crossing. If it were me, I’d talk to the land owner and specifically state I have no intention of hunting his land – all I want to do is access the public land and hunt that. If the answer is still no, then I’d start the legal route as others have stated and get the local authority on the subject.
Its a respect thing for me.
Im with you 100% on this.
I know the question was directed at land in Minnesota and I am not familiar with trespass laws there. Others keep mentioning to contact a conservation officer. As this may be Ok in Minnesota, it is not in Wisconsin. Here, Sheriff/Police handle trespassing laws and write tickets, a warden will tell you to call them.
I just thought I would mention that so there was no confusion.
Same for MN.
DT
If you’re walking from public land to public land why would a bordering land owner need to know? They dont own it.
If you’re talking about public parcels that touch corner to corner what does the private land owner have to do with anything? Cross on the corner and enjoy the public land without stepping foot on private land.
If the corners don’t touch and you have to touch private to access the public then you need permission.
It’s hard to for me to grasp why the question needs to be asked in the first place. Seems like common sense to me.
How are you finding the exact corner where public land corners with public land?
If you don’t know or can’t find the exact corner wouldn’t there be a very good chance you would step on private land while crossing?
Buffalo Fishhead
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