Glenn, I don’t think the question is about “crossing” the roads, but actually jumping on them and using them. Again, I don’t think we are talking about the casual person, who doesn’t know any better. A little diplomacy from the resort owner will go along way in this case too. I really don’t think, any reasonable person, when they had it explained to them, why the resort needs to charge for the use of the roads, would hold out on them either. I use the word reasonable loosely.
Glen Ertl
For those of you that would not pay for a resort road, and come to an ice heave where a bridge is set up by “said” resort, can you then use that bridge to cross the heave?
Where do you draw the line. If I go on Mille Lacs and a resort has a house with the door open, can I go in and use the house, it is public waters right? But common courtesy and respect for the owner does not allow it (throw the law out).
Sorry, Don’t want to be a smart 
, but these resorts are not getting rich plowing these roads, they are trying to make a living by providing a service that may or may not bring additional people to their resort.
And I will say this, and then shut up. This conversation goes away on a year when we have a ton of snow. 
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that same resort could also plow you in with snow, trapping you on “their” road. They have no obligation to get you out either.
Except that would be a violation of MN law prohibiting harrasment of those in the act of hunting or fishing.
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This conversation goes away on a year when we have a ton of snow.
Uh … our rights on the surface of a lake are NOT dependent on the presence, absence, or depth of snow.
Thanks for the clarification on that, I’m sure we were all confused about our “rights” 
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Uh … our rights on the surface of a lake are NOT dependent on the presence, absence, or depth of snow.
So if there was 2 feet of snow, and you do not have a snowmobile, how do you get on the ice, other then a plowed road? 
I was saying people are more willing to pay for travel when they have no options. Where you are losing rights when you pay a resort, I am not sure
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that same resort could also plow you in with snow, trapping you on “their” road. They have no obligation to get you out either.
Except that would be a violation of MN law prohibiting harrasment of those in the act of hunting or fishing.
Its not harassment if he plows it shut without disturbing your fishing. You can not set a tip up more than 200 feet from yourself, so if he plows the road shut 205 feet away from you your arguement is mute.
It amazes me that there are people on this board that are willing to read every ice, and fishing report posted by resort owners like Rockman and George Nitti, and then turn around and try to justify why they have the “right” to screw them over by using their roads free of charge under the veil of “legal rights”. Talk about hypocrits! 
hey Jack, 
good response!!
First off it isn’t THEIR road, it’s a road THEY PLOWED on public property.
That being said, nobody (fisherman or resort owner) should be screwed out of what’s right. Thus we hear this kind of backlash when a few “bad apple” plow drivers try to screw fishermen who are already legally on the lake.
Desperado;
The point trying to be made is that if they didn’t plow the road, you couldn’t get there.
Like I said earlier, due to lack of snow the past couple of years, people can litteraly “wonder” all over in their vehicle.
But 5 years ago, there was 2′ of snow. The only method of travel was the roads.
So, invision this: I plow a road, to get to my spot. You follow and jump off the road to set up separate. It snows. I plow my way home. In doing so, I plow you in. That isn’t against the law. And you could be honestly trapped 10 miles from shore, plowed in.
Here is another scenario:
Say you go out the public access, or even through a ditch. Then “jump” on a resorts plowed “path”. Say it snows, snows hard. The only way off, is through the resort. Since the resort is private property, I believe the resort could “prevent” you from accessing through their property, once again, trapping you.
Nobody is really saying the resorts own the roads or the lake or the water.
The discussion/thread is if you feel it is right to take advantage of the resort or not.
If the resort provides a service by plowing a path to a place that I would like to fish.
AND IF I decide to use that service, then yes it is right for me to compensate them for the service provided. Not doing so IS taking unfair advantage of the resort.
HOWEVER If I decide not to use that service or if I don’t need it; for whatever reason (be that because I have a snowmobile, because I have have a plow on my truck and I’m plowing my own path, or even because there’s no snow on the lake, ), then I don’t owe anything to anyone providing services on the lake. Nor do they owe me anything (like assistance if I need a tow). This IS NOT taking unfair advantage of the resort, it’s just choosing not to use them.
Heck two friends and I even shoveled knee deep snow with a scoop shovel for 2 miles one day to reach a desireable spot where nobody plowed a road, so much for the idea of “if they didn’t plow a road I couldn’t get there”.
Even worse; If someone has actually erected a barrier on public property between where I am and the fishing area I’m trying to get to, I’m not gonna take kindly to anyone trying to prevent me (physically or verbally) from going around, over, or through that barrier.
This “toll” that the resort is has—is it even legal? Or do they just have a donation box setup somewhere?
We don’t have these problems down here, but just to add my .02 since everyone else is….I would probably give a donation as a courtesy, but would stop if I was harrassed to give money.
also – if you use the “road” alot and have already donated, do you have to donate time and time again?
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This “toll” that the resort is has—is it even legal? Or do they just have a donation box setup somewhere?
Slop, this toll is exactly the same as the launch fee we pay many places to launch a boat. It has nothing to do with the roads on the ice. We pay to use their resort to get onto the ice.
Slop,
It is more like a fee for using their boat access in the summer. You stop in, pay the money, and they give you a card or something to put in you window. You normally pay by the day, but there is some talk about the wheel houses using roads all weekend that I am not going to get into.
Desperado,
I commend you for shoveling a path to get to your spot, not a lot of guys would put forth the effort to do that. I am assumming then that you went on from a public access and did not need to cross any ice heaves in going to your spot. I hope you slayed monsters with all the effort to get there 
Sorry, Lenny beat me to it.
Actually; I had paid an access fee, went as far as the resort had plowed, kept driving, got stuck, then shoveled the rest of the way to a spot where nobody had plowed.
And YES, it was worth it. We were on a good bite, they weren’t monsters, but we had them all to ourselves.
A different time but similar circumstances. I was able to bust a trail to a spot. Didn’t have to plow or shovel, but it took some of the go forward as far as you can, back up, go forward a bit more routine. Got there only to find out that (unbeknownst to me) someone from the other side of the lake plowed to that spot yesterday THEN I got greif from him because I didn’t have one of his access passes; WELL …Let’s Just Say “When someone pi$$e$ in my coffee, It LEAVES A BAD TASTE IN MY MOUTH”
The “what if’s” abound, but the fact is, this year, one could drive just about anywhere on the lake they choose. Roads are not needed as they are in years when the snow is 2-3 feet deep. As for the common sense comment, that too applies to BOTH parties, fisherpersons and resort owners alike.
I have and will continue to pay the resorts when I use their access to get onto the lake. Years like this I don’t need to. My problem is when we have years like this and a few bad apples think they “own” the ice surface because they plowed it.
This wasn’t posted for hostil responses, I was looking for input from those this happens to often. IF we had 3 feet of snow, as stated, it wouldn’t be an issue. Since we do not, it has become one, not just on here hypothetically, but in reality. General concensuss seems to be split. I am always willing to help someone out with either a donation or whatever…until you get all upitty and chew my , then you can play hide and go @#$% yourself.
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The “what if’s” abound, but the fact is, this year, one could drive just about anywhere on the lake they choose. Roads are not needed as they are in years when the snow is 2-3 feet deep.
One thing that has not been address in this thread yet. Even in years like this when there is little snow the resort roads are very beneficial to keep us safe. If you look at the people who go through the ice the vast majority of them are well away from the roads.
Lenny~
That is the exact reason I enter lakes via resorts and pay there access fees. My life is worth alot more then the 5 or 10 dollars they charge to access thru them and get there knowledge of the ice conditions..
You hit it right on the head of the nail with that said..
We should all keep focused on SAFETY FIRST for NO ice is SAFE ICE but we can minimize our chances by using the ones that work on the ice on a daily basis…
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General concensuss seems to be split.
I must have read something else
This year was my first time on the big pond and I was very impressed. The work that goes into marking the roads setting up bridges with flashing lights and so on made things easy to find and get around. The info we recieved about the bite and ice conditions talking with the resort owner was worth more than the road pass itself.
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I will pay the $10.00. To each his own! 
Not to say it can’t happen on a marked road. But I like the odds stacked in my favor a bit.
Understandable but ya gotta give me this, eh? At least if I’m travelling to a spot where no one else is, I’m not the one setting up too close to you.
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Understandable but ya gotta give me this, eh? At least if I’m travelling to a spot where no one else is, I’m not the one setting up too close to you.
I like it 
I do gotta say, you are out there busting your hump to get where you want to
And if they are harassing you, that just aint right
The above picture is why i use a portable and Wheeler.
This is just overkill. Like everyone has already said, if you want to save a nickel and take a wheeler and go thru a public acess then more power to you, but if you take a truck, then go thru a resort. I take a wheeler and portable and have already paid Red Door, Hunter’s and Wharf this year and that is just to park on the ice and use the wheeler and portable from there. We wouldn’t be having this discussion if we had 2-3 feet of snow on top, would we. These resort owners are just trying to make a buck and more power to them. It’s the people who won’t pay $10 to get on the ice, but they will have about $40,000 locked up in truck, wheel house and fishing equipment. Give me a break! 
If you go out of a public access, where would you stop for a cold one on the way out? That’s just not right.
Do some resorts offer a season pass for using their launch?
I fish almost everyday. If I was a local to one of these hypothetical lakes $70 dollars a week would break me fast.
I got into this situation years ago on Big Cutfoot. I accessed through a public landing and in the course of our day, we ended up on a plowed road – there was not enough snow to impede any 4wd traffic. The resort owner confronted us and really raised heck demanding we pay.
I felt that I had asked nobody for any favor – and was on my own, and felt that his plowing neither helped nor hurt my travels. He was told exactly where on my body he was free to kiss – and we parted ways.
If I access through a resort for safety reasons – I will gladly pay – that is the deal. If not – I am not paying. If I access out of a public spot – the resorts plowing/marking roads is their business and I don’t feel I owe them a dime. If they choose to plow – that is their choice/expense – not mine.
Tim
Timmy, OK,then stay off the plowed roads,if you don’t need them!!
Coyote – I think you are mis-intepreting what I meant. I am not trying to get something for nothing – or screw a resort out of earnings. What I am saying, is that many years, especially recent years, there is not enough snow to impede most traffic. If I access out of a public landing, and drive out to fish a mudflat (Mille Lacs is a handy example), it is pretty tough to get there without crossing a marked or plowed road.
I usually access through a resort and have no issue with paying my 10$ or whatever the charge. What I am saying, is that a resort plowing a road on the lake gives them no inherent rights out on the water. If an angler chooses to drive out of a public access and he encounters a plowed road on his journey to the flats(it is almost impossible not to) – that does not entitle the resort that plowed it to a fee.
Once I get to a mudflat, if I find an open hole – I surely don’t owe the guy that drilled it a fee! If somebody driving past sees me catch a fish and they move close – I am not entitled to a guide fee! Same issue as driving on a plowed road on the water.
Tim
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