is lt legal to drive on powerline trails?

[pillen140]

i live in ny, and was wondering if its legal to drive on powerline trails? anyone know if its legal??? or who id contact to see if it is? nyseg i believe owns the powerlines. thanks in advance.

 

[paxlineman]

i drive on them in ma. not sure who owns the land though. i would suggest calling the local pd and ask them about laws on it.

 

[Shran]

We wheel them out here too...I would call the property owner and ask permission. Most of the time they are private property as far as I know.

 

[paxlineman]

they are private property i know but its a rightaway that the power company has paid for. i work for a small municipal power company out here in ma. most times the property owners dont care but i would make sure about that by talking to the local pd like a previously said.

 

[Will]

Yep, it's private property. I have a gas line going through my property and until it got fenced people thought it was public property.

 

[pillen140]

cool, thanks guys. one question though, how would i find out who owns the land, if its private property for sure?

 

[srteach]

as said above: The powerline access is not normally owned by the power company / distribution company. It is almost always private land which the power companies pay for the right to drive and build on (called right of way). Technically, it's trespassing. Realistically, most power company don't care as long as the place isn't trashed up. The owners usually cannot use the land, so have little care what happens to it in most cases.
County land records will show who owns it, but not necessarily who controls it. The land owner may not have authority over that land due to the right of way.

 

[sfwjesse]

We knew about some trails under the power lines near here, and wanted to wheel on them cause they were nice and steep and rocky. There were some posted signs at the entrance we knew of, so my idiot buddy drove around some other way where there weren't signs and we went in. Needless to say we ended up getting caught and the land owner was furious. Fortunately he had just shot a deer so he was busy gutting it and couldnt come scream at us, but his hunting buddy found us and blocked the trail and called him. We got off, but it wasnt a good experience.

At the very least, if you see some posted signs, get the hell out.

 

[GB4000]

I do it a lot out here in NJ. I usually see people hunting when I'm out there and wheeling is probably less harmful than hunting. I have yet to get in trouble so if it feels good do it.

 

[rboyer]

I only go on the ones where i've seen other people go first. That's just about all of them around my area with the exception of the ones right near the power plant. Ever since 9/11 they tightened up security pretty good and now they'll come out in jeeps and chase you down.

 

[Ozwynn]

all I can tell you is don't get caught. I was caught wheeling on the Rail Road right of way and then ran from the rail cops because it was to dark to get a good description and they were too far away to see my plate. but I didn't drive my explorer for a month.

 

[Sunk]

There a set of trails stemming from some power line roads near my house that me and a few friends have been exploring. We've ran into a few other guys up there, one was gathering firewood, and they said they've been going up there for 20-30 years. Evidently the owner of the land doesn't really care as long as you don't dump trash. Some people have, but we don't. Hell we even cleaned up a set of decent 31x10.5s we found.

Every time we go in there we see recent tires tracks, from both trucks dirt bikes, so it's definitely a frequently used area. And if people can get away with shooting up there, I'm not too worried about a little wheeling.

 

[willied]

This is a good thread. There are some powerlines down the road from me with a creek and what not and I used to go there on my buggy. I never got caught but I don't do it anymore since I am afraid I might get caught or something. I've seen some people ride ATVs out there, but I think one of them owns the property. They would probably let me ride if I asked. I think they are trying to sell the land to a Florida quarry company. But luckily the quarry isn't allowed to come into our county...yet, anyway.

 

[Nipplechops]

i live in ny, and was wondering if its legal to drive on powerline trails? anyone know if its legal??? or who id contact to see if it is? nyseg i believe owns the powerlines. thanks in advance.

No, it isn't. The land is normally leased from private landowners or the government. You are trespassing if you use the cutlines as a trail.

 

[pillen140]

No, it isn't. The land is normally leased from private landowners or the government. You are trespassing if you use the cutlines as a trail.

but is that canadian law..... or is it the same here in ny for sure?