Did you ever hear of a private lake?

[Peregrine Took]

MY husband and I were driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway in western North Carolina a few years ago and 'saw a beautiful mountain lake. When I went home and googled it (forgot the name) the site said it was "private." Doesn't that seem odd or un-American or something, to own a whole lake?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. If you owned a plot of land that was big enough to have a lake in the middle,

I suppose that would be your private lake. I'd sure like to have one.

[treestar]

2. If they own all of the land around it

i guess it makes sense.

It is interesting to look at property law of people who live on rivers - they own to the middle, I believe.

[jobycom]

13. It depends on whether the river is navigable, at least in Texas.

You own to the middle of a non-navigable river, and to the low water line of the bank if the river isn't navigable. So if you own the land on both sides, you own to the middle of the river on both sides if it's not navigable, and only to the water line on both sides if it is.

You don't own the water, though. Only some rights to it. So you can't dam it, for instance.

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. Yes, there are private lakes and ponds in my area. However, the land owners allow people

to cross their property to use the swimming hole.

[GoCubsGo]

4. Yes.

If someone owns all the property which contains the lake, it's considered "private."

[Brickbat]

5. All the time.

But then, I live in the land of 10,000 lakes.

[PeaceNikki]

7. WI has 11,821

:)

On edit, I found that MN has 11,842... damn close.

[MineralMan]

19. Depends on how you define "lake."

In Minnesota, a "lake" can be pretty small. We have one near our house that is only 80 acres. I call it a pond, but it's classed as a lake. No boat ramp on it, though, although fishing from the public dock on it is rewarding. It's a favorite with kids in the neighborhood.

[PeaceNikki]

24. I got my #'s from the DNR sites for both states.

I think 10+ acres can be called a "lake".

[MineralMan]

25. Yeah, the states have a loose description.

In my book, if I could easily swim across a body of water, it doesn't qualify as a lake, but that's just me. Still, as an avid angler, "Anywhere you find water, you know that I'll be there."

[tango-tee]

28. I have so many fond memories of Minnesota.

Being from Germany, it reminded me of home.

Sending a really, really big hug to Minnesota (sniffle...)

[PeaceNikki]

6. Of course. But I am smack in the middle of "lake country".

Most of the small lakes in my area are private. They aren't owned by individuals, but all land owners with frontage rights. Most don't allow public launches but are accessible through other waterways by boat.

[flvegan]

8. Water rights are a many splendid thing.

Some lakes can indeed be private, and some are not. Depends on the lake and the title surrounding/containing it.

[Pithlet]

9. Yep. Not all lakes have public access.

But I grew up in the Great Lakes region so I've never even given it another thought. There's enough public lake access that it wasn't a problem.

[michreject]

10. I live on one

Has no public access point or ramp.

[begin_within]

11. Here's one

In lake-starved southern California,
Cedar Lake Camp is privately owned (by some church).



It seems weird that in the middle of the San Bernardino National Forest,
some of the choicest pieces of land are privately owned.



This lake is only about a 2-hour drive from downtown Los Angeles.

[Kali]

21. In the west the better land - usually with water - is often private.

Homesteaders needed access to water to survive, so those lands got scooped fast. The remainder may have been added later or just left "public."

[gratuitous]

12. Lake Oswego Oregon

Owned by the property holders around the lake. I think there's one teeny access area for the public. If memory serves, it was last year the lake was turning toxic from pollution. Guess who was looking for a government clean-up of their privately-owned lake?

[donheld]

14. Yes, here in Colorado it happens

[Inchworm]

15. It is prolly bubba's lake

happens.

:hi:

[One_Life_To_Give]

16. Yes, and some are required to be private

IIRC Lake Whitingham in VT had to be solely owned by the Utility. It's used for supplemental Electric Generation during the summer. Nice part about that is nobody is allowed to now build private homes on the lake and you can pull up your boat to the shore and get out just about anywhere. As legally the utility was required to provide public access.

The lake is probably about perfect if you are a Nudist. If you have small kids then perhaps not so much.

[Deep13]

17. Back East there were very specific rules for water rights.

There were lakes (spring feed) and ponds (stagnant). The own of land on a pond owned a wedge to the center of the point. A lake property owner only owned the beach and so many feet into the water. The main part of the lake was owned in common by all the lake property owners. The only way one could control the entire lake was to own ALL the surrounding property. One tiny spot owned by someone else made the bulk of the lake common property.

[CreekDog]

18. Jacob Lake, Arizona (near Grand Canyon's north rim)

:shrug:

[Kali]

22. heh, I know one of the family

Interesting guy.

[Arkansas Granny]

20. Yes. My daughter lives on one. The lake is sited on communal

property outside of city limits and residents of houses around the lake pay yearly dues for upkeep of the lake and the ground in the public area. Lake use is restricted only to members of the lake association and their guests.

[LeftinOH]

23. Lake Conemaugh in Pennsylvania was private, but the owners lost the water

when the dam broke.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

26. 1) yes. 2)no.

[blogslut]

27. I don't know if it's private or not

But I know a fellow named Lake who owns some land. The land contains a lake. The lake is named Lake Lake. I swear to boB.