Downward trends in the availability of private lands for public recreation suggest that efforts to encourage private landowners to open their lands to the public will be difficult, at best.
Trails are being built in urban, suburban, and rural areas. They are being built on former rail corridors as well as in vast public lands. People use trails for: walking, jogging, biking, in-line skating, skiing; even equestrians, snowmobilers and people in wheelchairs use them. With all these uses in a variety ofsettings come a host of concerns about liability issues.
This report concludes that trail-related liability is primarily a management issue. Laws are in place to protect all parties from unwarranted lawsuits and the rest is up to proper design, maintenance and management.
Michigan state laws that involve trails, bicycling, pedestrians, liability, government immunity and more.
The Michigan legislature has enacted a “Recreational Use Statute” to encourage owners and managers to allow public access for recreation use on their lands.
