What are the telltale signs that a gravel road just turned private?

[RobertC]

I'll start with a story. I just recently got back into motorcycling. I used to be a sport bike rider, but this time around I picked up an old CX500 with the goal of exploring the roads less traveled in Alabama. Somewhere along the way, I started experimenting with gravel roads, which quickly lead to dirt, and eventually turned into "pavement is boring".

Now, stepping from the pavement to the dirt, I'm used to seeing a lot of "Private Property" signs marking the sides of whatever road I happen to be on.  Usually those signs obviously reference a driveway or an offshoot or something where I'd very clearly be on private property if I happened to turn there, and sometimes the path is barred entirely, marking where a road turns private. Other times though, it's more ambiguous, with signs that seem to suggest that going off road would probably be trespassing, but being on the gravel probably isn't. A good example of what I'm talking about is County Road 260 in Alabaster, which borders quite a bit of private land(mines), but seems to be a public road itself.

So that's all great, but about a month ago, I was on an official looking dirt road(it had a street sign, and there were houses) and at some point, I guess that road turned private. I was about 10 minutes in when a couple of gentlemen showed up on 4-wheelers and escorted me back the way I came.

I guess my question is simple enough. What are the warning signs that the road you're on is private? Is a county road designation enough to verify a road allows traffic, or is there something else to look for? What are your tips for finding unpaved sections of our state we're allowed to be on? I'm not much for breaking rules, and I never want to be the jerk on a bike that makes other riders look bad. I'm just trying to figure out how to have fun with this awesome sport without bothering anyone else. 

Thanks ahead of time for your thoughts.

[RobertC]

Also, I just realized I posted this to the wrong section of the board. I'm also new here, in addition to new to dirt tracks. Sorry folks :/

[klaviator]

I have had the same issue.  I don't know that there is any way to know for sure.  Sometimes people post up signs to make it look like a road is private when in fact it is a public road.   

[alibroth]

In Florida I will look at color of street sign. Green vs blue for some guidance. I also look for how many mailboxes. More than two or three in a mile, I continue. Hard to tell sometimes.


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[Sweeper]

My driveway starts out as a county road. That goes for about 100ft. Then it continues for a quarter mile to my house. I don't get concerned when folks wander in. If I lived in an area where there were a lot of traffic or motorcycles coming in, I'd mark it very well. Keeping a gravel drive is a lot of work. If you don't keep it up, it becomes a pain to travel everyday. If there are multiple owners, it can become tense dealing with the shared care. When I'm out on my bike, I try to be very careful if there is any question. I have been stopped before. The only answer is to apologize and move on.

[jrobinson]

Like klaviator said, some times the last house on a road will claim the whole road.

I've had folks turn into my drive and head up the mountain behind my house. I have a 100+ year old church on my property that was posted on Forgotten Alabama FB page. Now people will pull into the driveway to take pics of it.

Most of the time a good attitude with the "Owners" will go a long way.

[RobertC]

Thanks all!

It sounds like it boils down to paying attention and being polite if things go awry. I'm just glad I'm not the only one who finds it confusing sometimes.

[jrobinson]

I had a friend of mine that was hunting on his daddy's land. Some guy came up and threatened him with a gun and told him he was trespassing.  My friend left to avoid an argument with someone carrying a gun.

[Gam]

If there is no private road sign you never  know, a road just turned private. But in general, trying to figure out if a dirt road is private, sometimes I just a get a feeling a road is private from looking at it, no right of way clearance,  not much upkeep. Those can turn out to be open county roads. The last thing you want to do is get in an argument with someone as to whether they own land or not, just apologize and back out. There's a house at the southern end of Witt Road, several years ago I was going through there with a couple of people and the guy comes running out of the house and yelling we were trespassing. Well one rider started arguing with him saying the road was right there on his GPS, it was getting heated, so I just ask the guy if he minded if we rode through today. He was taken aback that I asked, and then said it would be alright, it was mainly those 4 wheelers he didn't like. If you are planning a route, you can look at these maps (pick general, not the mileposts maps , they are old but they tell which roads are dirt, and if they are dirt on this map and still dirt looking at the road on Google Earth, probably good to go, but even that is not foolproof.

https://aldotgis.dot.state.al.us/milepostmaps/default.htm

[Jwwr]

Thanks for that link. You used to be able to go the court house in most counties and pick up paper maps that showed all the county roads including gravel.

[TN_twowheeladdict]

Also, I just realized I posted this to the wrong section of the board. I'm also new here, in addition to new to dirt tracks. Sorry folks :/

Check out www.gravelmap.com for dirt roads in your area.  If you find some roads that aren't there, please add them. 

I used to just go exploring and would end up in someone's yard.  I would always wear Hi-Viz so they don't think I am trying to sneak up on them.  I have been greeted with rifles pointed up in the air.

Now, I make sure the road goes through before I go down it by having a GPS on my bike.

[Jwwr]

https://aldotgis.dot.state.al.us/milepostmaps/default.htm

That link has the same maps that you could pickup in the county court houses back in the day. Just looking over those maps for the counties I'm most familiar with they are very accurate. I have verified on the ground that the Gravel map is not very accurate. It is a lot easier to use though.

[rider_marc]

There are times when a street sign has a proper name on it. Mostly loops or a dead end. Those even show as roads in a Garmin, but they are not. When I start to doubt that I'm still on a county road, it's U-turn time. They are always single-lane gravel/mud surfaces. My assumption is there is always someone with a rifle or loose evil dog down those roads.

[N4HHE]

I own property in TN for which Garmin and Google show a named road running into. The surveyor and tax man say I own everything past the one parcel I do not own. A little past that I have a locked gate.

100 years ago the full length of the road was public.