New Hampshire—River Access Legal Summary & List of NH Public Rivers

New Hampshire River Access Legal Summary

All 4th Order (and higher) Rivers/Streams are considered "Public" up to the "Ordinary High Water Mark"; Third Order and lower streams can be private. [Note: I've previously been told that Public Access extends three feet beyond the "Mean High Water Mark". But a search thru state regulations could not confirm this.]

Stream Order is calculated based upon the types of streams that feed into it (simplified description). Two First Order streams coming together form a Second Order stream. Two Second Order Streams form a Third Order. (But a Second Order Stream flowing into a Third Order Stream does not make it Fourth Order.) For a more accurate [and scientific] definition see the Steam Order Wikipedia articles in the directory this writeup lives in.

A list (plus a map) of all 4th Order+ NH Streams is available here:
  List of ALL PUBLIC STREAMS in NH (pdf)
  List of ALL PUBLIC STREAMS in NH (excel)
  MAP of NH showing ALL PUBLIC STREAMS (pdf)

Ordinary High Water Mark is defined as "the line on the shore, running parallel to the main stem of the river, established by the fluctuations of water and indicated by physical characteristics such as a clear, natural line impressed on the immediate bank, shelving, changes in the character of soil, destruction of terrestrial vegetation, the presence of litter and debris, or other appropriate means that consider the characteristics of the surrounding areas. Under the public trust doctrine, the state owns public water bodies up the natural mean high water mark. (Ref: The Comprehensive Shoreline Protection Act (RSA 483-B:4 XI-a.)

Additionally there are rules for public "Navigable Rivers". A stream is generally considered navigable if it can be used for "commerce". Traditionally commerce was considered the transport of people, goods, etc. (think commercial logging). However recent court decisions (including the New Hampshire Supreme Court), have held that rafting, kayaking, canoing, etc, for recretional purposes is considered "commerce". i.e. The very fact you're paddling down a river makes that river "navigable" by definiton. (But I wonder that the courts would think if they looked at some of the rivers those of us in the MVP paddle.)

For Navigable Rivers (as per NH Marine Patrol), hazards to navigation (trees, fences, wires, etc.) are the legal responsibility of the abuting landowner to remove. (Any violations or other problems should be reported to Marine Patrol or US Coast Guard.)

Paddlers' additionally have a legal right to portage any obstruction on navigable rivers. This right supersedes any "no trespassing" posting by the landowner. (Although it always makes sense to maintain friendly relations with landowners.)

Hydro Dams has additional regulations under FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission). Any problems can be reported to FERC who can issue fines (even for something simple like posting no trespassing). Each Hydro Dam will also have additional requirements listed in it's FERC License. This directory. also contains some of the FERC licenses for the major Hydro Projects in NH.

Many Dams in NH are too small for FERC to care about; the NH Dam Bureau (part of The Department of Environmental Services) keeps track of and regulates them (and there are hundreds of small dams on their list).

(If you can think of anything else useful that could be added to this page please let Skip know.)