The Checkerboard & Landlocked Ground

The strangest fact in Western hunting: millions of acres of public land you cannot legally reach without crossing private ground to get there.

How the patchwork happened

Western land ownership was divided in patterns that ignored terrain — grid, railroad grants, and homestead patents that left public and private squares interlocking. On a map it looks like a checkerboard. On the ground it means your public square may be fenced by private on every side.

What ‘landlocked’ means

A parcel is landlocked when you can see it on a map but cannot reach it without trespassing to get there. FWP’s Unlocking Public Lands program and its access-corridor work exist to buy or negotiate a way in.

Corner crossing and other live questions

Whether a hunter may step from one public square to the next across a private corner has been litigated in the West and the law differs by state and is still moving. In Montana, do not assume. Treat the corner as private until you have verified the current rule with FWP.

What to do about it

Use the Access Finder and Block Management to find ground you can legally reach, and prefer trailheads and road-adjacent public squares over the isolated ones until you know the route.

The Unlocking Public Lands program is FWP’s. Corner-crossing law is jurisdiction-specific and evolving — verify before you rely on it.