If
you are either a corporate land owner or a private land owner in Colorado, you
incur NO liability for recreational use of your land if you do not charge for
admission. We hope you will, as the statute states, be encouraged to make
your land available for our use. Please read:
Colorado Recreational Use Statute
TITLE 33: WILDLIFE AND PARKS AND OUTDOOR RECREATION
RECREATIONAL AREAS AND SKI SAFETY
ARTICLE 41: OWNERS OF RECREATIONAL AREAS - LIABILITY
?33-41-101. Legislative declaration
The purpose of this article is to encourage owners of land within rural areas
to make land and water areas available for recreational purposes by limiting
their liability toward persons entering thereon for such purposes.
?33-41-102. Definitions
As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Charge" means a consideration paid for entry upon or use of the land
or any facilities thereon or adjacent thereto.
(2) "Land" also means roads, water, watercourses, private ways, and
buildings, structures, and machinery or equipment thereon, when attached to
real property.
(3) "Owner" includes, but is not limited to, the possessor of a fee
interest, a tenant, lessee, occupant, the possessor of any other interest in
land, or any person having a right to grant permission to use the land, or
any public entity as defined in the "Colorado Governmental Immunity Act",
article 10 of title 24, C.R.S., which has an interest in land.
(4) "Person" includes any individual, regardless of age, maturity, or
experience, or any corporation, government or governmental subdivision or
agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, or association, or any
other legal entity. (4.5) "Public entity" means the same as defined in
section 24-10-103 (5), C.R.S.
(5) "Recreational purpose" includes, but is not limited to, any sports or
other recreational activity of whatever nature undertaken by a person while
using the land, including ponds, lakes, reservoirs, streams, paths, and
trails appurtenant thereto, of another and includes, but is not limited to,
any hobby, diversion, or other sports or other recreational activity such
as: Hunting, fishing, camping, picnicking, hiking, horseback riding,
snowshoeing, cross country skiing, bicycling, riding or driving motorized
recreational vehicles, swimming, tubing, diving, spelunking, sight-seeing,
exploring, hang gliding, rock climbing, kite flying, roller skating, bird
watching, gold panning, target shooting, ice skating, ice fishing,
photography, or engaging in any other form of sports or other recreational
activity.
?33-41-103. Limitation on landowner's liability
(1) Subject to the provision of section 33-41-105,
an owner of land who either directly or indirectly invites or permits,
WITHOUT CHARGE, any person to use such property for recreational purposes
does not thereby:
(a) Extend any assurance that the premises are
safe for any purpose;
(b) Confer upon such person the legal status of
an invitee or licensee to whom a duty of care is owed;
(c) Assume responsibility or incur liability
for any injury to person or property or for the death of any person
caused by an act or omission of such person.
(2)
(a) The total amount of damages which may be recovered from a private
landowner who leases land or a portion thereof to a public entity for
recreational purposes or who grants an easement or other rights to use
land or a portion thereof to a public entity for recreational purposes
for injuries resulting from the use of the land by invited guests for
recreational purposes shall be:
(I) For any injury to one person in any single occurrence, the
amount specified in section 24-10-114 (1) (a), C.R.S.;
(II) For an injury to two or more persons in any single
occurrence, the amount specified in section 24-10-114 (1) (b), C.R.S.
(b) The limitations in this subsection (2) shall apply only when
access to the property is limited, to the extent practicable, to invited
guests, when the person injured is an invited guest of the public
entity, when such use of the land by the injured person is for
recreational purposes, and only during the term of such lease, easement,
or other grant.
(c) Nothing in this subsection (2) shall limit, enlarge, or otherwise
affect the liability of a public entity.
(d) In order to ensure the independence of public entities in the
management of their recreational programs and to protect private
landowners of land used for public recreational purposes from liability
therefor, except as otherwise agreed by the public entity and a private
landowner, a private landowner shall not be liable for a public entity's
management of the land or portion thereof which is used for recreational
purposes.
(e) For purposes of this subsection (2) only, unless the context
otherwise requires:
(I) "Invited guests" means all persons or guests of persons
present on the land for recreational purposes, at the invitation or
consent of the public entity, and with or without permit or license
to enter the land, and all persons present on the land at the
invitation or consent of the public entity or the landowner for
business or other purposes relating to or arising from the use of
the land for recreational purposes if the public entity receives all
of the revenues, if any, which are collected for entry onto the
land. "Invited guests" does not include any such persons or guests
of any person present on the land for recreational purposes at the
invitation or consent of the public entity or the landowner if the
landowner retains all or a portion of the revenue collected for
entry onto the land or if the landowner shares the revenue collected
for entry onto the land with the public entity. For the purposes of
this subparagraph (I), "revenue collected for entry" does not
include lease payments, lease-purchase payments, or rental payments.
(II) "Land" means real property, or a body of water and the real
property appurtenant thereto, which is leased to a public entity or
for which an easement or other right is granted to a public entity
for recreational purposes. "Land", as used in this subsection (2),
does not include real property, buildings, or portions thereof which
are not the subject of a lease, easement, or other right of use
granted to a public entity.
(II.5) "Lease" or "leased" includes a lease-purchase agreement
containing an option to purchase the property. Any lease in which a
private landowner leases land or a portion thereof to a public
entity for recreational purposes shall contain a disclosure advising
the private landowner of the right to bargain for indemnification
from liability for injury resulting from use of the land by invited
guests for recreational purposes.
(III) "Recreational purposes" includes, but is not limited to,
any sports or other recreational activity of whatever nature
undertaken by an invited guest while using the land, including
ponds, lakes, reservoirs, streams, paths, and trails appurtenant to,
of another and includes, but is not limited to, any hobby,
diversion, or other sports or other recreational activity such as:
Fishing, picnicking, hiking, horseback riding, snowshoeing, cross
country skiing, bicycling, swimming, tubing, diving, sight-seeing,
exploring, kite flying, bird watching, gold panning, ice skating,
ice fishing, photography, or engaging in any other form of sports or
other recreational activity, as well as any activities related to
such sports or recreational activities, and any activities directly
or indirectly resulting from such sports or recreational activity.
(f) Nothing in this subsection (2) shall limit the protections
provided, as applicable, to a landowner under section 13-21-115, C.R.S.
?33-41-104. When liability is not limited
(1) Nothing in this article limits in any way any liability which would
otherwise exist:
(a) For willful or malicious failure to guard or warn against a known
dangerous condition, use, structure, or activity likely to cause harm;
(b) For injury suffered by any person in any case where the owner of
land charges the person who enters or goes on the land for the
recreational use thereof; except that, in case of land leased to a
public entity or in which a public entity has been granted an easement
or other rights to use land for recreational purposes any consideration
received by the owner for such lease, easement, or other right shall not
be deemed a charge within the meaning of this article nor shall any
consideration received by an owner from any federal governmental agency
for the purpose of admitting any person constitute such a charge;
(c) For maintaining an attractive nuisance;
(d) For injury received on land incidental to the use of land on
which a commercial or business enterprise of any description is being
carried on; except that in the case of land leased to a public entity
for recreational purposes or in which a public entity has been granted
an easement or other rights to use land for recreational purposes, such
land shall not be considered to be land upon which a business or
commercial enterprise is being carried on.
?33-41-105. Article not to create liability or relieve obligation
(1) Nothing in this article shall be construed to:
(a) Create, enlarge, or affect in any manner any liability for
willful or malicious failure to guard or warn against a known dangerous
condition, use, structure, or activity likely to cause harm, or for
injury suffered by any person in any case where the owner of land
charges for that person to enter or go on the land for the recreational
use thereof;
(b) Relieve any person using the land of another for recreational
purposes from any obligation which he may have in the absence of this
article to exercise care in his use of such land and in his activities
thereon or from the legal consequences of failure to employ such care;
(c) Limit any liability of any owner to any person for damages
resulting from any occurrence which took place prior to January 1, 1970.
?33-41-105.5. Prevailing party - attorney fees and costs.
The prevailing party in any civil action by a recreational user for damages
against a landowner who allows the use of the landowner's property for public
recreational purposes shall recover the costs of the action together with
reasonable attorney fees as determined by the court.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Text of Code also available at Colorado
Revised Statutes at http://www.leg.state.co.us/inetcrs.nsf/revstat?OpenView on 11/9/00. This link is to the complete Colorado Revised Statutes.
Unfortunately Colorado does not provide a user friendly means of surafce
scanning the site. Therefore when you link in, you will need to use the site
search function and type in the code number or title to find the current link to
this statute.
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