Navigable by statute
Its bed averages 30 feet or more in width, measured from the mouth upstream (Texas Natural Resources Code §21.001). It's the bed that counts, not the water, so a river that's a trickle in a dry spell can still be navigable.
Rivers / Who owns the river
Who owns the river?
This is the most misunderstood thing about Texas rivers - and the most useful to get right. You have a surprising right to the water, with some real limits. Here's the plain version.
What makes a river "navigable"?
A Texas stream is public if it meets either test:
Navigable in fact
It can serve as a 'highway for travel' in its natural state - something boats, or even floating logs, could move on. Courts have said recreation like fishing and boating counts as a public use.
Whether a specific creek qualifies can be genuinely uncertain, so don't assume - when in doubt, check.
The catch
The water is public, the banks usually aren't
Here's where people get in trouble: the water is public, but the banks usually aren't. The public part is the streambed - the strip the river keeps washed and bare. The exact legal line between the public bed and the private bank is the 'gradient boundary,' and it's a surveyed line that even experts have to measure - you can't reliably tell it from where the grass starts. The safe habit: stay down in the streambed, and don't climb up onto the vegetated banks.
You can't cross private land: You may not cross private property to reach the river, and you can't go up onto the private banks to picnic, camp, or park - that's trespassing, even though you have every right to be in the water. (Briefly stepping onto a bank to carry around a hazard is a recognized exception.)
Get in at public access only: Legal access is from a public road right-of-way where a road crosses the river, a public boat ramp or park, or a private park or outfitter that charges for access. Within a public road's right-of-way, a landowner's fence can't block your path to the water - but you can't park on the bridge.
No fencing the public out: A landowner can't legally fence the public out of a navigable river. But whether a particular creek is navigable can be genuinely uncertain - so don't assume a given stream is public.
This is general orientation, not legal advice. Boundary and access disputes are fact-specific. Use the TPWD River Guide to learn more, and for a real dispute, talk to an attorney.
Keep going
Official sources
River-access law comes from the TPWD Texas River Guide and Texas A&M AgriLife. We explain the doctrine; we don't rule on a specific creek or dispute.
- Data vintage:
- River-access law as reviewed June 2026
- Last reviewed:
- June 15, 2026
- TPWD Texas River Guide (access & ownership) - The authority on river access
- Texas A&M AgriLife - public right of use
Caution: Whether a specific stream is navigable, and exactly where the boundary falls, are fact-specific legal questions. The TPWD River Guide is the starting point; for a real dispute, talk to an attorney.
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