New Oregon Recreational Immunity Bill Signed into Law This Spring

On May 28, 2025, Governor Kotek signed SB 179, regarding landowner or recreational immunity into law.

Recreational immunity laws encourage landowners to open lands to the public for recreational use free of charge by protecting the landowner if a recreational user seeks damages after an injury. Recreational immunity is important to both public land owners and parks providers as well as land trusts and private landowners who open their lands to the public through trail easements or other allowances. 

All 50 states have some sort of recreational immunity law on the books, but Oregon's statute was weakened by court cases and subsequent appellate and state supreme court decisions centering around the intent of a trail user as opposed to the intent of the landowner in opening trails to the public.

SB 179, the bill passed into law this Spring, built on the work of the Oregon Trails Coalition and many of our partners during the 2024 legislative session, but removing the sunset and making the following revisions to Oregon's recreational immunity statute permanent:

• clarifies that walking, running, and bicycling are covered recreational purposes

• clarifies that recreational immunity applies both when the right of way has not been improved and when the right of way (or trail) has been improved, designed or maintained to provide access for recreation

Those two important revisions to Oregon's recreational immunity statute apply to both public and private landowners.

Access to nature, outdoor recreation, and off-street trails provides so many benefits to individuals and communities. However, recreating in constantly changing outdoor environments also carries possible risk of injury. Without recreational immunity, landowners fear the real risk of expensive lawsuits and cannot afford to keep their trails and lands open to the public.

Oregon Trails Coalition is proud to have have played a major role in connecting legislators with people who care about keeping Oregon trails open through our Trails Day at the Capitol, and field organizing during other critical moments throughout this legislative session. We share our gratitude with the hundreds of trail users, land managers, tourism partners, and other constituents who contacted their legislators, submitted testimony, and even went to Salem to emphasize the importance of restoring protections for landowners to keep Oregon's trails open to the public.

Your advocacy paid off and will benefit all Oregonians with preserved access to trails across our state!

Photo Credit: Staj Olson