If a lake or stream is non-navigable and not meandered, ownership of the bed is as indicated on individual property deeds.
Riparian rights are property rights arising from owning shoreland.
Where the public is a riparian landowner, such as when a public road abutts the water or at a public access, the public has riparian rights. Additional information Minnesota case law has established that a public road abutting a body of water gives the public riparian rights to the water. Riparian rights exist whether or not the lake is navigable or public and regardless of who owns the bed. Riparians are entitled to exercise their rights over the entire surface of the lake. One riparian cannot keep others from using all of the lake.