You can drive to a parcel and still not have the right to.
That is the quiet risk in raw land. A dirt track crosses a neighbor's field, the seller says "everybody uses it," and the visit feels like proof. It is not. Driving in shows that a route exists today. It does not show that you may keep using it tomorrow.
Why access is the first question
A buyer can fix a lot after closing: clear brush, drill a well, haul in power. Access is different. Without a legal way in, the other plans have nothing to stand on. A guide from CRES Insurance warns buyers not to count on a court to grant access to a landlocked parcel, because establishing an easement can take litigation, time and money, and the rules vary by state.
Lenders and later buyers ask about it too. Land guides note that financing can be refused on land without legal access, so a parcel with a weak answer is harder to sell on, not only harder to use.
The 2026 Land Market Report from American Farmland Trust, as summarized by The Parcel, describes buyers checking land-use rules, access rights and utilities before they make an offer. Weak documentation is what makes a listing sit.
Four kinds of access, strongest proof first
Not every "access" is the same. Ask which of these you are being offered.
1. Frontage on a public road
The parcel touches a road that a county, township or state maintains. This is the cleanest answer. Even here, ask the road department whether the road is publicly maintained all year and whether a driveway permit is needed where your drive meets it.
2. A recorded easement
An easement is a legal right to cross someone else's land. A recorded one is filed with the county and appears in the title records. Read the easement itself: where it runs, who may use it, and who maintains it. One line in a title report that mentions an easement is not the same as the easement.
3. A deeded right of way
Sometimes the right to cross is written into the deed itself. Ask for the exact wording and a map of the route, then check that the route on the ground matches the route on paper.
4. "We have always used it"
A trail, a field road, a neighbor's wave. This is the weakest. Land Boss, in its Minnesota guide, puts it plainly: a trail or long-standing use is not necessarily a legal driveway. Permission given in conversation is not a right, and it can end when the neighbor sells, changes their mind, or locks a gate.
The questions to ask, and who answers
Ask the county first, not the seller. A seller can only tell you what they believe.
- County road or public works office: Does this parcel touch a publicly maintained road? Is a driveway permit required, and would it be issued here?
- County recorder or a title company: Is there a recorded easement or right of way for this parcel? Please send a copy.
- The seller: Where exactly does the route run, and has anyone ever been refused?
For each answer, write down the office, the person and the date. An answer you could not get is not a zero. It is a cost you have not priced yet, and our post Five Questions That Show What Cheap Land Really Costs shows how to turn those answers into one number.
Where access sits in the order
Access belongs near the top of your list, right beside zoning. In our earlier post on off-grid land and permits, the first "no" can end the idea, and it is better to hear it before you pay. Access is one of those first questions.
When you read any parcel listing, including those on our properties page, treat the access line the same way: find out which of the four kinds it is, and ask for it in writing.
The takeaway
A route you can drive is not a right you hold. Ask which of the four kinds of access the parcel has, get the proof from the county or the recorder, and keep a copy.
If you are looking for a particular kind of land, tell us what you want.