If You See Orange Paint In Idaho Woods You Need to Leave Immediately
If you're out fishing, hiking, hunting or even bird watching this is a sticky situation that you absolutely do not want to get yourself into.
I've lived in Idaho for nearly a decade and had no idea that florescent orange paint was another way of saying "no trespassing." After running cross country, I would've wrongly assumed that orange paint on a tree or the ground was an indication of a hazard ahead. That's typically how they marked holes and uneven footing along the course when I was in high school.
Turns out that orange paint that you may stumble across in Idaho's wooded areas or on a fence post is a different type of warning. This warning is telling you "NO TRESPASSING!" Under Idaho Law, private land owners may tell people they're not welcome by marking the all property corners and boundaries where the property intersects navigable streams, roads, gates and rights-of-way entering the land with florescent orange paint instead of no trespassing signs. If that private land borders public land, you'll likely see orange paint on the fence posts adjoining the public land.
Entering land marked with orange paint puts you at risk of being found guilty of criminal trespassing punishable by of $300 if no damage was committed. If you caused damage to the property while trespassing you could face up to six months in jail or a fine between $1500 and $5000. Jail time and fines get worse with each repeated offense.
Just something to keep in mind heading into your final summer adventures here in the Gem State!