Hikers sound the alarm: Up to 300 public trails have been closed by landowners

PalmThe mobilization of over 300 people this Sunday in Raixa has once again highlighted a social conflict that has been simmering for years in Mallorca due to the progressive attempts to close public paths. The protest march, organized by hiking groups and platforms like Camins Oberts, has once again demonstrated public concern about "an increasingly common practice," as some of those present stated. This Sunday's protest focused on the Passatemps path, a traditional route connecting Palmanyola with Raixa, which remains partially fenced off within a private property, although its public nature has been the subject of debate and demands for years. The march brought together hikers, families, and activists who arrived on foot with banners and slogans to demand the right of way and denounce institutional inaction in these cases.

What is happening in Raixa is not an exception, but rather part of a structural conflict, as demonstrated by the paradigmatic case of the Ternelles to Pollença path, which was historically a royal and public road, but became part of a private estate after the purchase of the King's castle. After several legal proceedings, it ended up being considered private despite its historical significance. One of the owners' arguments is the presence of the black vulture and its necessary preservation. According to some hikers, the owners have used this argument as a pretext to excessively restrict access to the public path.

Some cases are in court

This case aptly summarizes the complexity of the problem, even when historical documentation or social recognition of the path exists. The final resolution often rests with the civil courts, not the local administration, which frequently lacks the necessary tools to defend public ownership, especially if the path is not included in any official catalog. This is precisely one of the keys to the conflict, as many paths are not listed in any municipal inventory, preventing local councils from taking decisive action to reopen them. They must demonstrate, with historical documents, maps, or witnesses, that the path was public. This burden of proof often results in lengthy and costly litigation. The lack of catalogs contrasts sharply with the 2018 Paths Act, which mandates municipalities to inventory them, but which is still applied inconsistently. This contributes to the fact that few local councils have completed this task. Hundreds of closed paths

The cases are multiplying across all the islands, as some hikers have said, There are up to 300 paths listed as public that remain closed in MallorcaMany are caught in the middle of administrative disputes between government bodies and landowners, as is the case with the Passatemps path itself or with access routes to pristine coves, still awaiting judicial resolution. This situation has generated a growing social response. Mobilizations like the one in Raixa connect with other previous struggles in which citizens have taken to the streets to demand rights of way and reclaim historic paths, given the perception that the territory is being progressively closed off. The underlying debate remains open between property rights and the collective right of access, while landowners demand the protection of their properties and privacy. Social groups insist that these paths are part of a common heritage that cannot be lost. The image of hundreds of people walking towards Raixa this Sunday reinforces this idea: the conflict is not isolated, but structural. Without a clear policy for cataloging, protecting, and restoring public paths, it seems likely that this will continue to dominate the social agenda of the Islands.