Buying a small chunk of private land to hunt

[jamesfromseattle]

I am looking at going in on a chunk of recreational land with the in laws and was hoping to get some input here since I'd like to get something we could do a little hunting on.  All of our families are either hoping to have kids soon or have young kids, so the primary idea is that we'll be able to get a safe place for the cousins to run around in the woods while they are growing up.  The different family members all have slightly different criteria--some negotiable and some non-negotiable. 

Budget:  If at all possible, we'd like the land itself to be somewhere in the $100,000 or lower range.  We'll camp for now and probably add a bare bones cabin in the future.  I know this is pretty cheap, but I am realistic about the fact that this isn't going to get me a thousand acre ranch.   

Non-negotiable criteria:

1.  Within two-ish hours of downtown Seattle (not including traffic).  If we found an absolutely perfect place we could drive up to three hours, but I think we'll use it a lot more if it is closer.  This unfortunately excludes most of eastern Washington.  The Leavenworth and Cle Elum areas are still in the running but they tend to be out of our price range. 
2.  I need to be able to occasionally shoot a deer or elk either on or a short walk from the property.  This could either mean that it is big enough to hunt on (which means different things in different places, of course), or that it is connected to industrial timber or public land.   
3.  There needs to be some sort of water feature to jump in.  A small creek is fine as long as it runs year round.  Would be great to be able to fish in it but fishing is not an absolute requirement.
4.  It needs to be quiet.  I'm under no illusions that I'll be getting a private estate with this budget, but I don't want to be on a highway, be able to hear what the neighbor is watching on tv, etc.
5.  No restrictive covenants that would prevent us from putting a small cabin or parking a trailer.
6.  Must be within a half hour or so of a trail that is at least 5 miles long  The in-laws are big trail runners, so they want to be able to run somewhere nice.  Boot only hiking trails are best, but gated timberland would meet this requirement.

Preferred features that are not required:

1.  We'd like it to be big enough to shoot targets (100 yards with a backstop).
2.  We'd like to be able to fish salmon or trout either on the property or within walking distance.
3.  It would be great if it was within a half hour or so of the mountains.
4.  Minimal yuppies.  We live live in Seattle and rub elbows with plenty of yuppies at home, so we'd prefer a place that is not a traditional Seattle vacation spot (i.e. this is a strike against Leavenworth).
4.  Owner financing.

Things we don't care about at all:

1.  Trophy quality doesn't matter.  It will probably only be the kids hunting on the property, so we just want them to have a realistic chance of filling their tags.
2.  We don't care if we're on the power/water grid.  Part of the idea is that we don't want the kids to be wusses, so we are fine with building fires for heat, hauling water, and foregoing showers.
3.  Doesn't matter if there is a big building lot.  We just need space to to put in a small footprint cabin--10'x20' at the most.
4.  None of us ride ATVs or snowmobiles, so we don't really care if there are motorized trails nearby.

Areas that are in the running:

1.  The upper Chehalis valley.
2.  Somewhere on highway 6 between Pe Ell and the coast.
3.  The Skagit, Skykomish, and Stilliguamish valleys (tough to find a big enough piece of land in our price range)
4.  The Toutle River area.
5.  The Packwood area on the Cowlitz River (a bit further than we'd like).
6.  The upper Nisqually area between Eatonville and Ashford.
7.  The Blewitt pass/Liberty area.

Areas that are probably out:

1.  Any island.  I'd love to get a piece of timberland on Whidbey or Camano to hunt, but the islands don't have enough hiking to keep the in-laws happy.
2.  Most of Eastern Washington.  It is just too far of a drive for what we want.  I totally understand that it would be better from a hunting perspective, but it we're afraid we won't ever use it if it is too far away.

I'd love to hear any thoughts or advise that anyone has about this.  I have never had a vacation home before and may have neglected to think about something important.  I don't think our price range is unrealistic, but I know we'll end up having to compromise on some of our criteria. 

The most promising area seems to be in Southwest Washington.  We viewed a couple properties in the 5-10 acre range on smaller rivers down there that I think could work.  I've been able to imagine them with a small cabin and a few fruit trees--and of course a tree stand in bow range of the imaginary fruit trees.

[Buckmark]

Sorry but keep dreaming.

[jamesfromseattle]

Sorry but keep dreaming.

Just a few examples that seem like they could fit what we're looking for:

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Castle-Rock/0-Tara-Ln-98611/home/44584752

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Ashford/31404-558th-Street-Ct-E-98304/home/22758247

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Cathlamet/8-Elochoman-Valley-Rd-98612/home/75110205

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Rosburg/161-Barr-Rd-98643/home/56815623


Again, I'm not expecting to buy a trophy hunting ranch. Just a place in the woods that might have a deer pass through every now and then--or at least is nearby somewhere that they do.

[greenhead_killer]

Seems like you already have a working plan in progress. I guess my best advice I can give you is be patient. My dad and I looked for two years before we found a piece that fit all our criteria. Just be patient. Something will eventually open up.

[cem3434]

Your money would probably go a little further on the eastside and there is plenty of property that meets your criteria between Blewett pass and Yakima or in the Kittitas Valley.

[spin05]

Might try around shelton area. Tons of deer there. Not sure on trails thou

[Wacenturion]

Might want to reconsider the "perfect" one you found that is just one additinal hour away.  If it has everything you listed, the extra hour is nothing compared to looking for a needle in a haystack.  None of it is getting cheaper as you look.  JMO

As a sidenote, I have property 6 hours away.  Yeah, long drive, but makes it that much nicer when I get there.  I tend to stay longer.

[JDHasty]

Sorry but keep dreaming.

Just a few examples that seem like they could fit what we're looking for:

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Castle-Rock/0-Tara-Ln-98611/home/44584752

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Ashford/31404-558th-Street-Ct-E-98304/home/22758247

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Cathlamet/8-Elochoman-Valley-Rd-98612/home/75110205

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Rosburg/161-Barr-Rd-98643/home/56815623


Again, I'm not expecting to buy a trophy hunting ranch. Just a place in the woods that might have a deer pass through every now and then--or at least is nearby somewhere that they do.

You might want to reassess that two-hour component.  It took me five and a half hours to go from Tacoma to Cabela's Lacey and back a week ago Friday when some moron on a motorcycle checked himself out on the bumper of a larger vehicle on I-5.  It can take an hour to an hour and a half just to get through Tacoma etc on a fairly average friday evening any more.  Took me four hours to go from Tacoma to Centralia Fur & Hide then through Bucoda, Tenino, Rainier, Yelm and to Bonney Lake and then back to Tacoma yesterday evening between 5:30 & 10:30 and as anyone who knows me can attest, I do not lollygag or screw the pooch when I am behind the wheel.   

[XJcoug13]

If you're driving to your property on say a friday afternoon from downtown Seattle to SW Washington..it will take more then 2 1/2 hours.   Tacoma, JBLM and I-5 through Lacey is a nightmare.  I would look to eastern WA...the North Central counties would be my choice.   

[trapp01]

Yea southwest wa is way more than two hours given traffic. i work on the UW and it says ellensburg is currently 2hrs and 4 mins away. That's where I'd be looking for property.

[jackelope]

Last weekend of June(non-holiday) it took me a little over 6 hours to get home from Moses Lake. I live in Duvall. It's normally a little over 3 hours I'd say. It would have been a solid 7 hours to get to Seattle. If you're going to have to drive home on Sundays from anywhere, plan on it taking an extremely long time from anywhere. With that said, I agree with what  everyone else is saying. Expand your drive a little bit, go east and come home on Mondays. Without traffic, you can be in Ellensburg in 2.5 hours from Seattle. I think what you're looking for is going to be extremely difficult to find, if not impossible.

[JimmyHoffa]

Going west isn't much better now, but some of that traffic is seasonal.  For summer weekends--Friday evening/Saturday leaving Edmonds/Seattle and leaving Bainbridge/Kingston on Sunday evening I've seen traffic waits up to three hours just for the ferry wait.  Holidays are bad too.  I'd assume the Tacoma drive around option is also pretty bad.  But if you miss those peak rush times (most of the hunting seasons), it's not too bad.

[jamesfromseattle]

All too sympathetic to the Seattle through JBLM traffic after having driven to Portland three times this month on the weekends.

My rational for wanting a two hourish drive and not factoring in traffic is that our typical weekend itinerary will be leaving town at 8:00 or 9:00pm on a Friday (traffic is usually clear by about 7:30). If it is max 3 hours in the car we will still get there at a reasonable hour and get a normal night's sleep. Same thing with coming home Sunday.

My wife has a rigid work schedule and has a tough time getting week days off so long weekends trips and a longer commute east is just not in the cards for us. If it were up to me, I'd be up in the northeast corner, no question.

One additional strike against Eastern WA are pass delays in the winter. Not as bad as the I5 traffic by any means, but worth thinking about. I'd prefer the ability to just drive at night to avoid traffic (if travelling south on I5) over a shorter commute in traffic.

[Milkman]

I think your on the right track.  Very doable with the 100k price range.  I've been 'looking' and there's alot out there cheaper than some think. (They just may not fit your needs) But good luck man!   

[jamesfromseattle]

Might try around shelton area. Tons of deer there. Not sure on trails thou

Thanks for the suggestion. I see a few listings around there that work on paper. Will add that area to the list. Never actually been to Shelton, so I'll need to take a drive down there and look around sometime.

[JDHasty]

Porter, Oakville, Galvin, Bucoda, Adna if you are OK w/getting through Tacoma/Ft Lewis.  And be sure to budget for the best when it comes to security system.  The meth heads are legendary in that area.  It is a quick run into Elma to watch sprint car racing on Saturday night too. 

[jamesfromseattle]

I think your on the right track.  Very doable with the 100k price range.  I've been 'looking' and there's alot out there cheaper than some think. (They just may not fit your needs) But good luck man!   

I appreciate the encouragement! I've actually been surprised at how much is out there. We originally planning on waiting another decade and saving up for something bigger, but after looking at a couple cheaper spots, my wife pretty much said she wants to just go for it now and focus on our current quality of life rather than just indefinitely saving for something we can't afford.

Like everything else, it seems like the name of the game with cheap land is figuring out what you are willing to compromise on. Since we only need a small building footprint and don't need power or water, it gives us some good options. From what I've seen so far, I think we will probably end up with a property that is mostly floodplain with a small dry corner to put the cabin on. Places on the edges of industrial timberland or public land also feel much bigger than they are. A one acre parcel is plenty big for our purposes if there are a few thousand acres in the backyard that we can acces. I'm confident we'll find something that fits our criteria.

[jamesfromseattle]

Porter, Oakville, Galvin, Bucoda, Adna if you are OK w/getting through Tacoma/Ft Lewis.  And be sure to budget for the best when it comes to security system.  The meth heads are legendary in that area.  It is a quick run into Elma to watch sprint car racing on Saturday night too.

That's a good point. The tweaker factor is definitely something I hadn't considered but that we'll need to think about.

[JDHasty]

Porter, Oakville, Galvin, Bucoda, Adna if you are OK w/getting through Tacoma/Ft Lewis.  And be sure to budget for the best when it comes to security system.  The meth heads are legendary in that area.  It is a quick run into Elma to watch sprint car racing on Saturday night too.

That's a good point. The tweaker factor is definitely something I hadn't considered but that we'll need to think about.

Oh my gosh yes.  That is what really complicated it for us when we were looking. 

[kselkhunter]

My best advice is be patient.  Bare land can take longer and be harder to sell if it turns out you don't like the area, or realize you don't use it as much as you thought, or need to sell for financial reasons due to job loss/changes. 

I've made mistakes buying bare land before.   Take your time.  Travel frequently to the area you're interested in on Friday evenings to test the commute, etc.   Make sure it's a region you enjoy going to.  Amenities are reasonable (ie not a 40 mile drive on washboard roads to the grocery store, etc.).  That you have a plan to enjoy it in the months/years before you build a structure (ie camping or travel trailer/camper). 

I can't help on your location ideas, as I go to my second home to escape the rain and go to the mountains that I love.  Which is well beyond your two hour non-negotiable limit. 

Good luck, and I hope you find something that suits your needs.

[Miles]

Last weekend of June(non-holiday) it took me a little over 6 hours to get home from Moses Lake. I live in Duvall. It's normally a little over 3 hours I'd say. It would have been a solid 7 hours to get to Seattle. If you're going to have to drive home on Sundays from anywhere, plan on it taking an extremely long time from anywhere. With that said, I agree with what  everyone else is saying. Expand your drive a little bit, go east and come home on Mondays. Without traffic, you can be in Ellensburg in 2.5 hours from Seattle. I think what you're looking for is going to be extremely difficult to find, if not impossible.

This is how it was for 4 years when we lived in the Bay Area.  I hated it and am so glad to be away from that rat race now.  Fridays and Sundays were equally awful.   Now we have a life again...loving Colorado.

[jackelope]

Last weekend of June(non-holiday) it took me a little over 6 hours to get home from Moses Lake. I live in Duvall. It's normally a little over 3 hours I'd say. It would have been a solid 7 hours to get to Seattle. If you're going to have to drive home on Sundays from anywhere, plan on it taking an extremely long time from anywhere. With that said, I agree with what  everyone else is saying. Expand your drive a little bit, go east and come home on Mondays. Without traffic, you can be in Ellensburg in 2.5 hours from Seattle. I think what you're looking for is going to be extremely difficult to find, if not impossible.

This is how it was for 4 years when we lived in the Bay Area.  I hated it and am so glad to be away from that rat race now.  Fridays and Sundays were equally awful.   Now we have a life again...loving Colorado.

It's completely ruined any enthusiasm I have of heading east on the weekend, which we used to do all the time.

[fishnfur]

MLS# 1161976

Almost perfect.  Gold Creek just a stones throw away, not on the property.  List price $109K. - Offer $100K firm or dicker up from $95K.

edit - taxes are brutal.

[jamesfromseattle]

MLS# 1161976

Almost perfect.  Gold Creek just a stones throw away, not on the property.  List price $109K. - Offer $100K firm or dicker up from $95K.

edit - taxes are brutal.

Great suggestion, thanks.  Less than an hour from my office.  Following up with the agent now to get more info.  I can't really tell if this is a part of that housing development at Gold Creek.  We have been discussing a couple other lots in that development that are for sale as well.  The primary issue with that place is that I think they've got some CC&Rs that would make it difficult to get some sort of structure on there at an acceptable price point.  Tough to beat the convenience, though.

Never seen many animals around there, but I'm sure we'd get it figured out if we were up there all the time.  The state just put in that wildlife underpass around there, so there must be some critters in the neighborhood.

[GrampasGuns]

Can you get water there?

[jamesfromseattle]

Can you get water there?

Sounds like probably no water. Previous buyers backed out for that reason.

[LeviD1]

If you want something for the most bang for your buck it will probably just take a lot of looking. When I bought my 30 acres I had certain criteria I wanted it to meet, but it took 3 years to find it and I didn't have to many requirements. I drove a ton! As well just looking at properties because what seems good on paper more often that not turns out to be a crappy useless piece of land a realtor took the only 5 good pictures of the property or pictures not even of that property..... Just keep saving until you find something you really want in my opinion and look a lot! Good luck!

[GrampasGuns]

Can you get water there?

Sounds like probably no water. Previous buyers backed out for that reason.

I would highly advise against buying property with no option to drill a well.

[Mudman]

That's the whole state now it seems!

[jamesfromseattle]

That's the whole state now it seems!

Yeah, rural permits in the whole state are pretty much frozen.  The silver lining is that values for unimproved lots seem to have fallen.  Since we are just parking a trailer for the foreseeable future, anyways, we figured that we'd just roll the dice on a place with no water.  There is legislation kicking around right now account for the Hirst decision, so there is a decent chance that stuff will change in the near future.

Found a really promising spot that we're currently negotiating on.  Won't say where it is at the moment because I don't want to draw any more attention to it before it closes, but we found a really small plot that borders public land and timber company land.  Meets all our criteria and WAY under what we expected to pay, so fingers crossed it works out.

[Mudman]

Sweet, you can always dig a well on the down low!   Wa is a Dem. run state so don't hold your breath on water laws.  Dems want regulation and to save the endangered periwinkle...

[dmv9]

All those places seems to be close to a highway or in a place near other houses. Can you even shoot a rifle in those areas? Seems pretty close to other houses or a road.

Sorry but keep dreaming.

Just a few examples that seem like they could fit what we're looking for:

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Castle-Rock/0-Tara-Ln-98611/home/44584752

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Ashford/31404-558th-Street-Ct-E-98304/home/22758247

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Cathlamet/8-Elochoman-Valley-Rd-98612/home/75110205

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Rosburg/161-Barr-Rd-98643/home/56815623


Again, I'm not expecting to buy a trophy hunting ranch. Just a place in the woods that might have a deer pass through every now and then--or at least is nearby somewhere that they do.

[jamesfromseattle]

All those places seems to be close to a highway or in a place near other houses. Can you even shoot a rifle in those areas? Seems pretty close to other houses or a road.

Sorry but keep dreaming.

Just a few examples that seem like they could fit what we're looking for:

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Castle-Rock/0-Tara-Ln-98611/home/44584752

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Ashford/31404-558th-Street-Ct-E-98304/home/22758247

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Cathlamet/8-Elochoman-Valley-Rd-98612/home/75110205

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Rosburg/161-Barr-Rd-98643/home/56815623


Again, I'm not expecting to buy a trophy hunting ranch. Just a place in the woods that might have a deer pass through every now and then--or at least is nearby somewhere that they do.

Probably not.  Unfortunately I have pretty much crossed target shooting off my list.  In a lot of these places I think I'd be fine firing one or two rounds a year at a deer (assuming it was not in a restricted zone, proper backstop, etc.), but will be close enough to other houses that I wouldn't want to shoot every day for the sake of maintaining good relations with the neighbors. 

[police women of America]

Here's a tip: Don't buy in Thurston county!
Especially if it's in a gopher zone, then you'll need tons of permits to even build a cabin. But if you do find some you like there you can check out Geodata.org to see if its worth buying.

[meridahair]

My advice is to be very picky and don't be afraid to wait a bit. It feels like we are in a pretty active real estate bubble right now. We are hoping to pick up some property in the San Juans - they are only just recovering from the last bubble pop in 2009, but I think time is on our side for affordability. Assuming we still have jobs and cashola, that is.

The thing about wildlife underpasses are that if there is any human housing nearby, people will walk their dogs in the wildlife area, scaring away potential animals. Video studies of wildlife movement in the corridors mostly catch dog walkers. Arg.

[bearpaw]

Can you get water there?

Sounds like probably no water. Previous buyers backed out for that reason.

That is driving down values all over the state on properties without wells.

[Sitka_Blacktail]

Sorry but keep dreaming.

Just a few examples that seem like they could fit what we're looking for:

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Castle-Rock/0-Tara-Ln-98611/home/44584752

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Ashford/31404-558th-Street-Ct-E-98304/home/22758247

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Cathlamet/8-Elochoman-Valley-Rd-98612/home/75110205

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Rosburg/161-Barr-Rd-98643/home/56815623


Again, I'm not expecting to buy a trophy hunting ranch. Just a place in the woods that might have a deer pass through every now and then--or at least is nearby somewhere that they do.

I used to live just down Barr Rd from the Rosburg Property. The only problem with that area along the river is flooding. We survived several big floods, but a few times were flooded in. That bridge in photo 23 was impassable. The only way out was on logging roads that are now all gated. Lots of elk and pretty good deer hunting in the area tho.

[fishnfur]

Watch for a PM.

[jamesfromseattle]

Thanks all for the suggestions.  Got some really helpful PMs as well.  We just had an offer accepted on a parcel of land.  Until we've closed on it I am going to ambiguously describe it as "somewhere in the North Cascades".

Smaller parcel that I'd imagined, but it is on a river, way under our budget, feels bigger than it is because of the lack of neighbors and bordering timberland.  Easy access to a big network of logging roads for hunting access and just around the corner from a designated wilderness area with a ton of great hiking.

We were really surprised at how many properties we were able to find that had what we wanted.  Definitely took a bit of looking, but we've seen a handful that are well within our budget that we'd be happy with.  If anyone else is curious about whether you can get a nice chunk of land in the <100k range, I'd encourage you too look and see what's out there.  We're totally psyched about what we're getting.

[jamesfromseattle]

And yeah, the Hirst decision definitely seems to have driven down land off-grid land values quite a bit.  In my anecdotal observations, it looks like there are a lot of undeveloped parcels selling for less than they would have a couple years ago.

Maybe not the best thing in the long run, but politics aside, I think it works in favor for anyone looking for off-grid property right now. 

[OutHouse]

Thanks all for the suggestions.  Got some really helpful PMs as well.  We just had an offer accepted on a parcel of land.  Until we've closed on it I am going to ambiguously describe it as "somewhere in the North Cascades".

Smaller parcel that I'd imagined, but it is on a river, way under our budget, feels bigger than it is because of the lack of neighbors and bordering timberland.  Easy access to a big network of logging roads for hunting access and just around the corner from a designated wilderness area with a ton of great hiking.

We were really surprised at how many properties we were able to find that had what we wanted.  Definitely took a bit of looking, but we've seen a handful that are well within our budget that we'd be happy with.  If anyone else is curious about whether you can get a nice chunk of land in the <100k range, I'd encourage you too look and see what's out there.  We're totally psyched about what we're getting.

Send some pics of the land! Don't have to say where it is, just pics.

[Buckmark]

Congrats
I must apologize for my post that said keep dreaming, it was out of line

[MNguy33]

Have you thought about areas near HWY 2? Skykomish? Plain? Coles Corner, etc?