Looking to buy property in Idaho. Where to start looking

[FitToHunt]

Hello hunting brothers and sisters. My wife an I are dreaming of owning a small (10-20 acre) piece of land in either Idaho or Montana. To build a cabin on. We live in WA state. I want something with trophy potential elk and possibly deer. She wants to be near one or more ski good ski resorts.

I know this is a very broad question, but can anyone help me start to narrow down some areas to start researching? And if you know any agents that specialize in that sort of thing, pass along their info....

So far, I've found a lot more interesting properties within about an hour of Missoula. The only ski resort either of us know of in Idaho is Sun Valley, but the prices around their are way too high for what you get.

We'd like to be within about 8 hours or less from Seattle if possible. So sick of the overcrowding in WA state.

Thanks

 

[ivorytip]

Teton village, and snow king are in Wyoming but very short drive from Idaho, just over the mountain. Teton village is an epic ski hill! targhee isn't to far either Idaho may as well claim it as their own. pomerell is a underrated ski resort that's puts out the best snow in Idaho and doesn't get the crowds but offers crazy good skiing, that's between twin falls and Pocatello. all these resorts in my opinion are better than sun valley too. if you want to be that close to Seattle I don't know what to tell ya.... good luck man!

 

[FitToHunt]

OK thanks for the advice. I'll look into it

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

My first advice is don't get in a hurry. My wife and I spent about 20 years looking for our retirement dream. (it actually took that long too) We spent lots of vacation time traveling the western US. We kept eliminating places and we finally bought some property here in SW Colorado in 1996. I retired in 2000 and we built our home.

You and your wife should sit down and make a list of what you want, how much you are willing to spend and if it's for your retirement, what the area has in services, medical, shopping, etc.

Spend some time driving and looking, get some newspapers and after you've narrowed it down, contact a realtor.

One other thing, we are only 75 miles from Telluride.
Good Luck

 

[AKaviator]

You might look around Council or McCall Idaho. I think the McCall area is a little expensive though. Council and Cambridge are nice and within striking range of Brundage Mountain ski resort.

 

[FitToHunt]

For sure. No big hurry. We've explored the Missoula area a little bit and plan to spend some more time there this summer. We absolutely love love the Jackson WY area for both hunting and skiing. Its just a little to far away to make anymore than 2 or 3 trips a year unfortunately.

AK- How is that Brundage Mt? Pretty good skiing. She grew up in Tahoe, so she's got high standards for that....

 

[Musket Man]

There is a ski resort in Northern Idaho too. I cant think of the name of it rightnow. Maybe its in Washington? Its north of Spokane or Coeur d'Alene somewhere. Anyways the panhandle mighnt be an area to look into.

 

[AKaviator]

Brundage is good, not Tahoe though!

 

[Musket Man]

Schweitzer is the 1 I was trying to think of. There is Lookout pass too.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

We were going to buy in Swan Valley. The Wy border is just on the other side of Palasades reservoir and Jackson Hole is less then a hr drive.
Not sure if it's a trophy area for elk but it is over the counter tags for pretty much everything. Fishing is awesome too. Prices were very affordable.

 

[FitToHunt]

The panhandle is very close and convenient. Plus my wife loves Cour de' Alene. But, I just don't think that area has the Elk quality I'm looking for. But I could be wrong...? I would prefer an area with good Mulies as well, and I'm pretty sure it's mostly whitetails up there.

 

[tim]

fit

something to think about. If you move to an area with trophy elk hunting, that usually means limited entry unit. What fun would it be to live in an area you can not hunt every year. Move to an area that is an otc tag and hunt elk every year and than travel for trophy elk hunting. Most otc hunts in Idaho produce herd bulls every year. Some are very big, some are just big. But I love being able to hunt 300 bc bulls every year and knowing that a 350 plus comes out every year also. Versus waiting many years for a tag.

 

[packmule]

We were going to buy in Swan Valley. The Wy border is just on the other side of Palasades reservoir and Jackson Hole is less then a hr drive.
Not sure if it's a trophy area for elk but it is over the counter tags for pretty much everything. Fishing is awesome too. Prices were very affordable.

That's the area I like and even up a little further North to around Driggs. Seems the views are a lot better from the ID side than the WY side of the Tetons.

 

[tim]

one thing to prepare for, if you do move to a rural area, is. wages are not that good. It helps to have a good job already secured or have the ability to start your own business. We just don't have the big city wages in Idaho.

 

[humbletaxi]

There is a ski resort in Northern Idaho too. I cant think of the name of it rightnow. Maybe its in Washington? Its north of Spokane or Coeur d'Alene somewhere. Anyways the panhandle mighnt be an area to look into.

Sandpoint is probably where you are thinking.

 

[missjordan]

For sure. No big hurry. We've explored the Missoula area a little bit and plan to spend some more time there this summer. We absolutely love love the Jackson WY area for both hunting and skiing. Its just a little to far away to make anymore than 2 or 3 trips a year unfortunately.

AK- How is that Brundage Mt? Pretty good skiing. She grew up in Tahoe, so she's got high standards for that....

If you have any questions about missoula feel free to pm me, I've grown up and live here so I would be glad to help.

The positives about Missoula is its a great town that is close to both national parks. The closest lakes are within a 2 hour drive and hunting can be out your backdoor if you choose the right property. Whitefish mountain is a 3 hr drive and big sky ski resort is 4 but there are smaller resorts close to town that are <2 hour drive from town with snowbowl being 20 minutes. It's got a great local atmosphere and tons of local breweries!
A few down sides are property can be fairly spendy even on the outer skirts of town. And missoula is very liberal,
One area of MT that may be worth checking out is farther south down by Butte, in smaller areas such as Phillipsburg, Georgetown, and Anaconda. There is a nice ski resort on georgetown and a lake. And theres great hunting too. You'll be right in the middle of both larger towns (butte and missoula) but still far enough away to get that small town experience.

 

[Musket Man]

The panhandle is very close and convenient. Plus my wife loves Cour de' Alene. But, I just don't think that area has the Elk quality I'm looking for. But I could be wrong...? I would prefer an area with good Mulies as well, and I'm pretty sure it's mostly whitetails up there.

There is some good elk hunting if you can get out and scout and get to know the area and you can hunt it every year. Not alot of Muleys but you cant have everything. lol

 

[mntnguide]

You should be looking for opportunity not "trophy" quality when it comes to hunting Idaho. Every unit can produce nice bulls in Idaho, but there isnt a single unit that is OTC that you can just go start hunting and see big bulls everywhere. Like most hunting, it will take time and effort to learn the country you hunt and the pattern of the animals. I would suggest not looking for "trophy" but look for opportunity. Because if you expect to find "Trophy" bulls in Idaho next to any ski resort and cheap land...you will be looking for a long long time! I was born and raised in the wood river valley of sun valley; i currently live in Jackson, wy. I worked outside of philipsburg, MT for 5 summers. . So i guess i can say im pretty familiar with a lot of the areas you are considering. The driggs/victor region of Western ID is amazing and still affordable, but i doubt it will stay that way for much longer with the spread of the jackson valley residents overtaking that side of the hill. Sun Valley is expensive...period. But you could look towards Fairfield, which is still affordable has a ski resort minutes away, and the sun valley resorts are only an hour away...The hunting there is draw only, but OTC units arent far away. Good luck in your search.

 

[Matthoek21]

You can look around Cameron or Ennis, MT. Close to good hunting and GREAT skiing. You've got Big Sky and Bridger Bowl. Or how about Last Chance, ID. Still close to Big Sky. And also the fishing is phenomenal! Just watch out for Griz if that's an issue.

 

[Musket Man]

I think the ID/MT border on I90 would be about 8 hours from Seattle and Bozeman is around another 5 hours from there.