Advice re a Cabin

[Onomea]

I'd appreciate some thoughts, guys. And gals. (Speakin' of which, where are the gals these days? Barb, Joanie, Misty, Roz…?)

Here's the premise: Say you had $100K and wanted to buy a cabin in a fairly remote, scenic area, within walking distance of a stream, river or lake for fishing, and where you could enjoy casual plinking with a handgun or rifle. Casual means you don't need to go to a range, you can just shoot right near the cabin.


The cabin does not need to be upscale, but… a flush toilet and hot water are needed. Could be a gas powered generator is okay if location is off the grid. Big enough for two. One room is okay.


Should be in a state with sensible gun laws, meaning open carry is preferred, and shall issue is mandatory.

I'd like this place to be accessible year round, but if it were not in winter, that would be okay.


Being remote, meaning not next door to someone else, is important. Being a pretty, natural environment is important.


The place would not be an investment. It would be a retreat in retirement. Not a main residence, but a place to spend some weeks/months a year.

I'd appreciate your thoughts.

 

[Maximumbob54]

I have read repeatedly that Utah is a very gun friendly state. And it has plenty of scenic vistas to choose from. Not sure of the price of land though. But then again most land far out and away from towns is pretty reasonable as far as price goes. I would add in there that you want some form of ready communication in case of accident or illness. Things can sneak up on you and being that far out can hurt you as much as it is nice to be away. Also solar and wind generators have come a long way in these last few years. Those and a gas backup would be a great combo.

 

[Hofstet]

Michigan's Upper Peninsula is beautiful, remote, accessible and in most cases still affordable. Mountains, rivers, forests and a variety of wild animals & birds including Moose, deer, wolves,ruffed grouse, waterfowl, bald eagles, etc. World class trout streams and a lot of snow in the winter. Only downside IMO would be that summer is too short. Beautiful fall season also.
The $100K cabin on a river can still be found there.

 

[5-Shot]

I've spent several nights in that very cabin. You have just described Oregon, east of the Cascade range. It's is in the high desert, plenty of towering mountains around, most of the land is public land (on which you can shoot and hunt) and there are counties with single digit populations. If you read Elmer Keith's old books, you'll learn that this is where a lot of his exploits took place. Check anywhere east of highway 97.

Ed

 

[-db-]

Another vote for northern MI. Lots of affordable real estate up there right now.

 

[Bell Charter Oak Holsters]

Arlo;

There are so many locations in the U.S., some unlikely, but where you can find solitude, privacy, lots of open air. The tradeoffs though, usually are a combination of inconvenience and distance, if that will matter to you. I owned a very remote camp once, which was only accessible by boat. In the warmer months I thought there was no better place to be. Excellent hunting and fishing, total privacy. However, the tradeoff was the isolation in harsh winters. We sold the place after awhile and settled for another rural camp, somewhat closer to civilization for convenience, but far enough away to do all the same things you seem to be looking for. I imagine there's lots of them out there and picking one out of the whole country seems a difficult task at best. Maybe if you narrowed your criterion or limited the potential camps to geographical regions, you'd find it easier to select one.

The upper peninsula is one and probably a good place to start. Good luck.

Cheers;
Lefty

 

[feralmerril]

Right here in utah. I live in cedar city. Right up in the mountains around me is what you discribe. My wife wanted to be near a hospital and a walmart so we live on the edge of town. The majority of the country is blm. The big thing is, most of the cabins in the high country is unacessable without a snowmobile in winter. But there is a lot of area`s along roads they try to keep open too, like "Duck creek" east of town about 20 miles. Thats at about 8,000 ft. Around here elevation is the gauge that you can pretty much tell what a country is like. We live close to 6,000 ft. We get snow and winter, yet drive 40 miles south to st. george at 4,000 ft and the tempiture is always 15 degrees hotter or more,
nice in winter but too hot for me in summer.

 

[truckemup97]

Maybe if you narrowed your criterion or limited the potential camps to geographical regions, you'd find it easier to select one.

I agree, and for another reason. Where are you going to settle when you retire? If your cabin is within a reasonable distance, say 200 miles, of your home, you would be more likely to use it for short periods of time, and you would be closer to home for doctor's appointments, family gatherings, etc.

Good luck in your search!

 

[BarbC]

His idea of a cabin:

Her idea of a cabin:

 

[Hofstet]

Barb,
I'm still laughing. You must know my wife.

 

[HCD]

gotta vote Mich.U,P cheap, agreeable, remote as you want with the requirements you stated.Oh ya mushrooms and beauty.

 

[dave b]

Here's a little "Fix er Upper". Plenty of room to shoot. No snoopy neighbors (75 miles) Central Wyo.

 

[truckemup97]

Barb, at our house, this is "her" cabin:

 

[Joe Kent]

Many places in Mo. Would fit your bill. Northern Mo. would probably be cheaper than southern.

 

[feralmerril]

Home sweet home.

 

[bigolddave]

In re the UP of Michigan:

Thirty years ago, I went together with four friends and bought a hunting cabin on a forty a little east of Watersmeet. I have spent quite a bit of time up there, mostly in the fall. Two years ago, the remaining partner and I went up at the end of May to redo the roof. I weighed 375 pounds when we started (I was the guy on the ground) and about 300 two days later, with the difference carried off by mosquitos, gnats, blackflies, and other infernal insects. The UP has a lot to reccommend it, but it is not quite Paradise. Decent recreational land is not as cheap as you might think, as much of it is state and federal, and a bunch more is timber and mining company property. Without access to lake or significant rivers, you can figure on a thousand an acre, with more desirable land much higher. The least expensive land may not be readily accessible even by fourwheeler without cutting a road for as much as a mile, after you arrange for an easement.

That being said, if you are handy and willing to invest sweat equity, there are a lot of farms up there that are available and ready for rehab.

 

[feralmerril]

I worked in the UP treating old power poles parts of two summers back in 1963 and 1964. I was at hancock and sault st. marie. That is as far north as you can get in the lower 48. It got so hot and muggy a few times that I could hardly stand it! Winters of course that country has probley more snow than alaska! Mosquitos are bad and those little black gnats or "No see um`s " will drive you nuts! It is beautifull a handfull of days a year!

 

[Sprefix]

Just a thought......

Your header suggests that you spend time in HI. I am in Alaska and it sounds like it has everything you are asking for. For $100K you can buy a turn-key operation on a lake. Alaska is VERY good with our gun laws. The summers here are incredible, to say the least, if you have never been here in June, July, August, or September. Being in HI, allows a direct flight that doesn't take too long. A beautiful cabin just sold for $65,000.00 on Trapper lake on 5.4 acres with 217 feet of lake frontage. This is fly-in or 8 miles on the trail(snow-machine) from the road. Just something to ponder...........Look up AK/remote properties

 

[doublesharp]

Kentucky is a good place to look. I found this on Craigslist and bought it this past December for $26k. It's 60 miles from my house and pretty much in the middle of nowhere. 6 acres water and 8 acres land. I may put up a simple cabin. Depends on how much work I can get out of GF.

 

[OK Hog Shooter]

BarbC... How do you know my wife?

 

[Onomea]

Some great ideas here, guys. And info. Keep it up!

I currently work in Japan, and own a couple of houses -- just me and the bank, as my old man used to say -- in Hawaii, where I spend much of my summers and have long planned to retire. Recently my wife, who is Japanese, is thinking it would be nice to keepa place in Japan, too, afer retiring. I like Japan and Hawaii a lot, but I miss the rural life I knew as a kid in Virginia. And while I keep my guns in Hawaii, it is not a gun friendly place.

I have a brother I am close to, on the east coast, and we've been talking about the idea of going halves into a cabin somewhere, maybe out west. It would be more for us than for the wives. Since I am thinking Japan and Hawaii as a base, anywhere in the US would be equally inconvenient. But that is a very good point about Alaska, As is the point about 200 miles from home, in my bro's case.

(Like the guy said, Barb. You must know my wife!!)

 

[cincinnatijim]

Lots of pretty places in Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, and New Mexico. How much snow do you want?

If you're interested in New Mexico there's Ruidoso and Taos. Las Vegas, New Mexico seems nice. While driving from Taos to Las Vegas we encountered a man walking along the road with a nice string of Trout so we stopped to talk to him a bit.

The Black Hills area of South Dakota is very scenic. Our tour guide told us that the area is a favored retirement site for airmen who had served at the nearby AFB. She claimed that the area is South Dakota's "Banana Belt."

I lived at Worland, Wyoming one summer and really liked the area. Within easy driving distance you could go trout fishing or go pheasant, deer, or antelope hunting.

Good luck with your planning.

 

[460v LAC du FLAMBEAU]

Check out my real estate website in northern Wisconsin...

NorthwoodsSportsman.com

Play the video at the bottom of the home page.

Open-carry state. The "Northwoods of Wisconsin" is 750 square miles of 2,500 crystal clear lakes, national & state-owned forests with limited amount of private property and about 6 billion pine trees. Great for hunting, fishing, boating, quiet times etc...4-hour drive to Minneapolis and Milwaukee.

U.P. of Michigan is just 30 miles north...very remote!

Prices from $100K to $10 million.

 

[rburg]

Depends on how much work I can get out of GF.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Explain that one again! I guess living down near Cuba agrees with you! I see you have somehow used the words work and GF in the same sentence.

OK, back to the thread. I see a fallacy in the requirements. The easier a place is to get to, the more difficult the security will be. In some regions it would be nearly impossible. A paved road to your hideaway also means the dirtbags from the region will have easy access. The locals know the region better than any outsider, and they're not shy about helping themselves to your goodies. Anything not bolted down will be theirs.

With advancing age comes a need for easy access to hospital facilities and other health care. Also, since you're coming from far away, you want to consider both air access and a way to either rent a vehicle or store one near an airport. The more remote the hideaway is, the more you'll want the need for 4wd requirement.

One solution is to rent a storage garage near a small airport. Keep a minimal older Blazer or Bronco stored in the garage (they run the spectrum from wide open to pretty good security.) The deal is you fly to the airport (one with regularly scheduled commercial flights), catch a cab to the storage facility. Get your vehicle running (put the battery in that you've had on trickle charge). Drive to your hideaway.

My plan was similar, and included Grand Junction, CO airport. I considered Colorado Springs, but they've got enough crime to make it less attractive. Forget Denver.

 

[wyo-man]

I would suggest Northwest Wyoming.
Very gun friendly and very few neighbors (only 540,000 people in ENTIRE state!!).
wyo-man

 

[gizamo]

Out my back door. We are building a cabin this year for guests.

 

[Muley Gil]

You can still find cabins and land for sale here in the Blue Ridge mountains of Southwest Virginia at reasonable prices, especially in this economy.

Besides, you'll be among friends!

 

[Old 44 Guy]

Oh Boy; I had the same dream years ago. Built a cabin in the Sierras in 1959. County had 11,000 population. Nobody closer than 1/4 mile. Could shoot & hunt all around. Now it's surrounded by 2 subdivisions & a state hiway. Population 44,000.My advice is to get a trailer & go where you want to. Beware of staying in one place.

 

[Onomea]

Man, so much food for thought. Very useful perspectives, too, the guys who have done this, and the guys who have thought about doing this.

Much appreciated. More opinions welcome, too.

(And Giz, anything i can bring you from Japan or Hawaii?)

 

[deadin]

A number of years ago my sister and BIL had a small A-Frame up in the backwoods of Northern Idaho. As Dick said, they had a lot of problems with "break-ins". (No neighbors anywhere near to keep an eye on it.) They took to leaving the door unlocked so, at least they wouldn't be replacing it all the time. Still got trashed quite often. They even went so far as to ditching the road and felling trees across it so you had to hike in the last mile or so. Didn't help much, so they finally sold it.