Mr. Nacho’s always had a dream of owning land to camp and garden on, even before I met him in 2019. He was already spending hours each week browsing Zillow for remote properties. Then when COVID hit, the price of everything shot up.
It wasn’t until 2023 he found a land lot he wanted to see in person. It had been on the market for at least a month at that time. It just so happened to be a unique location, on a mountainside. It being on a mountain wasn’t a requirement but was a nice-to-have for the views. We didn’t get a land realtor (though we did research a few). Mr. Nacho simply reached out to the seller’s agent to set up a time to meet.
We saw a few lots while we were in the area, but ended up falling in love with this particular one. It had a diverse landscape and elevation, and it just felt right. Because it’s so different from a traditional flat plot of land, we felt there were a lot of ways to get super creative. We’re excited to see how things turn out.
About the land
- 24 acres on a forested mountain side in West Virginia
- Wet-weather stream at the bottom of the property (i.e., water runs through it mainly after it rains)
- Highest point is 2200 feet above sea level
Why we loved it
- An existing (rough) driveway was cleared by the previous owner
- Main build site would still have privacy through the trees
- Old logging roads were already the basis for some trails
- A somewhat diverse landscape so we get unique feels throughout different areas of the property
- Potential for nice views if we leveled the land for a build site
- Electric, septic, and water are a possibility if we ever decide to build on it
- The previous owner did a perc test to see what size septic system the soil can support (perc tests measure the soil’s moisture absorption rate (i.e., how long it takes for soil to drain moisture added to the ground))
- Nearby state land for more hiking and recreation
- Not too far from where we live
We researched and walked the land first to get ideas for what could be possible
After we got our loan and closed on the property, we started exploring! Not only did we walk whatever areas of the property we could first, we looked at our county clerk’s website to view the property’s Geographic Information System (GIS) map. We also used an app called OnX to look at elevation and property lines. This app is often used for hunt mapping, among other things, and was definitely helpful for our purposes (especially because you can drop pins for different site locations).
We used all of this information to plan for different trails and build sites within the confines of our property lines and elevation changes. Looking at the natural paths on the property, we saw which areas could be usable and could also be accessible to level out for what we wanted to do.
When actually walking the property, we looked for cool sites (e.g., near the stream, rocky outcroppings, plants and trees we liked (i.e., dogwoods!) and made sure to incorporate those sites into our trails. To map out connections to all the existing logging trails, we marked connection paths using our hiking boots. We’ve also researched online for best practices on trail management. Perhaps more to come on our trail building experience in another post.
Based on our research, these were the 3 main usable areas we identified:
- The first and lowest area is what we will keep as the main parking area (once leveled / cleared out, we could use it for tents or campers too)
- The second area a little further up the mountain will become our main build site
- The third area (the highest in elevation) will be dedicated to tent camping
