‘Rare’ private island up for sale north of Fort St. James

A 62-acre private island in the Nation Lakes of northern B.C. is selling for just $319,000. The island is located 115 kilometres north of Fort St. James with nearby road access to the community.

Real estate agent Sam Hodson of LandQuest Realty Corp. said the seller is an American who has owned the property since the 1960s using it for hunting, fishing and as a private sanctuary over the decades.

There used to be a cabin on the island but that is no longer livable.

“It’s offered for sale for the first time in a long time. There’s no zoning which means you could build one cabin or 100 cabins. It’s up to you,” Hodson said.

“Properties like this are rare. When something like this comes up I would say buy it because it’s really hard to find twice.”

Hodson said the island is “right at the heart” of some of the best fishing, hunting and outdoor recreation in B.C.

Road access is from the north shore of the Nation Lakes and he said it’s a two-minute boat ride to the island from shore — making it “fairly easy” to transport building materials there. The listing also notes there is plenty of mature timber on the island.

He said there is already interest but the property was still available as of Thursday (March 31). Hodson said residents of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland might jump on the offer because of high real-estate prices there.

“It literally just went online but I’ve had a few phone calls already on it today.”

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