Cottage Site Transactions

State endowment trust land has been leased for use as residential sites, known as cottage sites, since the early 1900s. Over the past several decades cottage site lessees have expressed a desire to purchase the endowment land they lease, thus unifying the estate (ownership) of both structure (cottage) and land (site). In 2010, the Land Board voted to divest ownership of cottage sites at Priest Lake and Payette Lake and directed IDL to develop the voluntary auction for ownership (VAFO) process. In 2018, the Land Board approved a plan that would allow for additional VAFO auction cycles through 2024.  A plan for future Auction Cycles between 2025 and 2039 was approved by Land Board Commissioners in the 2025 Cottage Site Plan. 

Updates: Cottage Site Auctions

• The next auction for leased lots at Priest Lake will be held on Saturday, August 23, 2025 at Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene Inn, 506 W Appleway Avenue, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814.  Registration starts at 10:00 AM [PT]; Auction starts at 11:00 AM [PT]  *Please visit Bottles Real Estate Auction the week of July 14, 2025 to obtain a full list of sites available at auction.
• The next auction for leased lots at Payette Lakes will  be held on Friday, July 18, 2025 at Waters Edge Events Center, 287 East Shore Drive, Eagle, ID 83616.  Registration starts at 10:00 AM [MT]; Auction Starts at 11:00 AM [MT]  *Please visit Bottles Real Estate Auction the week of June 10, 2025 for a full list of sites available at auction.

Voluntary Auction for Ownership

• The applicant must be the current cottage site lessee in good standing.
• The auction is a public, oral, competitive auction.
• Each site is actively marketed prior to the auction date.
• Anyone can participate in a direct sale auction after going through the application process.

Unleased Land Auction

• The next auction for unleased lots at Priest Lake will be held on Saturday, August 23, 2025 at Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene, 506 W Appleway Avenue, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814.  Registration starts at 10:00 AM [PT]; Auction starts at 11:00 AM [PT]  * Please visit Bottles Real Estate Auction the week of July 14, 2025 for a full list of sites available at auction.
• There will be no auction for unleased lots at Payette Lakes for 2025.  
• The auction is a public, oral, competitive auction.

Land Exchange

The IDL director suspended all pending and future land exchange proposals involving cottage sites from consideration or further evaluation until the legal and policy related concerns about cottage site land exchanges can be further examined.

On-Line Bidding

IDL no longer offers on-line bidding for the VAFO Auctions.