$1,095,000
Peninsula lot with water on three sides
4 bd2 ba
3,800 sqft
180 ft shore
Permitted, not built
$6,083/ft
Pecky Cox
· CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Photographs of Priest Lake via Wikimedia Commons. Credit and licence on each image — hover to view, click through to the source.
Priest Lake covers 23,360 acres in Idaho and drops to 369 feet at its deepest point. It is a natural lake, which generally means a more stable shoreline and fewer drawdown surprises than an impoundment. Level is unusually stable, which protects dock usability and shoreline appearance year round. Water clarity averages around 35 feet, placing it among the clearer bodies of water in the country. Short-term rental posture: Bonner County permit. Confirm at the municipal level before underwriting rental income.
Each axis is computed by published formula from this lake's own attributes. How we score.
Computed from measured clarity, trophic state, and drawdown magnitude — not an opinion. See the formula.
Weighted: water 26% · recreation 22% · investment 20% · value 18% · access 14%.
Idealized cross-section. Max depth 369 ft, average 118 ft. Depth at a specific dock depends on local bathymetry — verify at the property.
Bonner County permit
What a median-priced home on Priest Lake actually costs to carry, with waterfront-specific line items most calculators omit.
| Principal & interest | $69,232 |
| Property taxes | $11,498 |
| Hazard insurance | $4,599 |
| Flood insurance | $878 |
| Utilities | $2,700 |
| Maintenance reserve (1.1%) | $12,045 |
| Septic service | $520 |
| Well & water testing | $260 |
| Dock maintenance | $900 |
| Winterization / seasonal close | $750 |
| Shoreline / seawall reserve | $960 |
| Total | $104,341 |
Prices here are meaningfully lower than the lake an hour north for water that is nearly as clear. Fewer restaurants and services, which is the tradeoff.
We bought in 2005 and have never regretted it. The lake is busy on holiday weekends and quiet the rest of the time. Get a dock on the main channel if you can — the coves warm up and weed over by August.
Smallmouth and walleye both fish well. Water clarity has held up over the fifteen years we have been here, which I credit to the watershed protections.
