The State Institutional Trust Lands Administration is selling this 200-acre parcel in Cave Valley near Kolob Terrace Road at an auction Oct. 19 | Photo courtesy of SITLA, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – The School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, known as SITLA, is selling a 200-acre parcel in Cave Valley near Lamb’s Knoll, a popular hiking and canyoneering area close to Zion National Park.

A minimum acceptable bid price for the 200-acre parcel is $860,000, according to SITLA’s auction website. Details, terms and conditions of any sale are included and explained here.

The sale is part of an Oct. 19 SITLA auction that includes 11 parcels of land totaling more than 3,500 acres in six Utah counties.

Proceeds from the sale will go to the $2 billion Permanent School Fund, which benefits Utah public schools.

“We typically do not want to offer land for sale unless there is serious interest from someone,” Louis Brown, a resource specialist for SITLA, said.

“In the case of Cave Valley, this parcel has had interest expressed over the years but nothing recently. Since all of our prep work to get this parcel ready for sale had already been done years ago we decided to offer it and see what happens.”

The Cave Valley parcel is located approximately 10 miles northeast of the town of Virgin along the Kolob Terrace Road.

The property adjoins Zion National Park on the southeast corner; Bureau of Land Management property on the north, west and south sides; and private land on the east.

Nearby Lamb’s Knoll is a well-used hiking and canyoneering location.

In 2014, for example, eight commercial groups guided 3,300 people to the Lamb’s Knoll area in addition to public use, information from the BLM states.

Provisions in the sale will allow for continued access across the 200-acre parcel to Lamb’s Knoll and the nearby erosion-sculpted slot canyons.

“When we heard that the SITLA parcel was up for sale we requested an easement to maintain access to the Lamb’s Knoll canyoneering site,” Dave Kiel, BLM St. George Field Office recreation planner, said. “SITLA was very generous in granting that easement.”

“We are planning on building a trailhead at that location, with parking, an information kiosk and a restroom,” Kiel said.

“We don’t have a specific construction time frame, but it is on the priority list.”

Eighty percent of SITLA’s development land portfolio is in Washington County. In an earlier interview, Kyle Pasley, deputy assistant director of the SITLA planning and development group, attributed this number to the fact that when Utah became a state and SITLA was formed, it was not given much land along the Wasatch Front.

The Coral Canyon development in Washington City is an example of SITLA land currently under development in Southern Utah.

Details

According to the SITLA auction website, the minimum acceptable price for the Cave Valley property is $860,000 and financing will be offered for the parcel. A down payment of 10 percent and closing costs are due at the auction.

The SITLA land sale auction will be held Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 10 a.m. at the Little America Hotel, 500 South Main St. in Salt Lake City.

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