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19 remote cottage lots draw 60 Yukoners to land lottery today

Sixty people have applied for 19 remote cottage lots the government is selling on Bennett and Tagish Lakes. A lottery draw will be held this afternoon to see who gets to buy.

Waterfront properties with no road access are priced between $45,000 and $55,000

Old Engineer Mine site at the south end of Tagish Lake in northwestern B.C. Sixty Yukoners have applied for the chance to buy 19 remote cottage properties, 6 of which are on Tagish Lake, in a land lottery to be held this afternoon (Joanne Moore)

Yukon government officials are overwhelmed by the response to their latest land lottery.

Sixty people have applied for 19 remote cottage lots the government is selling on Bennett and Tagish Lakes.

The waterfront properties are priced between $45,000 and $55,000.

None of the properties is accessible by road. They’re reachable by boat in summer, or snowmobile in winter.

Six properties are on the north end of Windy Arm on Tagish Lake. The other 13 are on Bennett Lake, near the B.C. border.

Lands director Colin McDowell says that’s where competition seems strongest.

"A lot of people chose lots on Bennett Lake, particularly the south end of Bennett Lake, so yeah it's a very successful lottery, we've had a ton of interest.”

Energy, Mines and Resources minister, Scott Kent, says the government is already considering developing more recreational lots in other areas of the territory.

“Owning a little piece of paradise on the waterfront in Yukon is important to many,” he says.

A lottery draw for the 19 properties will be held this afternoon at the Elijah Smith Building, in Whitehorse.