Buying Acreage In The Beryl, Beryl Junction Area (St. George, Cedar City: for sale, house)

[teamcambron]

ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! Now that's MY kind of traffic jam! Thanks for the pics!

[cyburham]

I am just reading your posts about Beryl. We have 20 acres aquired through a trade and 2 acre feet of water in Beryl Junction. We are thinking of possibly moving out that way. It looks so isolated. How many people actually live there? Hubby would need to drive into town for work so we are considering Enterprise also. We have been told our water shares would transfer there. Hopefully then he could find a job in Cedar City or the St George area. How bad is the drive from both of these towns in the winter?? We also have 2 children 11 & 9. How are the schools and are there any children for them to have friends? When we were in Beryl Junction I only saw a few houses and one farm. The husband says we probably did not drive all the way into town. We are thinking of moving our Alpaca ranch there. I would love to meet with you and have you show us a bit about the area sometime. Right now we are located in Herriman Utah.

[toby04]

How many people actually live there?
About 700 spread from Beryl Junction to Modena.

We have been told our water shares would transfer there.
Not always true, check utah.gov

Hubby would need to drive into town for work so we are considering Enterprise also.
Enterprise would be closer to St. George, farther from Cedar City. Finding jobs in Enterprise and Beryl that are full time, benefits and decent pay is very difficult.

How bad is the drive from both of these towns in the winter??
To St. George is a little better, lower elevation. Both wind thru mountains. Snowplows keep up well. Right now the price of gas is the problem. My husband spends 500-600 a month. Lots of people commute.

We also have 2 children 11 & 9. How are the schools and are there any children for them to have friends?

Elementary in Beryl is excellent, I have worked there 12 years. Check iron.k12.ut.us. There are 130 students preschool thru 6th. Then they can go to Enterprise or Cedar City. Bus rides can be loong! There are kids, it is harder to socialize because homes are so spread out, there are no neighborhoods, except in Newcastle and Enterprise. A lot of the socializing is thru church and scouts and little league. You do get "cliques", but is more because they do so much together. I am not LDS and have always felt welcome.

I think your Alpaca ranch would fit right in! PM me if you would like a tour!

[bigPAPA]

can anyone explain the water rights issue in beryl utah? I am also looking for utah land. From what I see theres no cheap land in st. george so Im looking towards cedar city area. I appreciate any reply's. also is the beryl area going to get like saint george anytime in the future, I hope not. Or maybe its a good thing as far as infrastucture and city services.

[toby04]

It is a fairly complex issue. In a nutshell, the state of Utah has issued "water rights" to users on a first come-first served basis. You must own a water right to drill a well and use the water. Not an issue if you live in the city. These water rights are considered personal property and not always sold with the land. They can be used in certain areas only, not always movable.
In the Beryl/Enterprise area, water rights have been over issued. We are using more water than is being recharged. There are a lot of alfalfa faems that use massive amounts of water. There has been talk of "taking back" rights. The farmers in this area are working on a plan. There are no more being issued. That is why land is so cheap, people sell land for peanuts and the water rights are gold.
Beryl has very little employment opp., Enterpprise as well. We have volunteer fire dept,on call EMTs, and no police dept. We will never grow into a large city because of water issues and being isolated. We are in a valley that you must drive thru mountains on a two lane road to reach.
Check out www.waterrights.utah.gov for more info.

[frank in ca]

I have property in Beryl and have not yet moved there. I'm currently in California. The property was given to me by my parents who had purchased 3 lots in Beryl about 50 years ago and there are no water rights with it. I guess I will have to get water rights if I want a well. I am considering using it as a stop and park place for my motorhome while travelling through or a place to build and visit at times after retirement. Any ideas? I was told by a reisident there that she was sorry she moved there and built a house. She says the water lines freeze in winter and there is no jobs nearby.....

[toby04]

I have seen several spots where someone has cleared and fenced their land. They have put up a shed or shade structure. Some have Cargo containers. You have to bring your own water unless you spend the money to get a well and power. IMO not worth it unless you plan to build. Yes pipes can freeze, if you build and insulate correctly, it should be ok. This area is not for everyone, perfect for some! Frank, where is your land?

[cottonwood2420]

The area is nice but not for everyone.

[steward5]

Hi, I'm always researching the Beryl area so came across this forum. I live in Las Vegas and have always wanted to escape to a small town. We bought a place in Beryl that we travel to about once a month, we love the area and it's history, the people are wonderful. First bought there in 1999 and have been through a lot of challenges so far, sometimes I feel like Mr. Douglas on the Green Acres farm.

[steward5]

In my previous post my eagerness to help and give information was misinterpreted as advertising.....I'll be more careful. Anyway I ran across some good water deals. If anyone wants the information that I found, you can go to Pioneer Shopper and in the search box type "Beryl".
Hope this helps. I know how frustrating it can be with the water situation in Utah.

If this gets edited for advertising just e-mail me and I'll pass on the information.