A 40-acre, off-the-grid property in Maricopa County can be yours - for a price

PHOENIX - Want to get away from it all? There’s a unique piece of land for sale in the North Valley that will let you rise above the ruckus.

The property, called "The Last Outpost," is being marketed as an off-the-grid property.

Beyond double locked gates and up a daunting driveway is the top of Continental Mountain, located in an unincorporated portion of Maricopa County, in an area wedged between Cave Creek and the Tonto National Forest.

From a 4,000 foot perch, people can look down on the entire Valley, and feel like they are on top of the world, With only the sound of a soft breeze blowing by their ear.

"There’s no sound to hit your eardrum," said Preston Westmoreland with Russ Lyon Sotheby's International Realty. "You hear the blood rushing through your ears. It’s that quiet. Yet, I’m looking at Carefree, Cave Creek, and all the Phoenix."

Westmoreland keeps a roof over his head by selling unique properties, and the 40-acre site is more unusual than most, especially because it is literally sitting on a gold mine.

"The seller had a contract with one of the largest mining companies in the world. If he would bring the ore down to Globe, they would smelt it for him and he’d get a percentage. So I think there’s a lot of gold still up here," said Westmoreland.

Westmoreland says gold mining in the area dates back more than a century. The precious metal is pulled from the pink vein of mineralized rock that slices through the mountainside.

Down below the property sits the weathered wooden tram towers that used to carry out the quartz during the Golden Reef mining days. There is also a big mine shaft that snakes back about 300 feet before it caved in. Based on the dried mud tracks, it is now an Airbnb of sorts for bobcats.

The rocks still have small specs of gold in them. Up to a half-ounce of gold per ton, if a person can get it out of there,

Westmoreland says the property is encircled by government-owned land, which ensures privacy. In addition, the area is patented, meaning whoever owns the property also owns the mineral and water mining rights, all the way down to the center of the Earth.

Westmoreland believes it’s a good spot for an adventurous homeowner, a determined modern-day gold digger, maybe a "glamping" site some sort of survival retreat, or all of the above.

"You have to analyze the site and think who would want 40 acres that’s reached by such a crazy road?" said Westmoreland. "But it’s very remote, and right now, off-the-grid is just huge."

This mountain top sanctuary, owned by a Tucson entrepreneur, went on the market in November. The price tag? $1.3 million.

The property was recently rented to a Hollywood movie crew that was shooting a sci-fi film called "Solus."