How much is this waterfall worth? About $600,000

Waterfalls are rarely for sale. So when the 92-foot Abiqua Falls in Oregon recently made a splash on Redfin—with no asking price attached—it unleashed a cascade of questions. For answers, we spoke to Amanda Staggenborg, communications director of Mount Angel Abbey (a Benedictine monastery and seminary in the Willamette Valley), which has owned the 40-acre property for over a century. Here’s why the time was right to sell, who bought it, and more.

Q: What’s the story of this waterfall? “Mount Angel Abbey acquired the property in 1908. The interesting thing is that it’s been maintained exactly the way it was when we acquired it, with the exception of hikers putting up ropes and carving out their own trails. We’ve left it up to God’s creation, and we’re very proud of that.”

Q: What’s the hike like to get there? “It is very much a hike for an experienced hiker. You drive on a dirt path for a couple of miles as far as you can, then people leave their car and walk for around four miles. There are a lot of twists and turns. That said, once you get there, it is absolutely lovely.”

Q: Why did the abbey decide to sell? “With the advent of GPS and different technologies that help people discover it, there’s been more public interest. The reason we put it up for public auction on Redfin—with no minimum or maximum bid—was to identify who would be best for stewarding this land. We wanted to open it to everyone. It’s an unusual sale. We knew what the land was worth, but how do you appraise a waterfall? That was a really interesting question.”

Q: What kind of response did the listing get? “We were blessed to have a lot of interest and offers, including one by the state for $600,000. We accepted their offer and are waiting for that process to play out.”

Q: Sorry to ask, but doesn’t $600,000 seem a little low for something this beautiful? “The priority was never to fetch top dollar. It was to ensure that the right steward of the land came into view who could keep that land open and allow the same kind of recreational access in the way that the Benedictine monks have for the past 100 years.”