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Muskoka Airport (CYQA) is a Transport Canada-certified aerodrome at Gravenhurst in Ontario's cottage country, a few miles south of Bracebridge, with a single long paved runway well suited to a range of general aviation types. Once home to a Norwegian air force training base known as "Little Norway" during the Second World War, it now serves general aviation, charter, and government operators, with occasional seasonal airline links to Toronto.
Muskoka Airport, identified by the ICAO code CYQA and IATA code YQA, lies at Gravenhurst in the District Municipality of Muskoka, Ontario. It is owned by the District Municipality of Muskoka and operated by Muskoka Airport Inc., and is classified as an airport of entry with Canada Border Services Agency officers available on a call-out basis for general aviation aircraft carrying no more than fifteen passengers. For a simulator pilot the field offers an interesting mix of a substantial single runway set in forested lakeland scenery, a long and distinctive wartime history, and use by general aviation, corporate and government operators including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Forces and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
The airport is situated in Gravenhurst, Ontario, about four nautical miles south of Bracebridge. It sits at coordinates 44.9751 N, 79.3038 W at an elevation of 915 feet above mean sea level.
Muskoka Airport has a single physical runway, 18/36, aligned north-south, hard-surfaced and lit. The 36 direction is available for a landing distance of 5,994 feet, while the 18 direction is available for 5,194 feet. There is no ILS approach at the field.
The airport broadcasts an automated weather observation on 124.575 MHz. The mandatory frequency (MF) for the aerodrome is 122.3 MHz. A remote communications outlet, Timmins Radio, operates on 123.475 MHz for flight information and other services.
Construction of the airfield began in 1933 as a Depression-era make-work project, with labourers paid a dollar a day plus keep to clear and level the landing strip. It opened in 1936 as Reay Airport and was renamed Muskoka Airport in 1938. From 1942 until the end of the Second World War it served as a training facility for the Royal Norwegian Air Force, earning the name "Little Norway" after it replaced Toronto Island Airport as Norway's main Canadian training base. The Royal Canadian Air Force also used the field as an auxiliary airfield to CFB Borden during the war. Ownership subsequently passed to Transport Canada, and during the mid-twentieth century the airport served as an emergency landing facility for Trans Canada Airlines and the RCAF. A permanent memorial commemorating the airport's contribution to Norway's air force was unveiled in 2007. The District Municipality of Muskoka has owned the airport since 1996.
Muskoka Airport today supports general aviation, charter operations and government users including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Forces and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Porter Airlines operated seasonal scheduled summer flights from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in 2019 and 2022, though this service did not resume in 2023, and cargo services have been operated by SkyLink Express to Hamilton and North Bay. As an airport of entry, arriving international general aviation flights may be met by Canada Border Services Agency officers on a call-out basis, subject to the fifteen-passenger limit for that service.
