Departure
93%
vs 95% ▼ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Big Creek Airport is a remote, Forest Service backcountry airstrip deep in the Payette National Forest of central Idaho, serving the Big Creek Lodge and the tiny settlement of Edwardsburg. Sitting at 5,741 feet amid rugged mountain terrain, it is a classic Idaho backcountry destination for pilots comfortable with unpaved, high-elevation operations and no instrument approach.
Big Creek Airport is a small, state-maintained but Forest Service-owned airstrip located at the Big Creek Ranger Station in the Payette National Forest of Valley County, Idaho. It exists to serve the Big Creek Lodge and the surrounding backcountry, and is a well-known stop for pilots exploring Idaho's central wilderness airstrips. The Idaho Division of Aeronautics holds a special use permit to carry out annual maintenance on the strip and its facilities, though the land itself remains under Forest Service control.
The airfield lies in uncontrolled airspace typical of Idaho's remote backcountry, roughly 12 nautical miles northeast of Yellow Pine, Idaho, and about 17 nautical miles west of Cabin Creek USFS Airport. It sits within the Payette National Forest, adjacent to the Big Creek Campground, in mountainous terrain that demands careful route planning and awareness of terrain and density altitude.
The airport has a single physical runway, 01/19, with a turf surface measuring 3,566 feet in length. There is no paved surface, no runway lighting mentioned, and no ILS or other instrument approach available, so operations are strictly visual.
No communications frequencies are published for Big Creek Airport, and there is no air traffic control or advisory radio service at the field. Pilots should coordinate with other backcountry traffic on a common frequency as is customary in the area and rely on see-and-avoid procedures throughout the approach, landing, and departure.
No formal published circuit or joining procedures exist for this uncontrolled backcountry strip. Pilots should expect one-way operations dictated by terrain and wind, as is typical for Idaho's mountain airstrips, and should be prepared for the strip to be affected by seasonal conditions.
The airfield is situated at the Big Creek Ranger Station, next to the Big Creek Campground, within the Payette National Forest. Yellow Pine, Idaho lies approximately 12 nautical miles to the southwest, and Cabin Creek USFS Airport lies about 17 nautical miles to the east, both useful as distant reference points when navigating through the surrounding mountainous terrain.
Big Creek Airport has long served as a backcountry access point for the Big Creek Lodge and the small community of Edwardsburg, functioning as a lifeline for visitors, campers, hunters, and fishermen visiting this remote part of Valley County. Although the land is managed by the Forest Service, the state of Idaho has for many years held a special use permit to maintain the airstrip and its associated facilities, reflecting its importance within Idaho's network of backcountry airstrips.
The strip covers about 13 acres and remains an active backcountry facility, historically recording around 4,000 aircraft operations a year, split between general aviation and air taxi flights. The airfield is snow-free and usable from early May to late October in a typical year, with several hundred landings recorded during that season; during winter months there is almost no activity and skis are required for any operations. There is no fuel available at the field, and given its remote, Forest Service-managed location, pilots should treat prior permission or advance coordination as advisable before planning a visit.