Big Creek, Idaho, Airstrip U Sixty, the Grass Runway in the Frank Church Wilderness Where Pilots Rebuilt the Burned-Down Lodge With Their Own Hands

Big Creek Airstrip (U60) is a public grass runway on the canyon floor of Idaho’s Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness, reachable only by air. Its identifier is U60, the runway is a little over 3,500 feet long at roughly 5,700 feet of elevation, and it sits inside the largest contiguous wilderness in the lower 48. After the historic Big Creek Lodge burned down in 2008, pilots and volunteers flew in every board and nail to rebuild it, cutting the ribbon on a new lodge in 2019.

Where Is Big Creek Airstrip?

Big Creek lies at the bottom of a canyon in central Idaho, deep inside the Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness. There is no road in, no cell signal, no town, and no fuel - just timber, rock, and a clear creek running along the valley floor.

The wilderness itself covers 2.3 million acres, making it the largest contiguous wilderness area in the continental United States. The airstrip is a maintained ribbon of green grass laid along the canyon floor, actively mowed and cared for rather than a neglected patch of weeds.

There is no control tower and no ATIS. Pilots fly in on their own judgment, and skilled backcountry aircraft - Super Cubs, Maules, Huskys, Cessna 180s and 185s, even a homebuilt Kitfox - routinely touch down and roll to a stop in just a few hundred feet.

The Big Creek Lodge: Burned in 2008, Rebuilt by 2019

The strip has had a companion for nearly a century. Big Creek Lodge was built in the 1930s, right off the end of the runway - a backcountry stop where a pilot could shut down, get a hot meal, a bed, and a place to swap stories.

In 2008, a fire burned the lodge to the ground, right down to the foundation. Out here, that is not a simple rebuild. With no road access, every single material has to arrive by air or by pack string.

Rather than let nearly 90 years of history end, the Idaho Aviation Foundation and a small army of volunteers decided to rebuild - and they flew it all in. Cessna 185s and 206s became flying pickup trucks, hauling every board, window, bag of concrete, roll of wire, and fixture into a 3,500-foot grass strip at 5,700 feet, flight after flight, for years.

In 2019, they cut the ribbon on a brand-new lodge of timber and stone, standing where the old one stood, with a big porch facing the runway. Today the lodge is reopened and serving meals, and pilots can fly in, get fed, and stay the night.

What Makes Flying Into Big Creek So Demanding?

Big Creek is a canyon strip, and canyon flying is unforgiving. Aircraft descend into a slot in the mountains where wind swirls, rolls off the ridges, and shifts as the valley heats up through the day.

The backcountry rule is simple: fly in the morning. In the cool, calm air of early day, the airplane climbs well and the strip is friendly. By afternoon, density altitude climbs and winds pick up, and the same grass runway can quickly humble an unprepared pilot.

The elevation matters. At roughly 5,700 feet and higher on a warm afternoon, performance drops sharply - takeoff and climb margins shrink exactly when the air is roughest.

Veteran backcountry pilots stress that the airplane is the easy part. As one flier with over 40 years in the Idaho backcountry put it: learn to read the canyon, learn what the trees are telling you, and learn where the wind lives. Reading the mountain is the skill that takes a lifetime.

Can Anyone Fly Into Big Creek?

Yes - Big Creek is a public airstrip on public land, not a private club. But access comes with responsibility.

Before flying in, you should have mountain flying training, a solid understanding of density altitude, and honest knowledge of both your airplane’s performance and your own limits. Plan to fly in the cool of the morning and do your homework before you ever leave home.

The strip survives because of ongoing volunteer stewardship. The Idaho Aviation Association, the Idaho Aviation Foundation, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Recreational Aviation Foundation work to keep backcountry strips like this one open, legal, and maintained - mowing, clearing brush, fixing tie-downs, and hauling out trash.

That work matters because these strips are disappearing across the West. Every airstrip that closes is rarely recovered, so keeping Big Creek alive keeps the door open for the next generation of backcountry pilots.

What Is It Like to Camp at Big Creek?

Pilots tie down just steps from where they sleep and wake up in the middle of the largest wilderness in the lower 48. Families fly in with tents, coolers, and kids in everything from Super Cubs to a plain Cessna 182 Skylane, spending days at the edge of the grass watching airplanes land.

The surrounding country offers hot springs, fishing in the creek, and trails into terrain most people will never see. With the lodge reopened, you can also fly in, get a meal on the porch, and stay the night with your airplane tied down a short walk from your bed.

It has also become a place of tradition. Groups return the same weekend year after year - one for going on 20 years - camping, cooking, and telling the same stories, keeping an empty chair for friends who have passed.

Key Takeaways

• Big Creek (U60) is a public grass airstrip in Idaho’s Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness, accessible only by air.
• The runway is just over 3,500 feet long at approximately 5,700 feet elevation, with no tower and no ATIS.
• Big Creek Lodge, originally built in the 1930s, burned in 2008 and was rebuilt entirely with fly-in materials, reopening in 2019.
• It is a demanding canyon strip - fly in the morning to beat rising winds and density altitude, and get mountain training first.
• The strip is public and welcoming but must be earned through proper preparation, and it survives thanks to volunteer groups like the Idaho Aviation Foundation and Recreational Aviation Foundation.