Big Creek, the Idaho Backcountry Strip Whose Lodge Burned to the Ground and the Volunteers Who Hauled It Back Up the Mountain Board by Board
How pilots rebuilt Idaho's Big Creek Lodge board by board after a 2008 fire, flying every nail into a roadless wilderness canyon.
Big Creek is a remote turf-and-dirt airstrip deep in Idaho’s Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness, reachable only by air, horseback, or foot. After the historic Big Creek Lodge burned to the ground in 2008, a community of pilots refused to let it disappear - they flew and packed in nearly every board, window, and nail by airplane and mule to rebuild it, reopening the lodge around 2019.
Where Is Big Creek and Why Is It So Remote?
The strip sits in the Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness, the largest contiguous wilderness in the lower 48 - millions of acres with no roads and no towns. On the charts it’s identified as U60.
The runway is turf and dirt, running a little over 3,500 feet, tucked into a canyon at an elevation of roughly 5,700 feet. Mountains rise steeply on both sides.
There’s no road into Big Creek. The only ways in are on foot, on horseback, or in an airplane. A runway was carved out of the dirt here roughly a hundred years ago so aircraft could reach the people living and working back in the wilderness.
What Was Big Creek Lodge?
For decades, Big Creek Lodge was the legendary hub of the Idaho backcountry. Pilots would fly in, tie down on the grass, and walk up for a hot meal, a bed, a cold drink, and stories with other mountain-flying enthusiasts.
If you flew the Idaho backcountry, you knew Big Creek. It was a landmark, a gathering place, and a kind of shrine for the community.
Then, in 2008, the entire lodge burned to the ground.
How Did Pilots Rebuild a Lodge With No Road Access?
This is why the Big Creek story matters. There is no way to back a lumber truck up to a wilderness canyon at 5,700 feet. Everything that reaches Big Creek arrives by air or by mule.
Most people would have called a burned-out lodge in that location the end of the story. Instead, a group of pilots - organized largely through the Idaho Aviation Foundation - decided to rebuild the entire lodge by flying in every single board, window, nail, sheet of roofing, and bag of concrete, one airplane load at a time.
Picture the ramp on a work weekend: a line of backcountry airplanes - Super Cubs, Cessna 180s and 185s, tailwheel aircraft on fat tundra tires. Volunteers loaded lumber into the airplanes, strapped it down, flew it through mountain passes, landed on the grass strip, unloaded by hand, and turned around for another load.
When aircraft couldn’t carry a load, pack mules hauled supplies up the trail the old way. The effort stretched across years - pilots, families, and volunteers spending their own vacations, avgas, and airframe hours to rebuild a lodge that belonged, in spirit, to everyone who flies the backcountry.
When Did the New Big Creek Lodge Open?
The new Big Creek Lodge opened around 2019 - a brand-new building on the same spot, constructed almost entirely from materials flown and packed into the wilderness by hand.
It’s a working lodge again: beds, meals, and a place for pilots to walk up off the grass and be part of the community.
What Is It Like to Fly Into Big Creek?
There’s no tower, no ATIS reading you the wind, and no wide traffic pattern. The approach descends through the terrain, and once you’re on final you’re flying between the ridgelines toward a green ribbon of grass.
When you shut down, the silence is total - wind in the pines and Big Creek itself running through the trees. In season there are almost always other pilots on the grass, and conversation flows easily: people ask about your tires, your tundra gear, and the pass you flew through to get in.
The surrounding country is genuinely wild, with elk in the hills and wildlife far outnumbering people.
Why This Matters for Pilots: Big Creek Is Not a Beginner Strip
This is real mountain and canyon flying, and it demands respect and training.
- High density altitude. At roughly 5,700 feet, your airplane won’t climb the way it does at low elevation, and a warm afternoon can sharply degrade performance.
- Swirling canyon winds and terrain on all sides mean you must plan your go-around escape route before you need it.
- One-way strips are common in this country - you land uphill in one direction and depart downhill the other, regardless of wind, because the terrain makes the decision for you.
Experienced backcountry pilots get formal mountain instruction, fly in the cool, calm morning air rather than the bumpy heat of the afternoon, and lean on organizations like the Idaho Aviation Association and the Recreational Aviation Foundation - groups that both teach safe mountain flying and work to keep these strips mowed, maintained, and on the map.
The bottom line: get the mountain training first, then explore this world. A backcountry strip only survives as long as someone takes care of it.
Key Takeaways
- Big Creek (U60) is a roadless backcountry airstrip in Idaho’s Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness, with a ~3,500-foot turf runway at about 5,700 feet elevation.
- The historic Big Creek Lodge burned down in 2008 and reopened around 2019.
- Volunteer pilots rebuilt the lodge by flying and packing in nearly every building material by airplane and mule, coordinated largely through the Idaho Aviation Foundation.
- Big Creek is an advanced strip - high density altitude, canyon winds, and one-way runways make dedicated mountain-flying training essential.
- Organizations like the Recreational Aviation Foundation and Idaho Aviation Association keep these backcountry strips open and maintained.
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