Why stop here
At 4,200 feet elevation deep in the North Cascades wilderness, this remote 3,200-foot dirt runway served as a USFS fire suppression and supply base from 1931 to 1968. Built with Depression-era labor and first landed on in 1932, Pasayten Airstrip was one of Washington's highest and most remote airfields, accessed only by Curtis Robins and determined bush pilots. When Congress designated the Pasayten Wilderness in October 1968, the runway closed forever. Today it lies overgrown and deliberately sabotaged with holes, a ghost strip visible from the air but reachable only by a 14-mile wilderness hike.
Before you go
Hours, fees, access, closures, parking, and trail conditions change. Use the directions link to identify the managing agency and confirm anything time-sensitive before making a special trip.
The short tour
Listen in the car on the way, or on headphones once you are standing there. The longer history and the sources are below.
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The long version
In 1931, the U.S. Forest Service faced a problem: how to fight fires and manage resources in the remote Pasayten backcountry, one of the most inaccessible regions in Washington State.
The solution was audacious: build an airstrip at over 4,200 feet elevation along the West Fork of the Pasayten River, deep in what is now the Pasayten Wilderness. This would become one of Washington’s highest airfields.
Using Depression-era labor, crews carved a 3,000 to 3,200-foot north-south runway from the wilderness. The work was grueling, clearing trees, leveling terrain, and creating a landing surface in one of the most remote locations in the Pacific Northwest.
On the ground, the construction seemed impossible. From the air, it would prove invaluable.
In 1932, a Curtis Robin aircraft from Felts Field in Spokane made the first landing at Pasayten Airstrip. The pilot navigated through mountain passes, descended into the narrow valley, and touched down on the dirt runway.
It worked.
For the next 36 years, Pasayten Airstrip would serve as a critical USFS backcountry access point for:
During World War II, Pasayten Airstrip played an unexpected role in homeland defense.
Between November 1944 and April 1945, Japan launched approximately 9,000 hydrogen balloon bombs (Fu-Go weapons) across the Pacific, carried by the jet stream to North America. The balloons were equipped with incendiary devices designed to ignite forest fires across the Pacific Northwest and disrupt the American homefront.
About 300 balloons reached North America, with several landing in Washington’s remote wilderness areas. The USFS used Pasayten Airstrip and other backcountry airstrips to:
Most balloon bombs caused minimal damage, but the threat was real. One balloon bomb killed six people in Oregon (the only WWII combat deaths in the continental United States), and several others ignited small fires before being discovered.
Pasayten Airstrip served as a strategic staging point for monitoring this unusual threat to the Pacific Northwest wilderness.
For nearly four decades, Pasayten Airstrip was the domain of bush pilots, skilled aviators willing to navigate narrow mountain valleys, unpredictable winds, and minimal navigational aids.
The runway was unpaved, often rough, and subject to erosion. Pilots needed to time their approaches for “early in, late out” conditions, arriving in the morning when air was calm, departing in the afternoon before gusty winds became dangerous.
Aircraft that regularly used Pasayten included:
The Pasayten Airstrip Guard Station cabin was built in the late 1940s to support operations. It included:
Rangers, smokejumpers, and fire crews used the airstrip throughout the summer fire season. During major fire years, the strip saw dozens of landings as crews and equipment rotated in and out.
On October 2, 1968, Congress passed legislation designating the Pasayten Wilderness, one of the largest wilderness areas in the contiguous United States at 530,000+ acres.
Under the Wilderness Act of 1964, designated wilderness areas prohibit:
Aircraft landings fall under the mechanized transport prohibition.
Pasayten Airstrip officially closed in October 1968. The era of flying into the high country was over.
In 1970, a major fire season prompted the USFS to temporarily reopen Pasayten Airstrip for emergency fire operations. Aircraft brought in crews, equipment, and supplies to fight blazes threatening the wilderness.
When the fires were extinguished, the airstrip closed again, this time permanently.
Over the decades since closure, nature has slowly reclaimed Pasayten Airstrip.
Tree encroachment: The north end of the runway has seen significant tree growth, reducing the usable length.
Erosion: Minimal erosion occurred initially due to good engineering, but decades of freeze-thaw cycles have degraded the surface.
Deliberate sabotage: At some point (likely in the 1980s-1990s), holes were deliberately dug near the centerline of the runway to discourage illegal landings by pilots ignoring the wilderness closure. Hikers reported finding these holes about 16 years ago, and they remain a hazard.
Modern surveys and aerial observations indicate:
The airstrip remains somewhat visible from the air due to its original engineering, but it is dangerous and illegal for fixed-wing aircraft to land except in a genuine emergency.
Helicopters are a safer option for emergency landings, though even helicopter use is discouraged unless absolutely necessary.
The Pasayten Airstrip Guard Station cabin, built in the late 1940s, still stands. It is:
There has been talk of National Register of Historic Places nomination for the cabin and airstrip as a significant example of USFS backcountry aviation infrastructure.
The only legal way to reach Pasayten Airstrip today is on foot:
For hikers willing to make the trek, the airstrip and guard station offer a glimpse into an era when the USFS relied on aviation to manage the vast wilderness.
The runway itself is still recognizable, a long, straight clearing in the forest, slowly being erased by time.
Pasayten Airstrip represents the era of backcountry aviation that defined USFS operations in the mid-20th century. Before helicopters became common, fixed-wing aircraft were the only way to quickly access remote wilderness areas for fire suppression and resource management.
The closure of Pasayten Airstrip marked the end of that era. The Wilderness Act prioritized preservation over access, and airstrips like Pasayten became relics of a time when flying into the backcountry was not just allowed, it was essential.
Today, pilots occasionally spot the overgrown runway from the air, a faint scar on the landscape. It’s listed on backcountry pilot databases strictly for emergency awareness, a reminder that if you’re flying in the North Cascades and your engine fails, there’s a strip down there, somewhere, if you can find it.
But for the most part, Pasayten Airstrip belongs to the wilderness now. The sound of propellers has been replaced by the sound of wind through the pines, and the only visitors are hikers willing to walk 14 miles to see where pilots once landed at the roof of Washington.