Fly-Camp - Have 172Q Will Travel

JohnSBA

JohnSBA

Pre-takeoff checklist
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JohnSBA
I'm collecting here a list of destination airports for fly-camping with my own ratings, and welcome your additions/comments. What airports do you recommend (and why) in the U.S. and Canada for tenting on the field next to the plane?

Rating Scheme:
*C1-4F1-4 = Camping (tent) rating 1-5 stars, Facilities rating 1-5, Walkable local attractions & food rating 1-5, Meals on airport 1-5, $fee (categories/ratings omitted if unknown)

My list so far:
  1. Airports by State/Canadian Province:
    • CA:
      • IZA Santa Ynez - great airport, close to town, free Casino shuttle C1F2W3M1$0-10
      • L52 Oceano - ditto, plus 2 blocks from the beach, C3F2W4
      • L05 Kern Valley - next to lake/river, a bit far from town, C3F3W3M3
      • O22 Columbia - grass and paved strips, W3
      • E36 Georgetown
    • ID:
      • 3U2 Johnson Creek
      • U87 Smiley Creek
      • 0U1Warm Springs
    • WI:
      • OSH Oshkosh - I've dreamed about this for 30 years
      • FDL Fond Du Lac - good during AirVenture, likely other times C2F2W1M1
    • MI:
      • 6Y9 Sidnaw - Great recos, Labor Day hit

  • Canada:
    • AB:
      • YJP Jasper-Hinton - (good because inside Jasper is grass with a landing fine) C2F2W0M1$0
    • BC:
      • YPZ Burns Lake - rooms for rent good, camping C1F2W0M1
      • YXT Terrace - tolerant of camping near terminal C1F2W0M1$0
Books recommended:
Fly Idaho, Fly the Southwest
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Original 2/24/10 intro of this post:
Hello POA, I'm the new owner of a 172Q and new member here on POA. I'm a VFR pilot with about 750 hours, mostly x/c in a 172M. I'm looking for fun places to fly-camp. The day I got the PPL, my wife and I flew the 40 minutes from KSBA up to L52 (Oceano) and pitched a tent next to the plane. We loved it, but for a variety of reasons have only done it once more (IZA to avoid am fog in SBA) in the 3-1/2 years since.
In October we flew the Flying Club 172M to San Diego, Bar Harbor ME, Melbourne FL and home in five weeks. Despite hauling a tent across and back, for a variety of reasons we ended up not camping. Nonetheless, the end result of that trip was buying the 172Q so we can do a lot more (and longer/safer) trips like that for a few years now that we're retired. That purchase leaves us airplane rich and cash poor, so fly-camping is even more attractive to us now. Being free of the Club rule against grass and having what amounts to a stock SuperHawk (Skyhawk with 180hp, aka poor man's 182), I'll soon be brushing up short/soft field technique on the real thing.
 
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GMascelli said:
Welcome to the POA forum!!
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Wow, thanks for the quick reply! :)

Congrats on the aircraft purchase!!
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It's so scary Good!

here are a few links
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Thanks! I've been googling, but it's so hard to sort thru ten gazillion hits on camping with flies. I've opened new windows with your links and will begin reading.
report your findings
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Will do. Glad to have found a place to swap info.
 
Hi John!

JohnSBA said:
[...] In October we flew the Flying Club 172M to San Diego, Bar Harbor ME, Melbourne FL and home in five weeks. [...]
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Sounds like if you had / have a great time! However, I have to admit that
needpics.gif


Cheers,

Oliver
 
German guy said:
I have to admit that (graphic language omitted)
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OK fine. :)

I've just been figuring out how to add states flown to my signature here. I did upload an aerial from a few days ago out over the Channel Islands. Rather than spam this thread with a bunch of pix tho, would you be willing to check out my Photo Page, Edhat posts, and new blog about our adventures? Oh, and you can see what's hap'nin at the Oceano Airport on their webcams (when they're working) along with getting a tiny idea of what the camping there is like (though the main camping area is behind the cameras). As for pix in posts here, I haven't figured out how to use stuff I've uploaded yet. Maybe this link to my Flickr page will work:
4041837430_55cd46ac42.jpg
 
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John,

Very nice blog and what an adventure!!!! I just sat here and read through your cross country journey. Mary and I have the same plans when we retire, lock up the house, climb aboard 08Romeo and start our adventure. I added your link to my favorites list on my blog.

I have one question, what happened to flash now that I read about tripp??
 
JohnSBA said:
OK fine. :)

I've just been figuring out how to add states flown to my signature here. I did upload an aerial from a few days ago out over the Channel Islands. Rather than spam this thread with a bunch of pix tho, would you be willing to check out my Photo Page, Edhat posts, and Big Adventure blog about the recent x/c trip? Oh, and you can see what's hap'nin at the Oceano Airport on their webcams (when they're working) along with getting a tiny idea of what the camping there is like (though the main camping area is behind the cameras). As for pix in posts here, I haven't figured out how to use stuff I've uploaded yet. Maybe this link to my Flickr page will work:
4041837430_55cd46ac42.jpg
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Welcome to POA.

This is a nice picture, but of course we want to see the airplane! :yesnod:

That sounds like a wonderful adventure you're cooking up and I look forward to hearing about it.

John
 
John - When (not if) you go to 6Y9 you'll meet Barb and her Tripacer. I'm thinkin' that she is probably POA's expert on flying & camping. 6Y9 is best visited during the Labor Day weekend fly-in. Other's can fill in details much better than me 'cause I've only been there once.

If you're interested in Utah backcountry airstrips and camping then you may want to check out Fly Utah! Here's a website: http://www.utahbackcountrypilots.org/default.asp?menuID=

If you come to the mountains, watch the density altitude! (and get a mountain check-out if you haven't done so already).
 
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6Y9 is not to be missed. Make sure to come. Words can't describe it, you must experience it for yourself. :)

Oshkosh is fun once for me, twice was more than enough. I don't suspect I'll be going back. I do recommend doing it if you haven't done it before.
 
I've done MPJ (Petit Jean, AR) and 6Y9 (Sidnaw, MI) and both are very nice. Try to schedule 6Y9 on Labor Day weekend. ;)
 
JohnSBA said:
snip

Thanks! I've been googling, but it's so hard to sort thru ten gazillion hits on camping with flies. I've opened new windows with your links and will begin reading.
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Flies really bug me when camping, so I keep my windows closed to keep them out! :)
 
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Hi John,

great Blog and great pictures! :thumbsup:
Thanks for showing.

Cheers,

Oliver
 
JohnSBA said:
    • ID:
      • Johnson Creek
      • Smiley Creek
  2. To get info on: 6Y9
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Well, you picked my favorites. I've stayed at Smiley Creek a couple of times. Both Smiley Creek and Johnson Creek are good places to stage out of for flying around the backcountry in Idaho. Smiley Creek has a nice restaurant/convenience store across the street and is supposed to have a courtesy car for rent but I haven't used it. It gets really cold there at night (below freezing even in July). But the bathrooms are awesome and heated so I've been known to throw my airmattress in the shower to sleep. The Sawtooth mountains are a pretty view to the west and antelope come down the hill on the east every evening.
Johnson Creek has a beautiful camping area, and sits right on the edge of the river. I'm not sure how good the fishing is but it looks like a good place to try some casting. It tends to be more crowded than Smiley Creek so if you like to talk it is a good place to camp.

Sidnaw is just a lot of fun but I'm biased because I am sort of a displaced Yooper(someone from the upper peninsula of Michigan)

When you get up to Canada, Watson Lake is a must for camping. My first time through, I awoke to a loon calling on the lake and an eagle swooped down and nabbed a fish.

Here's a couple of pictures of
1 Smiley Creek
2 Johnson Creek
3 Sidnaw 6Y9

Barb
Oh Ya! Welcome to POA! :yesnod:
 

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we even got one of them newfangled websites for 6Y9!

www.sidnaw.org/6Y9/

My number is on there somewhere if you have more questions. The information on this 6Y9 website is correct. The FAAs information is WRONG, ergo the information on airnav is WRONG.
 
I'm sure we could arrange something with management at KLOM. Make a trip out east in May.

Good for you. Idaho backcountry flying is a blast!!!! Not much fun flying like that here in the east.:(
 
Ted DuPuis said:
6Y9 is not to be missed. Make sure to come. Words can't describe it, you must experience it for yourself. :)
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John Ted has pretty much summed it up. 6Y9 is the primo flyin camping expereince held laborday weekend every year!!

Welcome to Pilots of America. Look forward to seeing more of you here.
 
GMascelli said:
Mary and I have the same plans when we retire
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It's a mind bender. Still have trouble believing we really did it! Memories are so fresh though.
what happened to flash now that I read about tripp??
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She's an ex who will always be a dear friend. Don't tell her, but we have no interest in flying her now that Tripp has stolen our hearts. She's parked near Tripp right now, and we say a fond hello but haven't even walked over to her. She's the kind of gal who's cool with that though, plus she has plenty of attention from the Club. Today was our last flight in Tiger, and we DO miss her! If you've never flown an AA5-B I hope you get the chance. Even so, Tripp is the Mercedes to her Miata. Since we prefer low & slow, Tripp is ideal.
 
Such a kick to see so many great recos! I've been popping new windows open, and am looking forward to reading and bookmarking them all. I'm so glad to have found POA, because you've already added so much to our list of options. Keep 'em coming!
 
Nice photos, John! :)

If you are a member of AOPA, you can go to their airport directory page and do an advanced search by state and select camping as an option (including private strips) and it will list those airports that have listed that they allow camping. Might be a place to start. :) I did that when I was flight-planning for my grass strip tour.

Also, another web site that I visit is backcountrypilots.org. If you ask there, you will get a lot of good suggestions. :)
 
As someone mentioned before, don't forget the backcountry training! Do it in your airplane in the area that you want to go to with a backcounty instructor familiar with the area. I have heard that you can find the "Fly Idaho" book within most of the wreckage... Smiley Creek is at 7160ft MSL and most of the strips out here are one way with no go around. Plus a lot of other poky things to get in your way. So get the training and have fun!

Having said that...

Here's some images from around the Warm Spring strip. Camp at your plane, walk to the hot springs, etc. It is relatively close to Smiley Creek, but a lower elevation so you can come here if you get frozen out at Smiley. Many-many other options out here for places to fly/camp. http://animoto.com/play/F5T6JH9o8h4QD6RfMkPvXw?autostart=true

It's my 12 year old daughter flying (if you ignore the 7000 hour backcountry instructor in the right seat...).

Jim.
 
JimSee said:
As someone mentioned before, don't forget the backcountry training! Do it in your airplane in the area that you want to go to with a backcounty instructor familiar with the area. I have heard that you can find the "Fly Idaho" book within most of the wreckage... Smiley Creek is at 7160ft MSL and most of the strips out here are one way with no go around.
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What Jim said! I highly recommend Mountain Canyon Flying in McCall, ID, especially since you mentioned Johnson Creek. I had a fantastic experience with them, including going into Johnson Creek:

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Johnson Creek is probably one of the best fly-in camping places around - Great scenery, showers and such on site, and within range of quite a few other backcountry strips that are more challenging - ie shorter, so you might not want to have all your gear on board when you visit them!

On your way to 6Y9, you might want to stop at Three Lakes (40D), Wisconsin. Nicest grass strip I've ever landed on (there were a King Air, an Aerostar, and a Cirrus SR22 when I was there, NOT planes you see on most grass fields!), and right across the street is a camping supply store, a restaurant, and a boat rental place, all right on the lake. 63C is another option, with a fire pit (away from the ramp!) and showers available. Super-nice people there too. TKV is also similarly equipped.
 
When I lived in California I used to fly up to Columbia a couple times a year and camp out. Its a great place once you figure out the runway runs downhill. I could spend hours exploring the restored gold mining town plus it had an active night life as well.
 
Bacon Strip Ranch. Near Jean, NV has ATVs, campfire pits and a small cabin for rent in the Mojave Desert.

Welcome%20Sign%20New1.jpg
 
Well, I've just finished updating the first message in this thread with new info from our SBA - Oshkosh - Ketchikan flight. Unlike our first Big Adventure, this one we're calling N by NW included a lot of camping.

We'd removed the back seat and brought a twin airmat in case sleeping in the plane would add some options at non-camping airports. We did try it once at Terrace, BC even though tenting is allowed, but it was so scary uncomfortable (think buried alive) we won't be doing that again!

One big discovery is that many more airports allow camping than I'd imagined. Many places that don't advertise camping are fine with you putting up a tent next to the plane if you ask. Some like Pierre, SD also offered a courtesy car which of course makes camping near a town (in this case the state capitol) a lot more fun and interesting.

Jasper-Hinton (the paved one) is far from town, but the "terminal" building is comfy and there's a fridge with donation candy if you're desperate (we slept inside rather than schlep the tent). The whole Jasper to Banff area is simply breathtaking by air, so we'll probably get back to Hinton sometime.

I'll keep occasionally updating the list in the first message of this thread, and request that others do so on their posts so we can collectively come up with a list based on personal experiences.

Happy Flying! :)
 
I10 is just a few feet from the Wolf Run State Park. Campsites, fire pits, and water are all available.
 
We just got back from a trip through Wyoming and I've got 2 to add.

First KTHP Thermopolis WY. (C2,F4)
- Great on field camping, no amenities though
- Huge hot springs to enjoy.
- The runway has a 1.8 degree slope and is nestled in between 2 mountains. The traffic pattern is actually outside of the mountains and you land between them. However, you must fly here in the next 3 years as the FAA has condemned the airport because of the hilly terrain and slope, so it will be closing.
- Cute little town (has one stoplight)
- Courtesy transportation (We didn't get a car, but were given rides wherever we wanted)

Second KWYS, West Yellowstone MT, Right next to Yellowstone National Park (C4, F4)
- Camping next to the ramp in the forest with privy and firerings. FBO has shower and coffee
- We saw Old Faithful erupt from the air (Really, really, really, really cool)
- The Grand Prismatic Spring is better from the air than from the ground (and its awesome from the ground)
- The airport has car rentals
- The Montana Aeronautics Board provides bikes at the airport for riding in to town
- Then you get to go to Yellowstone
 
I don't think anyone mentioned that at Johnson Creek Airport they have two vans that they rent out during the summer months so you can go the 5 miles int Yellow Pine, ID. There you can get groceries and/or eat at the local cafes. You can check out Johnson Creek on their webcam ( Johnson Creek Airport Webcam) As mentioned it is a great camping spot. Watch for the sprinklers and cones.
 

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I'm posting this update because, after 16 months, some of the links in this thread no longer work and because it's the best single thread on both personal recommendations and 'airport + camping' search engines' that I've found so far.

If you - like me - are looking for some search engine tools that allow you to either flight plan (point A to point B with the search finding intermediate stops that have what you are looking for (e.g. camping, showers) -or- you are looking for a data base of airports that provide camping facilities, here are the resources I've found most useful so far. Hope it helps others...

1. For flight planning, with adjustable distances from the rhumb line for the attractions one is looking for, consider using Adventure Pilot: http://www.adventurepilot.com/ No fee, individual (multiple) reviews by others for each attraction/park/etc. that your search produces, and a large collection of locations. (Note: If one feature is critical - e.g. tent sites nearby your aircraft - suggest you start by only using that one criterion to max your choices).

2. For searching among the largest data base of airports and on key words of your choice (vs. fixed terms), AOPA's Airport Directory, Advanced Search (as mentioned in an earlier post) works very well: http://www.aopa.org/airports/advanced AOPA membership (<$50/year if auto-renewing) is required, but membership is IMO one of the best values in aviation.

3. For a focus on camping (vs. airports or flight planning), suggest you use the American Air Campers Association's search engine: http://aaca.pilotgetaways.com/18.html AACA was purchased by Pilot Getaways magazine and the full data base is now available to PG subscribers ($18/year - 6 issues). However, the two national maps (U.S. and Canada) are accessible for free, providing enough airport info for you and Google to finish the search if you don't want to access the reviews.

There are many other websites with their own specific info - e.g. the RAF (Recreational Aviation Foundation - http://theraf.org/ ) - that offer specialized info on select airports/strips/facilities. But the above search engines are pretty good at revealing those choices, are quite comprehensive and make for some enjoyable reading.

Good thread. Thanks to all who contributed.

Jack
 
O22 is a nice one, been there several times already always taking off from the grass strip now, yet to work up the courage to actually try landing on it... maybe once i get my own plane. More importantly, the scenery is magnificent. Do know that it's real easy to confuse it with CPU from the air, and quite a few folks land in the wrong one. I have a couple of good pictures of O22 on my photostream:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/64806031@N06/

Also, if you are heading up that way, do yourself a favor and go land at E45, Pine Mountain Lake. It's simply breath-taking, and right around the corner. It's also a bit technically interesting for a new pilot because of the combination of elevation, gradient and trees, it isn't super-big at about 3500 and 50, and because of the scenery, feels like it's a lot smaller.
 
There is a place in Eastern Oregon called The Minam lodge that allows camping and there is a lodge where you can get some food. Good hiking and some fishing, hunting, and sight seeing. 70RO Lat. 45-21-51N , Long. 117-38.02. It is located about 16sm east of the town of LaGrande, OR. it is near the eagle cap wilderness area. This is a video of me landing with a couple of friends.

http://youtu.be/fVxDKXJWkT8
 
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