Backcountry Pilot • Warm Springs Reservoir (Oregon)?

Warm Springs Reservoir (Oregon)?

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Warm Springs Reservoir (Oregon)?

Has anyone been out there to check out what appears to be a BLM auxillary landing strip? Measures out at almost 5,000' and I can't think of any other use there'd be for that much straight asphalt in the middle of nowhere.

My little Cherokee 180 and I are looking to do some exploring over there tomorrow or Sunday.

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Chavycha offline
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Re: Warm Springs Reservoir (Oregon)?

It appears to be gravel, not asphalt. There is a boat launching ramp and parking lot at the end that appears to be for truck/trailer parking and turnaround, and it has what appears to be a concrete outhouse. It also measures out to 24 feet wide with what appear to be deep ditches on both sides. I'm betting it is NOT intended as a runway. Land at your own risk and have fun ???
Dale Moul offline
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Re: Warm Springs Reservoir (Oregon)?

Thanks. I figure I'm going to be passing by anyway so I will drop down and take a look.
Chavycha offline
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Re: Warm Springs Reservoir (Oregon)?

I took a drive out to the 'strip' yesterday.

My amateur assessment is that it is indeed intended for use as an airstrip. It's located at the end of about 15 miles of fair dirt road, none of which is suitable for any sort of landing.

However, this section of approximately 5,000' is very nicely manicured gravel with a width of about 30'. Also, the brush on the sides of the road has been trimmed/mown to a width of about 60'.

I would have no qualms landing my Cherokee here (but would probably call the BLM first).

There's a boat ramp and a portapotty on the NE end. The lakefront was pretty busy (several RVs and a couple of boat trailers). I would imagine this to be a function of the holiday weekend.

At the very least, keep this one in your back pocket for a potential emergency strip in an area without many other options. It is directly underneath the route from Burns to Boise (V330).
Last edited by Chavycha on Mon Jul 03, 2017 1:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Chavycha offline
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Re: Warm Springs Reservoir (Oregon)?

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Re: Warm Springs Reservoir (Oregon)?

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Re: Warm Springs Reservoir (Oregon)?

Were there any airport signs?

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clippwagon offline
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Re: Warm Springs Reservoir (Oregon)?

There were not. I also can't find any record outside of an old Chosstronaut post on this forum that it or the other X just to the south was at any point an airstrip.

Though I would certainly consider it to be designed and maintained as an airstrip and plenty landable, I would hesitate to use it without permission or in the case of emergency.
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Re: Warm Springs Reservoir (Oregon)?

I was looking at the "Oregon Hunting Map" which is a very useful resource to find land ownership. To turn on this info click on the layers tab at the bottom. It shows the land as belonging to "Other Federal" as opposed to BLM. Not sure what that means.
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