Has anyone taken their plane into the airstrip, Toketee State, in Oregon? What is the airstrip like, rough? holes? How is the camping there? Is the fishing good? Thank you, Lloyd

I stopped in at Tooketee on 8/16. I fly a M5 with 8.50's fyi, and it was about 85*F at 1300hrs. It is a long strip, and app/dep was a non issue. The strip is a little bumpy, from the Elk I believe, and they put some dirt in the middle of the runway to help out. There is a pretty good ditch on the west side that is hard to see from the air, so stay in the middle of the RW. Didn't find any actual tiedowns, so BYOT. No camping facilities that I could tell, so plan on ruffing it for water/etc. I think they got the fire in Glide/Steamboat area out so you should have the place to yourself. Not sure on the fishing, but it doesn't look like that far of a hike to the creek.

I made a total rooky mistake while I was there. I washed my plane 2 days before stopping in there and the grasshoppers were thick. I taxi'd the length of the RW to park, and then back to take off and must have blended several thousand of them suckers. When I got home, the entire front of the plane was covered in a stickey goo of bug parts.
[googlemap]http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=43.224254,-122.422628&spn=0.028144,0.055017&t=h&z=14[/googlemap]

Thank You very much for the reply. Especially about the grasshopper issure! I just spent 2 weeks scraping grasshopper crap off my plane from St. Agnatious, Montana and a few other backcountry strips and I would like to avoid it, at least in the near future. We were just looking for a remote place to wilderness camp this weekend in Oregon for a short get-away. I don't think I will go to Tooketee this weekend. Not that I don't mind the bugs, but, the grasshoppers will be a little too much work on the back side so soon. Thank you so much again for your report on Tooketee airstrip! If you know of any other backcountry airstrips around central Oregon or south I would appreciate any suggestions, as most of the places we go are in Montana and Idaho for obvious reasons.
Respectfully,
Lloyd From Ca. but don't tell anyone!:)

Look out for elk on the runway. If there's been rain recently and the elk have been clomping around, the strip can get pretty rough if you have small tires. It's a really long strip though, so if you're planning on parking at the far end, just land farther down the runway.

Another place to look for airstrips is: http://www.shortfield.com They have pireps, videos, and photos of many of the back country strips. You can search by state.

tom

McKenzie Bridge State is a nice spot just to the north.

Update on Toketee, Oregon. (3S6)
Landed there last Sat. of Labor Day wk. end while the weather front was moving in. The last 40 miles going in were rather bumpy, but otherwise very nice flight. While the winds aloft were quite brisk the entire weekend, once on the ground we were well protected from the wind by the trees. The runway is plenty long, combination of dirt and gravel and over all in great shape. Few remaining grasshoppers that were there in August, but, none suicidal at the sight of an airplane. Very few bug impacts and there were no mosquitos which is unusual for us. As this was an R&R trip for us we did not do much exploring. Will save that for next time, as we would definitly go back. I think the best remote camping is at the east end of the runway. There is a table there, but, no pit toilet. So cat holes are to be expected unless you can run a mile west where there is a camp ground, pit toilet, and nearby road. At the east end of runway there are a couple tie downs if needed and there were very nice places to wilderness camp. The creek, which we did not hike to is off the south east end of runway.......bushwacking seems to be the main mode of terrain to get there unless you are familiar with the trails. We saw deer,coyote, and heard elk calls which may or may not have been real since bow season appears to be open now. There is logging currently in progress south of the airstrip which is probably good since the forest is so dense. (partial logging only). Also, bring your own water unless you already know of a close by souce. I have been told that the fishing in the not so nearby creek is good if you like catching the small ones. (just right for eating tho.) Would we go back again? Absolutely!
Lloyd

Has anyone flown in yet this year? I want to head out there next weekend, but I can't find any current PIREPS. Trying to figure out how smooth it is so far this year, how muddy due to the rain last week, and how tall the grass is. I will be flying a C172 without pants and regular "pavement" tires.

It's a state airport, so ask the Oregon Dept of Avation. The worst they can say is "I dunno. Land at your own risk", and they might have someone there who actually knows something (but don't hold your breath).

Geordy7051 wrote:Has anyone flown in yet this year? I want to head out there next weekend, but I can't find any current PIREPS. Trying to figure out how smooth it is so far this year, how muddy due to the rain last week, and how tall the grass is. I will be flying a C172 without pants and regular "pavement" tires.

I was there two weeks ago. The strip is a little bumpy, but not bad. It is very long, so as someone else said, land long to avoid a long taxi on the bumpy strip. We brought bicycles and rode the N. Umpqua trail. There is some great fishing potential, but it is not exactly walking distance, unless you want to walk a 10-15 mile day.

Scolopax wrote:I was there two weeks ago. The strip is a little bumpy, but not bad. It is very long, so as someone else said, land long to avoid a long taxi on the bumpy strip. We brought bicycles and rode the N. Umpqua trail. There is some great fishing potential, but it is not exactly walking distance, unless you want to walk a 10-15 mile day.

Thanks. This isn't my plane so the owner wants to know what kind of condition the field is in. After reading all the PIREPS on shortfield, its fun to realize nobody has reported on it since 2012. If it was my plane, I wouldn't worry about it as much.

I landed there last year early July in 172 with small tires and no wheel pants. I landed long to avoid the roughest portion. The small tires were no problem.

Went in to Toketee couple of days ago and the field was in great shape. A little bumpy and the middle of the runway was a little soft. In my opinion should be good for anything but retracts. there is a picnic table at the east end. Looks like a good spot to camp. Pack in, pack out no services. Have fun!

Guy

Guy wrote: In my opinion should be good for anything but retracts

Don't tell that to the guy with the red Mooney!

Went to Toketee last weekend in a standard 172. Not too bad, but some rough patches on the edges and a few dips here and there.

I flew into Toketee State this weekend. The strip is in great shape. You could land here in a BD-5
Great camping at the east end and there is a camp site at the west end if you want to meet ground based campers. I saw deer, hawks, and turkey's.
The windsock is missing. Weather info is available here. https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/rawMAIN.pl?orOTOK

This really is an Oregon backcountry gem.

I might stop by in about (3) weeks. Any news on campfire guidance? Fire pit OK?

Thank you for PIREP!

I flew into Toketee last week. The strip is in good shape although it has not been mowed this year. The grass is thin and about 6" tall. My buddy in a TriPacer has no issues. The RAF has installed a couple picnic tables and a fire pit on the SE end of the strip. i stayed two night and had the place to myself. Fish Creek is about 1/2 mile to the south of the camp area. Follow the road and take the left fork at each intersection. You will see a green gate on the road down to the creek.

ZZZ- McKenzie Bridge State +1. Wife/I had 182 in there two weeks ago and it very good shape with tie downs. Tall trees on approach end of 24. Beautiful place.

We hope to mow Toketee during the week of 04 July.


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