Kimsquit Airport

The closure was for economic reasons. The airstrip was a private facility built and maintained almost exclusively to support the remote, fly-in/fly-out logging operations in the Kimsquit Valley. When the logging camp ceased operations due to shifting economic conditions and changes in forestry practices, the airport lost its sole purpose and was subsequently abandoned and not maintained.

The site is an abandoned and unmaintained gravel airstrip. Satellite imagery clearly shows the runway's outline, but it is in a state of decay, being slowly reclaimed by nature with grass and small trees encroaching from the edges. There are no standing buildings or aviation facilities remaining. The land is now part of the Kimsquit River-Dean River Conservancy, a protected area managed for its significant ecological and wildlife values, particularly for grizzly bears and salmon.

Kimsquit Airport was a critical piece of infrastructure for the isolated resource industry on the British Columbia coast. Its primary function was to serve the Kimsquit logging camp, likely operated by companies like Crown Zellerbach. It handled small charter and bush planes (such as the de Havilland Beaver and Otter) that were essential for transporting personnel, mail, fresh food, supplies, and urgent repair parts for machinery. The airstrip was also a lifeline for medical evacuations. In addition to its industrial role, it provided vital access for researchers conducting the world-renowned Kimsquit Grizzly Bear Project, a long-term scientific study of the local grizzly bear population.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Kimsquit Airport. The original economic driver for the airport is gone. Given its location within a protected provincial conservancy, any proposal for redevelopment or reopening for industrial or commercial purposes would face significant regulatory and environmental hurdles. The focus for the area is now conservation, making the prospect of reopening the airport virtually nonexistent.