Homathko River Airport

The airport was closed due to economic reasons, specifically the cessation of the industrial activity it was built to support. Airstrips in such remote locations are expensive to maintain and are typically built for a specific purpose, such as logging, mining exploration, or hydroelectric project surveys. When the logging operations concluded or the exploration/survey projects were completed or cancelled, there was no longer a need for the airstrip, and it was abandoned.

The site is completely abandoned and unusable as an airport. Satellite imagery shows a faint outline of the former gravel runway adjacent to the Homathko River. The surface is heavily overgrown with grasses, shrubs, and young trees. The runway is being reclaimed by nature, and parts of it appear to be eroded or washed out by the river's natural course changes. There are no remaining buildings, hangars, or any signs of maintenance or human activity. The land is essentially wilderness, likely provincial Crown land.

The Homathko River Airport was a functionally significant, but not historically prominent, bush airstrip. Its sole purpose was to provide vital air access to the extremely remote and rugged Homathko River valley in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, an area with no road access. It served as a critical lifeline for resource-based industries. Operations would have consisted of small, STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) capable bush planes, such as the de Havilland Beaver/Otter and Cessna 185/206. These aircraft would have transported personnel, equipment, fuel, and supplies to and from logging camps or mineral/hydro exploration sites in the valley. The airport enabled economic activity in an otherwise inaccessible wilderness.

There are no known plans or realistic prospects for reopening the Homathko River Airport. Re-establishing the airstrip would require significant investment to clear vegetation, regrade the surface, and ensure it is safe from river erosion. Such an investment would only be justified by a new, large-scale industrial project in the immediate vicinity. While major hydroelectric projects have been proposed for the Homathko-Bute watershed in the past, they have faced significant environmental and First Nations opposition and are not currently active. Without a compelling economic driver, the airport will remain abandoned.