Mallard Creek Ranch, ID

Location Overview
Mallard Creek Ranch Airport (9ID6) sits in the rugged Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest backcountry of Idaho County, near the small community of Elk City, in north-central Idaho. At roughly 5,200 feet elevation, the strip is surrounded by steep, forested terrain typical of the region between the South Fork Clearwater River drainage and the Gospel-Hump Wilderness. It's a remote setting reachable practically only by air, well removed from any towered airport or major highway corridor.

Camping & Recreation
This is a privately owned ranch airstrip, not a public recreation site, so there are no established public campgrounds, facilities, or amenities at the field itself, and landing requires prior permission from the owners.

Notes & Warnings The single runway, 14/32, is a 2,500-by-75-foot turf strip in fair condition, and pilots should treat it as a genuine backcountry/mountain field rather than a standard airport. Notably, the field is a one-way strip: takeoffs and landings are restricted to Runway 32 (the "35" end) only, a common safety measure at strips hemmed in by rising terrain. Documented obstructions include a 200-foot hill just 200 feet from the runway and a 400-foot hill 1,500 feet out, and traffic patterns are left-hand on both runway ends. There's no control tower, no published instrument approach, and no on-field fuel or FBO services, so mountain-flying experience, careful weight and density-altitude planning, and advance coordination with the ownership are all essential before attempting a visit.

History Mallard Creek Ranch Airport is a relatively young addition to Idaho's network of private backcountry strips, having been activated in March 2012. It is owned and managed by the Mallard Creek Flying Association, a private entity based in Orofino, Idaho, reflecting a pattern common throughout the region where landowners and aviation enthusiasts carve small turf strips out of ranch or forest property to support personal and recreational flying into Idaho's mountain wilderness. Unlike the state's famous public backcountry strips such as Johnson Creek or Big Creek, Mallard Creek has remained a low-profile, permission-only facility with little public documentation beyond its FAA registration details.