The Weather’s Great at Thunder Ridge Recreational Airpark: Have You Seen this Premier Mountain Cabin Fly-In Community in Utah?

Where is the Fabled Thunder Ridge Airpark?

UT – The Wasatch Front is a clearly defined region of Utah. It is delineated by the western edge of the Wasatch Mountain Range and spans 120 miles from Brigham City north to Nephi south. The Wasatch Front encompasses several cities and communities, including Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Provo. Its unique location, intermingled with a truly breathtaking backdrop of the Wasatch Mountains, makes it the ideal gathering place for outdoor enthusiasts and urban dwellers.

A Vibrant Cultural Scene

Utah boasts many diverse attractions, especially its world-class skiing and snowboarding resorts such as Park City and Snowbird. These resorts routinely draw winter sports enthusiasts locally and from around the world. During the summer months, outdoor activities, including hiking, mountain biking, and rock climbing, are popular in the surrounding gorges, canyons, and vast national parks. Salt Lake City, the capital of Utah and a major metropolitan center on the Wasatch Front, delivers when it comes to a vibrant cultural scene, including museums, theaters, and its famously popular Temple Square.

A Perfect Balance Between City Life and Outdoor Adventure

The Great Salt Lake, the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere, is perhaps one of the most notable features of the entire region. A wealth of urban amenities and natural wonders makes the Wasatch Front a special and particularly appealing destination for visitors and those who call the area home. It’s a special place that perfectly balances city life and outdoor adventure. What’s even more enticing is that for those who enjoy aviation and flying, there is a particularly notable airpark where you can live right at the airport: a place where you can fly in, land, and taxi up to your home.

A Family Weekend Getaway

We are talking about, of course, Thunder Ridge Recreational Airpark. With beautiful cabin homes offering genuine rustic living, this Utah fly-in community is like no other place. It is an inviting airpark that is very affordable and well-appointed. Cabin homes and Ranch Lots at Thunder Ridge are surprisingly competitively priced. A family weekend getaway far and away from the winter smog, the blistering summer heat, and the city congestion is what awaits. 

Local Sightseeing Flights

The airpark’s central location between Utah’s northern mountain range and surrounding canyons makes all-season recreational flying possible. From local sightseeing flights to a quick trip to one of the nearby resort destinations almost any time of the year, the possibilities are endless for aircraft owners. Day trips to a remote airstrip, an extended fly-in for a wilderness camping adventure in canyon country, or destinations in the nearby mountains are all within reach when choosing to own a cabin home at Thunder Ridge. Many of the best flying destinations are just minutes away by air.  

Flying the Rugged Backcountry

Exploring backcountry airstrips where mild temperatures prevail during practically every season is the norm, which begins less than a half-hour by air from the Thunder Ridge Fly-in community. Utah’s wide variety of backcountry and adventure flying and the airpark’s geographic location allow for all-season flying in and out, even the most remote airstrips. Perhaps planning a fly-in camping reunion at one of the remote mountain airstrips on a pleasant July weekend is in store. Maybe choose an out-and-back trip to a Utah airstrip deep in Red Rock Canyon country.

Utah’s Temperate Winters

Utah’s diverse backcountry airfield exploration opportunities open the door to high-elevation forests, expansive mountain plateaus, deep canyons, and spectacular red rock formations, while to the west is the desert Salt Flats. The region offers desirable weather diversity with much milder temperatures than Arizona, Texas, and even New Mexico. Visitors from Idaho, where it gets exceedingly cold, find relief in Utah’s comfortable and temperate winters, allowing for easy access to the vast canyon country for the best in winter camping. When you live in Thunder Ridge, all this and more is easily accessible.

Aircraft Operations (UT83)

435-631-9921

Location: 35 miles SE of Heber City, Utah

Coordinates:

Runway 31 end is 40 15′ 28.15″ N, 110 51′ 31″ W

Runway 13 end is 40 16′ 23.0″ N, 110 52′ 26″ W

Mag. Var: 14E 

Elevation: 7000′ Runway 31, 7250′ Runway 13

Runway: 31-13, 4000 x 48 Paved

Lights: No Lighting

Frequency: CTAF 122.8

Fuel: Not Available

Backcountry Equipped Airplanes Optional

A full range of aircraft types routinely land at Thunder Ridge. The airport is very accommodating, from low horsepower Cessnas to sport planes and home-built birds. Pilots should plan accordingly as the airport is at a high elevation and subject to high-density altitude aircraft performance restrictions. Pilots should also be aware that windy conditions and stiff crosswinds may persist at certain times of the year. Those lacking mountain flying experience may wish to first make a few trips to the airport with another pilot with experience flying in these conditions.  

Straight-Out Departure

The runway has a 3% grade from runway 31 SE to the NW and a 5% grade for the last 1,000 feet on the NW end (runway 13). The runway comprises asphalt for the first 4,000 from the NW end, providing a 2,700 ft. graded dirt overrun for added runway takeoff margin. The sides of the runway outside the pavement consist of gravel beds and a drainage ditch approximately ten feet from the runway edge. Takeoffs are best conducted as a straight-out departure and should NOT be attempted when other aircraft operate in the traffic pattern. Aircraft without an operable radio are not permitted. The airfield is not fenced, so pilots should be alert for the presence of deer, elk, moose, and other wildlife when using the runway.   

Viewing or Purchasing a Home

The airstrip is primarily intended for air park community homeowners. Before planning a flight to Thunder Ridge, it is best to call for prior landing permission. Note that anyone interested in viewing or purchasing a lot, home, or cabin is granted permission. However, fly-in events do not require prior landing permission. Visit the airpark’s Facebook site or main website for events, activities, or construction projects that may affect airfield arrival or departure. Explore Thunder Ridge today and discover a magical Utah fly-in community that always welcomes pilots and homeowners alike with open arms.