Washington’s Stehekin State Airport Opening Delayed to June 10

Kim Stevens Washington

Pilots traveling to Stehekin can expect the airport to open slightly later than usual this year – on Saturday, June 10.

The Stehekin State Airport usually opens on June 1 every year; however, the Washington State Department of Transportation will delay this year’s opening in order to conduct extensive weed control maintenance.

WSDOT and the National Park Service will begin maintenance work on June 1. The two agencies share maintenance duties at the airport. After applying the herbicide, WSDOT will wait at least seven days before mowing the airport grass. This is the optimal wait time before mowing the grass, as it allows for the herbicide to fully reach the weeds’ roots.

WSDOT anticipates opening the airport on the morning of June 10.

Kim Stevens

Kim Stevens is the publisher of State Aviation Journal, which he founded in 2009. A longtime commercial-rated pilot, he was introduced to state aviation in 1992 as Director of the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics, later serving as Deputy Division Director for the Arizona Department of Transportation's Aeronautics Division. From 2013 to 2018, he was Director of Communications and Operations for the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) in Washington, D.C. Relocating to North Carolina, Kim worked for the Raleigh-Durham International Airport for two years and now concentrates solely on the Journal. Prior to his aviation career, Kim spent a decade in the newspaper and magazine business.