Sunriver Airport (S21), Oregon
Landing essentials
Whether you can land, whether you can refuel, and how customs works here.
Overview
Sunriver Airport (S21) serves the central Oregon resort community of Sunriver, sitting at 4,164 feet elevation in the Cascade high desert. The field offers a single paved runway and full-service piston and jet fuel, making it a practical stop for business aviation operators working the Bend-Redmond corridor without needing to route through a towered field. Traffic at S21 is dominated by business aviation movements, which account for the large majority of annual operations recorded at the airport.
Runways
Sunriver Airport has one paved runway, 18/36, 5,460 ft long and 75 ft wide, with an asphalt surface.
Source: FAA Form 5010.
Fuel and airfield services
Sunriver Airport has Jet A, Jet A+ and 100LL available on the field. The airport has no control tower.
Source: FAA Form 5010 / NASR.
Customs
Sunriver Airport does not clear customs. The nearest port of entry is Portland International (KPDX), 114 NM away.
Source: CBP list of ports of entry.
Business aviation traffic
Sunriver Airport recorded 1,091 business aviation movements in 2025. Traffic peaks in August. Business aviation traffic at Sunriver Airport concentrates heavily in the summer months, with August, July, and June together accounting for the highest monthly operation counts of the year.
Business jet movements, FAA TFMSC count. Peak month August, 190 movements in 2025.
Source: FAA TFMSC, business jet movements, 2025.
Climate
Sunriver Airport averages 8.5 days above 90°F in July and 29.7 freeze days in January. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 84.1°F, and December the coldest, at 37.5°F.
Weather station is 2.1 NM from the field. Some values are estimated by the agency. 1991–2020 climate normals.
Source: NOAA NCEI.
Operating constraints
Sunriver Airport has published operating constraints in three categories: runway notes, noise procedures and other notes.
The REIL on runways 18 and 36, the PAPI on runways 18 and 36, and the MIRL for runway 18/36 are pilot-activated on CTAF.
The threshold lights are located 148 feet north of the actual runway end.
The runway 18 approach has a ratio of 54:1, based on a displaced threshold, with trees over 70 feet tall located 4,000 feet from the runway on the extended centerline.
For noise abatement, departing aircraft are urged to climb to the west of the airport before turning on course.
The rotating beacon is pilot-activated on CTAF.
Flocks of waterfowl are present in the vicinity of the airport.
For clearance delivery, if unable to contact on the FSS frequency, contact Seattle ARTCC.
Source: FAA Chart Supplement.
Nearby airfields
Sunriver Airport has five airfields within 41 NM. The closest is Bend Municipal (KBDN), 17.06 NM northeast.
Source: Skystar calculation from official coordinates.
Skystar at S21
We arrange catering, fuel and trip support here. Supplier prices reach you unchanged; our coordination fee sits on its own line.
The same order, priced two ways.
$2,400.00 catering order at S21.
Unchanged.
What the kitchen invoices us is what your quote reads.
One line, fixed.
It does not move with the size of the order.
At cost.
Passed on at the exact amount the processor took.
Market practice figures are industry averages, not a specific competitor.
Frequently asked questions
What runway does Sunriver Airport (S21) offer?
Sunriver Airport, identified as S21, has a single paved runway, 18/36, measuring 5,460 feet long and 75 feet wide with an asphalt surface. This is the same length listed as the airport's maximum paved distance, meaning arriving and departing aircraft have no other runway option at the field. The runway supports the airport's fuel offerings of 100LL, Jet A, and Jet A+, making it workable for a range of piston and light jet traffic. There is no tower at S21, so runway use is coordinated by pilots over CTAF.
Is Sunriver Airport (S21) towered, and how are lights and the beacon activated?
Sunriver Airport is a non-towered field, so pilots manage runway and airport lighting themselves. The rotating beacon is pilot-activated over CTAF, and the same frequency is used to activate the REIL on runways 18 and 36, the PAPI on both ends, and the MIRL for runway 18/36. Because there is no control tower, dispatchers should plan for CTAF-based self-announced arrivals and departures at S21. Pilots unable to reach flight service on the FSS frequency are advised to contact Seattle ARTCC instead.
What obstacle and threshold notes apply to the runway 18 approach at Sunriver Airport?
Runway 18 at Sunriver Airport (S21) has a published approach ratio of 54:1, based on a displaced threshold, with trees over 70 feet tall located 4,000 feet from the runway on the extended centerline. Separately, the threshold lights for the runway are located 148 feet north of the actual runway end, a detail relevant to pilots cross-checking visual references on approach. These notes point to displaced-threshold geometry and tree penetration of the approach surface that operators should factor into approach planning at S21.
Are there wildlife or noise considerations for operations at Sunriver Airport (S21)?
Yes. Sunriver Airport reports flocks of waterfowl in the vicinity of the airport, a standing wildlife hazard note that applies to all traffic patterns at the field. Separately, departing aircraft are urged, for noise abatement, to climb to the west of the airport before turning on course. Neither restriction is mandatory in a regulatory sense, but both are published operational notes that dispatchers briefing crews into or out of S21 should pass along.
How seasonal is business aviation traffic at Sunriver Airport (S21)?
Business aviation activity at Sunriver Airport is heavily concentrated in the summer, with August recording 190 operations, July 164, and June 131, compared with totals in the twenties and thirties during January and February. September and October remain elevated relative to winter months before traffic tapers into the low season. Sunriver Airport's annual business aviation total for 2025, per FAA TFMSC data, was 1,091 operations out of 1,478 total operations at the field. Dispatchers scheduling summer trips into S21 should expect the airport's busiest period of the year.