It is not on any trail map. Park rangers know it exists but few have seen it in years. The county parks department has no record of how it got there or when. Yet somewhere in the folds of Harper Canyon, deep in the backcountry of Toro County Park, the rusting remains of a small crashed airplane have been quietly decomposing for decades.

The wreck was confirmed to exist by the Monterey County Parks Department, but even longtime park staff had only vague recollections of its location. Supervising Ranger Bob Milotz and Parks Area Manager Richard Higgins both recalled hiking back to the wreck at some point, but had hazy memories of where exactly it was located. Higgins described it as probably in the second or third canyon past Harper Spring, and said it would be hard to find unless you were specifically looking for it.

What type of aircraft it was, when it crashed, whether anyone was aboard — none of that has ever been officially established. "All I know is that it is there," Higgins said. "We could never get any history about it from anybody."

Finding It — If You're Up for the Challenge

The journey to the wreck is itself a serious hike. From the Toro Park trailhead, hike 2.7 miles on the Ollason Trail, then take a right on the Ranch Trail and follow it 0.3 miles to its end at a dirt road. Take a right on the dirt road and descend into the bottom of Harper Canyon, then take a left on the dirt road in the canyon bottom and follow it half a mile to Harper Spring.

Past the spring, the road narrows to a trail. The canyon becomes darker and more enclosed as you push deeper in. The wreck lies somewhere in the canyons to the west of the spring, up one of the unnamed side drainages that branch off the main canyon.

Go prepared. This is remote terrain with no cell service and limited shade. Bring more water than you think you need, tell someone where you're going, and plan for more time than the mileage suggests — the canyon terrain is slow going and easy to get turned around in as the light fades.

Why It Matters

There is something genuinely haunting about a crashed airplane that history has simply forgotten. No NTSB report seems to match it. No newspaper clipping has surfaced. The wreckage simply appeared one day and has been slowly returning to the earth ever since, on a beautiful hillside that most Monterey County residents have never visited.

If you have any information about this aircraft — what it was, when it crashed, who was flying — we'd love to hear from you. Contact us through the MoCoPress submit page.

The Toro Park trail map is available in the MoCoPress Document Library.