Crown Point B-17 Crash Site-Old Flowers Trail 939
From Coloradohikingtrails
Crown Point B-17 Crash Site-Old Flowers Trail 939
Alpine hike past Crown Point on the Browns Lake Trail 941 to the intersection with the Old Flowers Trail, then a hike through forest and alpine meadows above timberline to the site of a B-17 bomber that crashed while on a training flight during WWII. Tremendous views of the Rawah Wilderness, Mummy Range and Roosevelt National Forest along the way, and varied terrain from thick pine forests to rocky, alpine areas above timberline.
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Trailhead Information
Browns Lake Trailhead
Near To: Pingree Park and Fort Collins, Colorado
Driving Directions To Trailhead
Up Poudre Canyon, 26.5 miles from Ted's Place to the Pingree Park Rd (CR 63E). Proceed 4 miles up Pingree Park Rd. to Crown Point Rd. Turn right and drive 12 miles the the Browns Lake Trailhead Parking Lot. Parking Lot is on the right side of road, trailhead is across the road on the south side. No facilities.
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Browns Lake Trailhead
Maps & Images Lat: 40.649833 Long: -105.698357
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Trail & Hike Description
History Of the Crown Point B-17 Crash
On June 13, 1944, a B-17 Bomber with ten crewmen aboard left Rapid City, South Dakota on a training mission flying a triangular route that was to take them back to Rapid City. The pilot and copilot had just 10 hours of flight experience. The navigator, on his first night flight, mistook Laramie, Wyoming for Fort Collins, Colorado, and as a result was 50 miles or so off course. Their route took them too far West, over the mountains of northern Colorado. It was dark at that point, so they had few visual landmarks to verify their course. They had been flying at 10,000 feet, but when they realized they were off-course, they started climbing. One of the crewmen thought he saw things going by; the flight crew turned on the landing lights, and immediately saw trees ahead. They pulled up and tried to climb, so when the plane impacted the north-facing mountainside at about 10,750 feet elevation, the nose was up, and the belly of the plane took most of the impact. The pilot, copilot and navigator were killed instantly. The tailgunner died later that night from the injuries he sustained in the accident. Six crewmen survived the crash. The only reason there were any survivors is that the pilot managed to get the nose of the plane up just in time so the plane hit the mountain at an angle instead of head on.
The next morning, two of the crewmen walked downslope about 2 miles to Beaver Park, west of Jacks Gulch, where they encountered two fishermen. The fishermen drove them back to Vern's Place in Laporte, north of Fort Collins, where they were able to notify authorities. A rescue mission was launched, and the remaining four survivors at the crash site were rescued.
NOTE: This history was originally recounted to me by a backcountry guide visiting the wreck site while we were there. Later, I was contacted by the son of Max Weiner, who was a survivor of the crash. Max's son clarified some of the points regarding the planned route of the flight. The story of this wreck and its survivors are told in Troy Turner's book, COLORADO'S LOST SQUADRON, a copy of which I have not been able to find. If you have additional details about this fascinating story, please add them through the DISCUSSION page (see the tabs at the top of this page).
The wreckage is on a rock slope facing north on a knoll just east of the Flowers Trail. The wreck was demolished by the Army with dynamite 6 weeks after the wreck. Lots of small pieces, engines, gear, wingtips, wing pieces, and the top turret cage survive.
Hike Description
There are two routes to this crash site. One is to start at the end of Flowers Road at the Old Flowers Trailhead (west of Jack's Gulch Campground), and hike about 5 miles up the Old Flowers Trail, past Beaver Park, to the crash site. With an elevation gain of about 1,600 feet, this route passes through mostly forested terrain. While there are some good views (Beaver Park, for example), the views found along the second option are much more spectacular.
The second route (and the one we chose to follow) originates at the Browns Lake Trailhead, and travels south on the Browns Lake Trail 941 about 3 miles until it intersects with the Old Flowers Trail #939, then travels East on Old Flowers Trail about 2.5 miles to the crash site.
From the trailhead, the trail immediately begins its climb toward Crown Point (11,463'), opening up to rocky, exposed terrain. Along the way are tremendous views of the Medicine Bow Range and the Rawah Wilderness to the West. Crown Point is not visible until you approach the saddle. At about 2 miles, you enter the Comanche Peak Wilderness, and the trail reaches the first of two saddles, topping out just west of Crown Point at about 11,400'. From here, the trail descends into a grassy valley, before ascending to a second saddle. This second high-point affords vistas of the basin where Browns Lake resides, the precipice above Browns Lake, and the Mummy Range beyond. From this point, the trail begins its 900' descent to Browns Lake. Soon, you drop below timberline into a heavily forested area. At about 3.25 miles, the Browns Lake trail crosses the Old Flowers Trail coming in from the east. Just to the west of the intersection are a spring, and an old sheepherder's cabin.
Proceed East on the Old Flowers Trail for about 2.5 miles. The trail travels mostly parallel to the ridgeline on the south slope at roughly 11,200 feet all the way to the crash site. There are a number of gentle ups and downs along this stretch, but most of the trail is relatively level, until the last 1/2 mile or so, where it begins its gentle descent. From the Browns Lake Trail intersection, the Old Flowers Trail starts out traveling through pine forest, occassionally opening up into small meadows. Within about 1/2 mile, the trail ascends slightly, and you leave the forest for the expansive views of the high-alpine meadows above timberline. Along this stretch are magnificent vistas of the Mummy Range to the South. After another mile or so, the trail drops back into the forest.
Roughly 2 to 2.5 miles from the Brown's Lake Trail, the Flowers Trail climbs up and over the ridge at a small depression in the ridgeline. This area fits the description of a "saddle." That is, there is a flat spot in the trees where the land slopes upwards both east and west. As you start downhill from this saddle, the trail makes a sharp turn (almost 90 degrees) to the North (left). Right where the trail turns, you'll find a social trail to the wreck marked by cairns (and when we were there, an arrow made from tree limbs pointing to the crash site). The trail continues straight ahead through the woods in an easterly direction, just below the ridgeline on the north slope. The crash site is perhaps 200 yards from the bend where you leave the Old Flowers Trail.
The FAST FACTS above lists the GPS Coordinates (Latitude and Longitude) of the major landmarks along this hike. All coordinates are in decimal degrees (DD.DDDD) format. For more information on GPS Coordinates, see the What Are GPS Coordinates? FAQ. These coordinates are also noted on the Google Map on this page. Zoom out on the map view to see all the coordinates.
* Note On The Difficulty Rating For This Hike
From the trailhead, the trail ascends from the 10,480' trailhead elevation to 11,400' near Crown Point, before descending almost 650' to the crash site. Therefore the typical difficulty calculation used on this site (see the FAQ for a detailed explanation) would seriously underestimate the difficulty of this hike. For this hike, we calculated the elevation gain as 1,470' (the gain from the trailhead to the 11,400' point near Crown Point, plus the gain from the crash site back up to this point). This more realistically conveys the hike's difficulty.
External Links & References
Additional information on the Crown Point B-17 Crash Site can be found at the Colorado Wreck Chasing Web Site Crown Point B-17 page.
Video of the Crown Point B-17 Crash Site on Youtube - taken by the author of this trail description September 29, 2007.
Flowers Trail Description on US Forest Service web site.
Crown Point B-17 Crash Site-Old Flowers Trail 939 Picture Gallery
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Click on the picture to see a larger version. Contribute additional pictures - the more the better! |
 Panorama Of Mummy Range From Old Flower Trail. Browns Lake is below the rock face that is straight ahead |
Crown Point B-17 Crash Wreckage With American Flag |
 B-17 engine in wreckage field |
 B-17 engine in wreckage field |
 B-17 wingtip |
 Piece of the wing from B-17 wreckage |
 Rock Face Above Browns Lake from Old Flowers Trail |
