Parks Canada advises against hiking to WW II plane crash site at Riding Mountain

Hikers aren't encouraged to try to find the wreckage of a downed Second World War plane in Riding Mountain National Park, officials say.

The plane crashed into the park, located about 245 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, while on a training mission in April 1944. Photos show some of the wreckage still at the site, more than half a century after the crash.

Colleen Buhler, who had planned to hike to the site with two friends this month, raised concerns about the backcountry trail's condition. She had hoped to see the crash site but found the trail was so densely overgrown, she lost it about 200 metres in.

The site is located off of the park's South Escarpment Trail.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Riding Mountain National Park said maintenance on some lesser-used trails, such as the South Escarpment Trail used to access the plane crash site, has not been a priority due to limited use.

The park doesn't have plans to restore the trail and access to the crash site is not officially encouraged, the statement said.

"Our current approach is to leave the site as it is. We feel that this is the best approach to respect the loss that occurred at the site and to ensure visitor safety, which is a Parks Canada priority," said a park spokesperson.

Pilot Sgt. Gordon Harold Hill was so badly injured in the crash that he died. A crew member was so badly injured he had to be left at the site while the remaining two walked out of the park to find help, one of them on a badly fractured leg.

Buhler said other historic sites in the park, such as the prisoner of war camp, have maintained trails, and she thinks the crash site should be afforded the same treatment or risk losing the history and story behind it altogether.

There are about 400 kilometres of hiking trails in Riding Mountain National Park.