Overview | Carole Lombard Plane Crash Site | Potosi Mountain, Nevada

Adventure to occur Spring or Fall soon.

At 7:20pm on January 16, 1942, a Douglas DC-3-382 propliner TWA flight carrying Carole Lombard crashed into the side of Potosi Mountain on its route from Las Vegas to Burbank, California. Also on the flight were Carole’s mother, Otto Winkler (the press agent of Carole’s husband Clark Gable), 3 crew members and 15 U.S. Army soldiers. All 22 on board died in the crash. The coordinates of the crash site are: 35.9510°N 115.4914°W. View the historic details here.

Route Starting Point Directions | Carole Lombard Plane Crash Site | Potosi Mountain, Nevada

There are two potential routes to the crash site:

Route from Below: From Las Vegas, take Blue Diamond Road, then Highway 160 West. As the highway begins ascending Potosi Mountain, watch for the Late Night Trailhead on the right. Soon thereafter, take a left, crossing the highway to the entrance of Cottonwood Valley Road. You can park and walk from the parking area at the beginning of the road, but it’s a long walk from there to the crash site (see the map on this page). If you have a good 4WD vehicle, continue on the unpaved Cottonwood Valley Road to Cottonwood Pass which is just South of the crash site. Take the trail and approach ridge to the crash site from Cottonwood Pass.

Route from Above: Take I-15 South from Las Vegas to Hwy 161 exit at Jean. Take a right onto Hwy 161/Goodsprings Rd. Just before the town of Goodsprings take a right onto Goodsprings Bypass Road (signed as a gravel truck route). After a couple miles, Goodsprings Bypass Road takes a hard right onto Rainbow Quarry Road (unmarked, but there is no other option). Continue on Rainbow Quarry Road to what I will call the “Warning Rock Parking Area” (a large rock warning about a gate ahead). This is the point where it’s best to have a 4WD vehicle to continue. Hwy 509, Potosi Mountain Road, begins here.

About 2 miles beyond this point there is a gate, often or “most often” locked since Potosi Mountain Road was designed as a maintenance route for the communication towers on the 3 summits. You can park outside the gate and continue on foot up Potosi Mountain Road. Alternately, there is a short but steep and rugged gate bypass road to the left just before the gate. This road does require a 4WD vehicle.

Park between the South and Middle communication towers (see the map) to hike the shortest route to the crash site. Note I have not yet tested this route and cannot guarantee there are no class 3+ vertical climbing stretches. Until this route is tested and evaluated, it’s best to stick to the route from below.

Narrative Guide | Carole Lombard Plane Crash Site | Potosi Mountain, Nevada

Adventure to occur Spring or Fall soon.