Solheimasandur Beach plane wreckage

Wednesday we parked off of the Ring Road just west of Vik and walked (a very long) two miles to a US Navy plane crash site. The plane ran out of fuel and crash landed on the beach in 1973, with no casualties.  The fuselage was left on the beach and remains there to this day.

I first heard of the crash site from a shared Facebook post last year.  When planning our trip, I absolutely wanted to make the stop to see it, and I’m glad we did.  The beach the plane is on can only be described as “otherworldly”; it looks exactly like what I would guess the surface of the moon is like, with gravel and sand everywhere and mountains in the background. There was a trail leading from the road all the way out to the crash site, which I assumed was where cars were once able to drive. The road is now blocked off, so we parked and walked, along with many other tourists.

You can’t see the plane from the Ring Road, or even while walking. Once you get within ten minutes of it, you start to see it poking up behind rock mounds with the ocean not far in the distance. And when in full sight, the ghostly remains make the hour-long walk worth it:  

After a good twenty minutes of selfies and exploring, we headed back to the car.  The sky was clear and I actually got a bit of sunburn on my face.  Note to self: remember the sunblock the next time you’re in Iceland.