On September 27th 1977, a jet aircraft dropped its altitude to
500 feet in dense fog, hit the CKVR tower, killing the occupants
and collapsing the tower. CKVR was off the air for ten days until a
temporary tower could be found and limited operation could be
resumed.
In 1978, in lieu of this disaster, the existing tower that you
see was erected jutting 304.8 Meters straight up into the air.
Future development of the areas surrounding the towers was
prohibited. The land was acquired by CKVR, trails were loosely
formed in the area, and now the grounds are simply left as natural
open space.
Today this tower is recognized by many popular names such as the
"VR Tower" or "Barrie Tower" and can be seen from as far away as
Bradford, Beaverton and Orillia across the lake. The VR Tower is
officially the 4th tallest broadcast tower in Canada.
This cache is located near the site of the 1977 Airplane
disaster which occurred close to Hwy 400. The cache should be easy
to locate and is Winter-friendly. OBVIOUSLY you should not
attempt this cache from Southbound Highway 400. That's just
dumb. Parking is readily available at the dead end on, or at
the side of near-by Harvie Road.