Vtyjkyuk

I live in Salinas (central coast California) and there’s an old plane wreck (located within the boundaries of Toro Park County Park in a remote section). On a hike yesterday, we located and took some pictures and I was seeking some help to identify the type of aircraft and then perhaps some more information (searching the CA plane crash registry came up empty). So looking for more details – firstly identifying the plane and then perhaps locating who/where/etc – there are no other known details.

I have some photos for reference (but would only let me add 1).

A plane should be able to be identified by the serial numbers of the various parts recovered at the crash scene. The history of any part on a plane is documented extensively by the serial number. The NTSB should be able to track down when the part was produced and who the part was delivered to. As Tanner mentioned the NTSB should be contacted immediately and the wreckage should not be moved. There are many plane crashes that have occurred many years in the past which have still not been found. You may have stumbled on a piece of history that could bring closure to a family who may have never known what happened to their loved one.

Consider giving the National Transportation Safety Board a phone call. If they don't know about the wreckage already, they might be interested in examining it.

You're not really "reporting an accident", but in any case, the page "Report an Aircraft Accident to the NTSB" says:

Contact the NTSB's 24-hour Response Operations Center (ROC) at 844-373-9922 to file a report.

The tailwheel bracket is from either a Cessna 170 or possibly a Cessna L-19, (which incorporated a lot of C-170 parts, including the tail assembly). Based on the paint job however, I agree with commenter Zeiss Ikon that the pic is of a C-170 tail assembly.