You can search for Bigfoot near Applegate

You must have just moved here from Roswell, N.M., Carl, not to know that the Rogue River National Forest has an actual trap once set to catch a Bigfoot.

It’s along the Collings Mountain Trail near Applegate Lake, and it was set there by the Eugene-based North American Wildlife Research Team in 1974 with Forest Service permission. A Washington Bigfoot researcher proclaimed it the only one of its kind in existence.

The 100-by-100 foot wooden trap was usually baited with meat. It caught no Bigfoot in its six years of operation before the Forest Service bolted it open so no human visitor would get smacked by the metal gate. The trap has become as much a part of the Rogue Valley as the Oregon Vortex and Lithia water — something meant to be experienced — once.

The Bigfoot trap is about 26 miles from downtown Medford. Take Highway 238 west to Ruch, then go left on Applegate Road to the lake. Drive past the dam and then past the Hart-Tish Park entrance to the Collings Mountain Trailhead. It’s marked by a sign, with a footprint insignia on it.

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