Bigfoot Trap

Ruch, Jackson County, Oregon. The only bigfoot trap in the world; Year Round.

Details

Map. Ruch, Jackson County, Oregon. Larger map

Where: Collings Mountain Trail, at mile 0.75 from the Hart-tish Park trailhead, Ruch, OR. Directions
Getting there: From Ruch, OR, travel south on Upper Applegate Road for 15.6 miles to Hart-tish Park. Parking is limited along Upper Applegate Road. More parking is available at the Hart-tish Day-Use area, which has a day fee ($5.00).
Fees: Hart-tish Park charges a fee during the summer months.
Access: Inactive trap on National Forest land; carry plenty of water, treat any surface water, and beware of poison oak, ticks, and rattlesnakes on the trail.
Phone: (541) 899-3800
Website: fs.usda.gov
Managed by: United States Forest Service.
Established: 1974.
Coordinates: 42.05394, -123.14566.

The only bigfoot trap in the world, on the Collings Mountain Trail, which features spectacular views of the Siskiyou Crest and Applegate Lake.

1974The North American Wildlife Research Team built the Bigfoot trap. fs.usda.gov
1980The trap door was permanently welded open. heraldandnews.com
2005A falling pine nearly destroyed the already deteriorating abandoned trap. heraldandnews.com
2006The Bigfoot trap was restored. fs.usda.gov

Perry Lovell, Area miner whose reported tracks and sightings spurred construction of the trap.
Roger Patterson, Bigfoot filmmaker who contacted wildlife filmmaker Ron Olson after hearing Lovell's stories.
Ron Olson, Eugene-based filmmaker who directed the North American Wildlife Research group, received the Forest Service special use permit, and built the trap with his late father and a friend (1974).
Jeff LaLande, Archaeologist for the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest who observed the Bigfoot trap was unusual enough to be included in the Passport In Time program.