About Bigfoot Trap
A legitimate wooden animal trap sits in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest with one unusually ambitious target: Bigfoot.
The North American Wildlife Research Team built the structure in 1974 after reports of large human-like footprints near the Applegate River. The trap is a heavy wooden box reinforced with metal, built large enough to hold something considerably bigger than an ordinary forest animal.
For six years, the group baited the trap with animal carcasses. Bears were caught, but no evidence of Bigfoot emerged. The project was abandoned around 1980, and the trap’s door was eventually fixed open for safety. The U.S. Forest Service repaired the aging structure in 2006 rather than allowing one of Oregon’s strangest pieces of cryptid history to disappear.
The trap sits along Collings Mountain Trail #943 near Applegate Lake. The Forest Service describes it as the only known Bigfoot trap in the world. It requires a hike rather than a roadside pull-off, so visitors should check current trail, fire, and weather conditions before heading out.