Collings Mountain

California Harebell
(Smithiastrum prenanthoides)



Easy (to Bigfoot Trap)

1.2 miles round-trip

200 feet elevation gain

Open all year

Use: hikers, horses, bicycles


Moderate (to Watkins Campground)

6.9 miles one way

1700 feet elevation gain

Open except in winter storms

Hikers in this part of the Siskiyous have been reporting sightings of Bigfoot since 1895.  So when a private research group resolved to catch the mythic apeman outright in 1973, they built their trap here.

Today an easy half-mile trail from Applegate Lake leads to the abandoned contraption. If you believe more in exercise than in Sasquatch, consider following the woodsy trail another 6.3 miles, across Collings Mountain to the far end of Applegate Lake’s reservoir.

To drive here from Medford . . .

This chapter is an excerpt from 100 Hikes: Southern Oregon