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