The
town of Willow Creek sits along the Trinity River. Residents of this small
mountain town are commonly referred to as "Willow Creekers". It is
the Bigfoot Capital of the World, and holds an annual festival in honor of the
creature. Willow Creek is described as a "rugged mountain community
nestled in the heart of the Six Rivers National Forest."
This area of California is located in the Trinity/ |
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Shasta/ Cascade Region, near the Oregon border, and is easily reached via Highways 299
and 96. Outdoor recreational enthusiasts love Willow Creek, where the most
popular activities are camping, fishing and rafting. The camping is second to
none as the Six Rivers National forest boasts the most spectacular camping
locations in California.
The salmon and steelhead fishing is also spectacular, and Willow Creek has been
a favorite fishing spot among anglers for centuries. The Willow Creek area also
has several world class rivers for rafting, all within a 45 minute drive. The
Klamath River is legendary and is considered California's "premier
multi-day river trip
The upper Trinity River offers a classic Class III run with moderate
rapids, followed by the Burnt Ranch Gorge, which is one of the toughest runs in
the entire state. The lower Trinity is also a scenic ride, popular among
canoeists, tubers and summer fun seekers. Other activities near Willow Creek
include swimming, hiking, snow skiing, horseback riding, rock climbing, off
road racing, golf, birding and wildlife viewing and camping. It's also an
incredible area for scenic drives, where from selected vista points in the
Trinity Alps along U.S. Forest Route 1, you can view Mount Shasta and the
Pacific Ocean simultaneously. In town, a visit to the Hupa Tribal Museum or
Willow Creek Museum is worthwhile. Willow Creek is also the place of many
summer events and parties as nearly half the population consists of summers
recreation homes and ranches.
The lore of Bigfoot has been the topic of many stove front discussions in
Willow Creek in the past quarter century. The story began with the local Native
Americans and their lore regarding a huge manlike creature and his family that
dwelled in the Bluff Creek area along Hie Klamath River. The earliest known
report of this man-animal was probably recorded in Crescent City in 1886. There
were numerous reports from the area between Willow Creek and Happy Camp of
large human-like creatures seven to eight feet tall and weighing from 350 to
800 lbs. These creatures were reported to be man-like, with a light covering of
hair on their bodies.These prehistoric-looking man-apes faded away for many
years only to appear again in 1935 when huge tracks were found in snow on a
nearby mountain.
In 1958, in the Bluff Creek area, an entire new epic of Bigfoot was begun.
Heavy equipment was moved, loaded drums were tossed about, foot prints were
everywhere, and workers were followed about through the dense underbrush by
foul-smelling, haunting visages. In 1960, there were sightings by reliable
people and over 50 sightings have taken place since that time. Out of respect
to the legend of Bigfoot, the community of Willow Creek has erected a large
Bigfoot statue in the heart of town. Willow Creek is known as "The Gateway
to Bigfoot Country"
Bigfoot's Roots in Willow Creek (As described in the book
"Traveling the Trinity Highway" by Ben Bennion and Jerry Rohde). Mike
Gordon pulled his dusty |
brown
Ford van into the Gray's Falls campground late one night in 1974. He had just
drifted off to sleep when his van began to sway and then rock. He rubbed the
sleep from his eyes, struggling to focus as fingernails scratched along one
side of the vehicle. Someone was trying to get in. Assuming it was just another
camper playing a trick on him, Gordon peered through the van's curtains.
What he saw was no camper! Mike stared then blinked, hoping he was dreaming.
Just outside stood a giant animal seven feet tall and covered with hair, it
looked like a human crossed with a gorilla. The creature circled the van |
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