Curious Gorge describes in detail how to find the elusive and historically-famed hand and footprints on a lave shelf hidden under the waters of Goose Lake. These hand and foot prints are super-difficult to locate even under the best conditions. In the autumn of 2015 the lake was at its lowest level in decades, allowing for the first time in generations a re-location of the amazing Goose Lake hand and foot prints under only about 8-10 inches of water. In the fall of 2016 the lake level was bout 4 feet higher, but I was still able to locate the prints via a SUP board, as well as wading out from the shoreline. The details I describe in my book are the key…..know which stump to look for to guide you….knowing how far out to look for the lava shelf…and other necessary tricks.
The following photos are PDF Oregonians articles are intended to help you on your search for the elusive Goose Lake Hand and foot prints.
Goose Lake boatramp , autumn 2016
Oregonian article about Larry King re-discovering prints
Below is a link to see the Oregonian article about beavers being placed in Goose Lake to attempt to stop the draining of the lake. Article is from July 1924, located in the middle of the newspaper page. Use arrows to enlarge page for easier reading.
Next in an Oregonian article from 1926 showing and describing the mysterious prints.
Goose lake lava prints Dec 1926
Below are some pix of the beaver-chewed cottonwood trees that adorn Goose Lake.
Below is a photo of a couple exploring the prints in low-water 2015. The felled tree pointed almost exactly to the foot prints. The tree is no longer there, but its stump is!
Below are the hand prints under only 8-10 inches of water. One print has silt in it making it easier to see. (2015 pic)
Below are both the hand and foot prints. The two footprints are just below the crack in the lava shelf.
To find the prints yourself you’ll of course need to read what I’ve written in Curious Gorge….as well as locate the stump shown below and the three-stump array out in the lake.
Best of luck in your adventure locating these hidden Goose Lake treasures!!
Below are some extra photos from the extraordinary autumn of 2015 when the lsuper-low lake level revealed the crater in the middle of the lake that the lake waters drained into. Amazingly, there was a waterfall pouring into the crater and the water just disappeared into the lava rocks at the bottom of the pit. Truly incredible!! I have my doubts that I’ll ever witness this phenomenon again in my lifetime….but who knows!
Curious Gorge Blog 