Does Bigfoot ever prowl through Layton?

                                        This sign appeared in Layton in past years.

DOES the legendary Bigfoot like to occasionally visit Layton City and the Wasatch Mountains to the east?

Apparently so, as there have been multiple purported sightings of the elusive Sasquatch in both Layton City and the surrounding area over recent decades.

1980- During the month of February that year, South Weber, a neighboring town north of Layton, had a flurry of reported Bigfoot sightings.

There were numerous reports of residents spotting a strange creature in the area over multiple days. There were sightings of tracks in the snow and along the canal in South Weber. Also, several residents reported hearing an inhuman scream at night. There was even a sighting of Bigfoot crossing Riverdale Road, to the southwest.

One South Weber resident said many others saw strange things that month in town, but were afraid to report them for fear of ridicule.

-2000: Perhaps the first actual Bigfoot sighting in Layton was on Nov. 11 of that year. A Layton man was scouring the mountainside with a scope and d he spotted a strange creature roaming in the foothills above the state Route 193/U.S. 89 junction. He used his camcorder to film the creature for about five minutes from about 500 yards away. A few hours later, he went into the area and despite snow on the ground, could not find any footprints.

The video he took is posted on the Web, though like all footage or photographs of the purported creature, is inconclusive. To watch the video, go to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8IvQ5OYmYI

-2006-2007: A blogger who calls himself “The Utah bigfoot hunter” apparently found Bigfoot tracks and other evidence of the creature in the mountains east of Layton over a several year period.

He would only refer to the location as “Secret Canyon,” but one of his photographs on a rocky slope apparently showed two mysterious figures.

The man wrote that accessing that key slope was all but impossible in the winter, yet he felt there were multiple Bigfoots at the top.

-2011: Some four years later and Layton again had multiple reports of Bigfoot.

There were several sightings, footprints and howls reported in East Layton, between Corbett Canyon (directly east of the U-193/Highway 89 junction) and south to the Fernwood/"Castle" area.

                 One of the hollows in east Layton where Bigfoot has reportedly been sighted.

There were also some reported recent sightings in the hollows that are west of Highway 89, deep into the heart of Layton City.

One of the area residents, whose property descends into one of the hollows, said he's seen Bigfoot lurking on his land at night.

He also put out some infrared cameras in the hollow one night, only to find a rather thick tree branch purposely bent over the lens, as if to say, "I know this camera is here -- you can't fool a bigfoot."

Also, during the summer of 2011, several Boy Scouts said they spotted a Bigfoot in the one of the hollows too.

Then, on Sept. 3, 2011, there was a Bigfoot sighting reported by two people in Adams Canyon. They saw a large creature

near the upper waterfall, located at the end of a 3-mile hike up the canyon.

They reported their sighting to Davis County Animal Control, but no other evidence was found.

-NOTE: One of Utah and the Intermountain West's top Bigfoot researchers, Ryan Layton, is a Layton native and still resides here.

SOURCES: Deseret News Archives; www.digitalnewspapers.org; sasqwasatch.blogspot.com; and www.abovetopsecret.com