Willow Creek (formerly China Flat) The roadhead of the Bluff Creek / Fish Lake Road, near which many alleged Bigfoot sightings and footprint finds occurred, is about north, along Route 96.
Willow Creek transit is served by the Redwood Transit System, through the Willow Creek Intercity route. It is also served by Trinity Transit Authority.
History
The indigenous people from here are part of the Tsnungwe or South Fork Hupa and are speakers of the Hupa Language.
Willow Creek's first non-indigenous settlers were Chinese laborers from the mining and lumber camps, which earned the town the name China Flat. The China Flat post office opened in 1878, and changed its name to Willow Creek in 1915. Summer highs are extremely hot compared to areas of the county affected by coastal fog. At the same time, winters are considerably colder, with light snowfall not unusual a few times per season.
Demographics
thumb|Downtown Willow Creek in 2022.
Willow Creek first appeared as a census designated place in the 1990 U.S. census.
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|1,372
|1,324
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,175
|78.71%
|77.43%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |68.31%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|9
|6
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10
|0.52%
|0.35%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.58%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|159
|158
|style='background: #ffffe6; |170
|9.12%
|9.24%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9.88%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|10
|14
|style='background: #ffffe6; |19
|0.57%
|0.82%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.10%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|5
|6
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4
|0.29%
|0.35%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.23%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|2
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |22
|0.11%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.28%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|89
|94
|style='background: #ffffe6; |173
|5.11%
|5.50%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10.06%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|97
|108
|style='background: #ffffe6; |147
|5.57%
|6.32%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8.55%
|-
|Total
|1,743
|1,710
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,720
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Willow Creek had a population of 1,720, all of whom lived in households. The population density was .
The age distribution was 347 people (20.2%) under the age of 18, 72 people (4.2%) aged 18 to 24, 391 people (22.7%) aged 25 to 44, 458 people (26.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 452 people (26.3%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 47.5years. For every 100 females, there were 110.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.0 males.
There were 776 households, out of which 168 (21.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 308 (39.7%) were married-couple households, 83 (10.7%) were cohabiting couple households, 194 (25.0%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 191 (24.6%) had a male householder with no partner present. 276 households (35.6%) were one person, and 115 (14.8%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.22. There were 434 families (55.9% of all households).
There were 984 housing units at an average density of , of which 776 (78.9%) were occupied. Of these, 511 (65.9%) were owner-occupied, and 265 (34.1%) were occupied by renters. 21.1% of housing units were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.2%, and the rental vacancy rate was 4.7%.
2010 census
The 2010 United States census reported that Willow Creek had a population of 1,710. The population density was . The racial makeup of Willow Creek was 1,375 (80.4%) White, 6 (0.4%) African American, 167 (9.8%) Native American, 14 (0.8%) Asian, 6 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 29 (1.7%) from other races, and 113 (6.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 108 persons (6.3%).
The Census reported that 1,699 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 11 (0.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 812 households, out of which 161 (19.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 353 (43.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 63 (7.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 32 (3.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 75 (9.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 7 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships; 283 households (34.9%) were made up of individuals, and 94 (11.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09. There were 448 families (55.2% of all households); the average family size was 2.65.
The population was spread out, with 287 people (16.8%) under the age of 18, 100 people (5.8%) aged 18 to 24, 366 people (21.4%) aged 25 to 44, 642 people (37.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 315 people (18.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.1 males.
There were 1,108 housing units at an average density of , of which 812 were occupied, of which 525 (64.7%) were owner-occupied, and 287 (35.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.2%. 1,087 people (63.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 612 people (35.8%) lived in rental housing units.
Government
Politics
In the state legislature, Willow Creek is in , and .
Federally, Willow Creek is in .
Media
Willow Creek was served for many decades by the weekly Klamity Kourier newspaper, which closed in 2006 and was quickly replaced by the Bigfoot Valley News. The Bigfoot Valley News has since closed, but the regional newspaper, Two Rivers Tribune (www.tworiverstribune.com), opened in 1994 and continued to operate as of 2026.