The legend of Bigfoot, the elusive “hairy giant” standing between seven to nine feet tall and weighing 600 to 900 pounds, has captivated imaginations since the 1800s when reported sightings first emerged in North America. Although initially concentrated in the Pacific Northwest and Canada, where the creature is also known as “Sasquatch” due to Native American folklore, Bigfoot sightings have cropped up across the United States, including the Eastern states. These ongoing sightings have perpetuated the mystique surrounding Bigfoot.
The History Channel aptly describes Bigfoot as “America’s most legendary creature” and poses the tantalizing question: Could such a massive, ape-like creature truly inhabit our forests, evading detection for so long? The fascination with the possibility of sharing our world with an unseen monster has endured through the ages, irrespective of personal belief in Bigfoot.
Collaborating with the Travel Channel, the Bigfoot Researchers Organization (BFRO) undertook a statistical analysis, sifting through more than 23,000 Bigfoot sightings in the United States. The results, featured on the Travel Channel program “In Search of Monsters,” reveal the states where Bigfoot encounters are most likely to happen.
Here are the states with the highest likelihood of a Bigfoot encounter, based on reported sightings:
- Washington (2,032 sightings): Notable sighting areas include the Blue Mountains and Okanogan County, specifically Ape Canyon, the site of one of the most aggressive Bigfoot encounters ever recorded, involving a group of miners attacked by multiple Sasquatch in 1924.
- California (1,697 sightings): California has a rich history with Bigfoot, with the term itself originating in 1958 when construction worker Jerry Crew found massive footprints, casting them with construction equipment, and bringing the story to the media.
- Pennsylvania (1,340 sightings)
- Michigan (1,131 sightings)
- New York (1,068 sightings)
- Ohio (1,042 sightings)
- Oregon (1,009 sightings)
- Texas (806 sightings)
While North America has the majority of Bigfoot sightings, this elusive creature has also been reported in other parts of the world, including China. The BFRO acknowledges that while much surrounding Bigfoot remains shrouded in legend, numerous facts suggest that people have indeed witnessed something substantial. For over 400 years, there have been reports of large, hair-covered, man-like creatures in North America’s wilderness. Sightings continue to this day, often coming from individuals of high credibility. Furthermore, for over seven decades, people have discovered, photographed, and cast sets of large, human-shaped tracks in remote areas, with these tracks still being found in modern times.