The 11 Best Campgrounds in North America for Spotting Sasquatch

TThe United States is home to some of the most diverse landscapes in the world, and with that comes a diverse range of wildlife. Depending on your source, North America is home to about 450 mammal species found in the wild. But if you ask certain travelers, that number should actually be 451 — because according to some believers, Sasquatch is very, very real.

The name “Sasquatch” comes from the Salish word “Sasq’ets,” meaning “hairy man” or “wild man.” The cryptid is usually describes as ape-like, covered in dark fur or hair, and taller than a man — often around seven or eight feet tall. It’s usually bipedal (walking on two legs) and goes by other names, including Bigfoot. If you’re in the south, it may be called a skunk ape, while snow-covered and arctic areas usually call it a yeti. There are regional variations, too. They sometimes go by “Momo” in Missouri, or the “Old Men of the Mountain” in West Virginia.

Where are you most likely to see a bigfoot?

Bigfoot is most often associated with the dense forests and rugged terrain of North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest around northern California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Of those, Washington has the most sightings, according to the fairly comprehensive database from the Bigfoot Research Organization, or BFRO. However, sightings stretch across the US, from Florida to Alaska. While the locations are varied, there are a few similarities many reports have in common of areas that would be ideal for a large, elusive mammal.

Dense forests and mountainous regions are the most common settings for Bigfoot encounters. These areas would provide a mammal with ample cover and concealment, and have many areas that would be hard for humans to access on foot, like ravines, caves, and rocky ridgelines. Sightings also tend to occur in regions without much human presence, but with plenty of food sources, such as fruits, nuts, leaves, and potential prey animals. Bigfoot is rarely seen in farmland or prairies, and reports that mention its large size and heavy fur coat suggest that it could be well-suited to areas with mild summers and cold winters.

Fortunately, that kind of environment is also where you’ll find some of the best campgrounds in North America, and many of the most notable Bigfoot encounters in the last few years have taken place in or near campgrounds.

To find the best campgrounds for Sasquatch sightings, Matador Network worked with our friends at The Dyrt to analyze campground reviews across the Dyrt’s extensive network for mentions of Bigfoot action. We also scoured databases like those from the BFRO and other Canada- and US-based crypitd groups to find campgrounds near reported sightings and famous Bigfoot encounters (like the famous Patterson/Gimlin footage from Bluff Creek, California). The campgrounds below are mostly remote, in areas with such little human development that you may be the only human there. Human.

Where to find campgrounds for Sasquatch sightings

If you’re hoping for a ‘squatch sighting of your own, here are 11 campgrounds where you’ll have the best chance of a Bigfoot encounter, or at least may hear some mysterious howling in the distance.

Mohican State Park, Ohio

• Type of encounter: Partial sighting
• Date: June 18, 2021
• Closest campground: Mohican State Park Campground

In June 2021, a woman and her friend were parking in Mohigan State Park’s campground and decided to jokingly try making “Bigfoot calls.” The woman reported that not long after, she heard distinct knocks on a tree from the woods, well above the height of a human. They then drove to a campground area, where the woman saw a furry leg and foot of animal. “It looked like it was slipping on the leaves and was trying to gain traction,” she wrote, “and its leg went straight up and behind a tree.” She also noted that it was cold and rainy that day, and that she noticed all the birds in the area stopped chirping a few minutes before the sighting occurred. The BRFO considers this a class B sighting, meaning it was a visual sighting, but in poor conditions that resulted in an obstructed view.

If you’re keen to investigate, you’ll want to pitch your tent at Mohigan State Park. Bigfoot or not, the campground has more than 40 five-star reviews on The Dyrt. Reservations are available online, and the park has an outdoor pool, a camp store, and even “gem mining” for kids.

St. Vrain State Park, Colorado

• Type of encounter: Sighting
• Date: March 12, 2025
• Closest campground: St. Vrain State Park

In March 2025, a longtime resident of the Rocky Mountain foothills near Boulder reported a mysterious encounter. Around 10 PM, the woman said she saw an eight-foot-tall, ape-like figure walking near St. Vrain Road in front of her property. She said the creature was illuminated by moonlight and easy to see, saying it was hunched forward with bulky arms and legs. She reported that while elk and bears are common in the area, she’d not seen anything like that in her five decades of living there.

The case was investigated by the BFRO, whose researcher found her report highly credible, and noted that the area is a popular spring wildlife migration corridor, used by animals when the snow is too heavy for travel at higher elevations. While the sighting was on private property, it was very, very close to St. Vrain State Park, which has 87 campsites spread out between wooded areas and lakes. Reservations are available online, and the campground is open year-round. Day-of and walk-up reservations are available if the site isn’t fully booked.

Six Rivers National Forest, California

• Type of encounter: Sighting, footprints, vocalizations
• Date: August 27, 1958
• Closest campground: Boise Creek Campground

Pitch your tent anywhere you’d like in Six Rivers National Forest, which is open to dispersed camping. But if you’re hoping for a Bigfoot encounter, you may want to camp near Bluff Creek. It’s the site of the famous 1958 footprint discovery that created the name “Bigfoot” and sparked much of the modern legend. But in 2022, a logger on his deathbed admitted he’d made the prints and kept the secret for his entire life. However, the area remains a magnet for Sasquatch enthusiasts — and camping enthusiasts, with beautiful, remote sites scattered under giant trees and along babbling brooks.

In the national forest, there are two options: established campsites, or dispersed camping. Dispersed camping is generally allowed away from official campsites; you can find more details here. Louse Camp is a pilgrimage site for Bigfoot enthusiasts and close to Willow Creek, where the Patterson/Gimlin video was filmed. It’s unmaintained and basically everyone who goes there is looking for Bigfoot. But if you want perks like a picnic table and tent site, you could held to Boise Creek Campground or the East Fork Campground (but check to make sure it’s open following Winter 2024/25 storm damage).

If you choose the Boise Creek campground, note that it’s a popular location for attempted Sasquatch sightings, with several reviews on The Dyrt mentioning keeping an eye out for Bigfoot herself.

Mark Twain National Forest, Missouri

• Type of encounter: Sighting
• Date: April 1, 2016 (most recent)
• Closest campground: Berryman Trail & Campgrounds

Berryman Trail & Campgrounds in Mark Twain National Forest has great reviews on The Dyrt, with a 4.5-star rating. Comments are high, too, with one reviewer noting “Came here to experience the Ozarks. We were not disappointed.” And if you’re trying to have a Sasquatch sighting, you may also leave on a happy note, since it’s an area loaded with Sasquatch reports. In fact, the same reviewer said they were warned by other campers of Bigfoots in the area.

One of the most notable sightings was in 2016, when a woman said she saw a large creature running on all fours on the edge of Mark Twain National Forest. She also noted that it was unlike any other animal she’d seen running, effectively ruling out the thought that it could be a bear or coyote. An investigator from the BFRO didn’t note whether he thought the report was valid, but did comment that the woman who reported the sighting was very adamant in what she experienced.

If you’re keen to have a similar experience, book a campsite at the small and remote Berryman Campground, with just eight sites about 90 minutes by car from St. Louis.

Cowlitz County, Washington

• Type of encounter: Vocalizations and sounds
• Date: May 14, 2023 (most recent)
• Closest campground: Merrill Lake Campground

Cowlitz County, Washington, is home to Mount St. Helens. Washington leads the nation in Bigfoot sightings, and the forests around Mt. St. Helens are especially rife with in reports and folklore, including native legends of ape-like creatures living on the mountain. In 2023, there were reports of wood knocks (a known Bigfoot communication technique) at Merrill Lake Campground, and in 2020, Bigfoot vocalizations were heard near Spencer Butte — but sightings in the region go back as early as the 1950s.

Three of the most notable recent encounters, all full sightings, happened around Toutle River. Fortunately, you have options for where to stay. Tent campers will find available sights at Harry Gardner Park, near the South Toutle River, while RV campers can book a site at the Toutle River RV Resort. Merrill Lake Campground only has six reviews on the Dyrt, though they’re all five stars. So if you want to increase your chances of a Sasquatch sighting by picking a great campground where not many people go, it could be an excellent choice.

Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia

• Type of encounter: Sounds and vocalizations
• Date: Summer 2014
• Closest campground: Lone Cone Campground

In summer of 2014, an experienced paddler and photojournalist had one of the most threatening encounters with a Bigfoot to date. The journalist was staying alone in a remote cabin in Clayoquot Sound and left after five days, though he planned to stay for a month. On his fifth night, he heard boulders being flipped and thrown and rolled toward his cabin, and “bipedal” stomping outside the door that caused his cabin to rattle. It was accompanied, he said, by “horrifying vocalizations, disturbingly erratic and deliberate at once, tribal, not quite like human speech but similar enough to recognize certain elements.” In an article for Paddling Magazine, he recounted the experience, noting that he called for immediate pickup the next day.

The journalist’s account lines up with stories from the First Nations Nuu-chah-nulth people of Vancouver Island, who have stories about a forest-dweller called Buc Miis (pronounced “book-mees”). It’s more of a spiritual guardian than something to be scared of, but it’s often compared to creatures like Sasquatch.

The journalist didn’t say exactly where on Clayoquot Sound he was camping, but Meares Island is in an area rife with legends and sightings of a creature in the forest. You can camp at Lone Cone Campground, complete with a Sasquatch in its logo, or opt for something even further removed from civilization by backcountry/wilderness camping in places like Dawley Passage Park or Clayoquot Arm Park.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

• Type of encounter: Sightings and vocalizations
• Date: 1970s and ’80s
• Closest campground: Backcountry sites near Fan Creek

The reports of Bigfoot encounters from Bob Jackson are notable for two reasons: he’s the first national park ranger to go on the record about Sasquatch sightings, and they happened within Yellowstone National Park. He reported several encounters during his 30-year career, starting with one in the late 1970s while patrolling the remote Fan Creek area, in the park’s northwestern corner.

Jackson said he heard a “prolonged, haunting sound” similar to a distress call of an elk, but on a much greater scale. He said it was “like a thousand elk going to their death.” A few weeks later, he saw a deer running through a meadow nearby, pursued by a large black figure on two legs. He said he thought it was a bear at first, but then he watched it using trees and growth for cover during the pursuit — something too advanced for a bear. He started asking around to other rangers, and said other people had also seen large footprints and heard strange sounds — though he was the only ranger to report it.

If you want to follow up on Jackson’s experiences, you’ll need to snag a backcountry camping permit and reserve one of the sites in the park’s northwestern corner. The campgrounds around Fan Creek are where Jackson says the encounters took place. If you’d prefer a frontcountry site, your two closest options are Madison Campground to the south, or the closer Indian Creek Campground, though the latter is closed in 2025. Camping reservations at Yellowstone go quick, so make your reservations in advance online as soon as possible.

Peak, South Carolina

• Type of encounter: Sighting
• Date: November 2024
• Closest campground: Alston Trailhead

The town of Peak has only 60-something people, which may explain why it’s been easy for Bigfoots in the area to go unnoticed. But in early 2024, that changed, when a police office in Peak reported an early morning sighting. He was sitting in hunting blind when he heard grunts, and moments later, saw a shape about 7.5 feet tall. The officer reported that he and the creature both looked at each other for a few seconds before it went back into the woods. The BFRO investigated the case and gave it a rating of “very credible.”

According to The Dyrt, the closet campground to Peak is the Alston Trailhead Campground. The Dyrt notes its beauty and quiet, with plenty of trees and lots of places to camp. In a promising sign for those hoping for a Sasquatch sighting, there are only five reviews of the campground — meaning it’s likely not to be crowded with lots of RVs or big groups of campers that may keep wild animals at bay.

Mt. Hood National Forest

• Type of encounter: Vocalizations and sounds
• Date: August 13, 2023
• Closest campground: Alston Trailhead

​Mount Hood, Oregon, is a notable hotspot for Bigfoot sightings, with numerous reports of unusual sounds and encounters. Perhaps the most noteworthy Bigfoot report happened in August 2023, when two unrelated parties reported the same experience on the same night. On that evening, both parties were backpacking in Mount Hood National Forest when they heard wood knocking, a signature Sasquatch behavior. One of the campers said she also heard extremely loud howling near Timothy Lake in the backcountry two nights in a row.

Another reason Mt. Hood is great for Sasquatch sightings? Even if you don’t have a true encounter in the wild, you can learn about the supposed cryptid at the North American Bigfoot Center in the town of Boring, Oregon (yes, real name). It was founded by Cliff Barackman of Animal Planet’s Finding Bigfoot and houses “evidence” of Sasquatch, including audio recordings, footprint casts, and other interesting items. Boring is just a quick drive from Oregon’s National Scenic Byway No. 5, also known as the Bigfoot Highway, where Sasquatch sightings date back to the early 1900s.

The 2023 Bigfoot sounds were heard around Timothy Lake and on the Timberline Trail around Mount Hood, both of which have excellent campgrounds. Timothy Lake itself has hike-in primitive camping around its shoreline, while the Timberline Trail is a little more established, with campsites throughout the three-to-four day loop. You’ll need to get a self-issued permit at the trailhead before beginning your backpacking trip.

Silverton, BC, Canada

• Type of encounter: Sighting and footprints
• Date: December 25, 2020
• Closest campground: Bannock Point Recreation Area

At night on Christmas 2020, a driver and passengers near Silverton, British Columbia, reported an unusual encounter to the BFRO. While driving past a clearing, one passenger noticed a large, upright figure, which dropped to its hands and legs when she saw it. She said she first thought it was bear, but both passengers who saw it ruled that out after a few moments as bears hibernate during winter. They returned later that evening, where they saw extremely deep tracks in the snow that looked bipedal, sharing the photos with the BFRO and a local news outlet. They described the footprints as “really alarming,” noting that they headed into the woods in a straight line, rather than looking like they came from a meandering, four-legged animal print.

The encounter was investigated by the BFRO, which found the report to be credible. The BFRO investigator played a recording of a supposed Sasquatch howl for one of the witnesses, who said she’d heard similar calls near her remote cabin around the time of the sighting.

The BFRO shared a very specific location for the sighting: it was on the east side of Slocan Lake near Silverton, BC. The closet campground is Bannock Point Recreation Area, about 2.8 miles to the north. Sites are remote, self-sufficient, and walk-in only, so don’t expect much in the way of amenities (though you will have jaw-dropping views of Slocan Lake). If you’d prefer something slightly more developed, head to Silverton Campground, about five miles to the north. There, you can choose from lakeside or creekside sites, with amenities like bathrooms and a bocce ball court. They’re reservable online, making it easier to plan your Sasquatch-sighting trip in advance.

Cougar, Washington

• Type of encounter: Vocalizations and sounds
• Date: August 13, 2023
• Closest campground: Eagle Cliff Campground

Bigfoot reports from park rangers are few and far between, but a report on The Dyrt for Eagle Cliff Campground seems to indicate at least one more ranger out there has had a Bigfoot experience — at least according to online reviews. Cougar is the closet town to Mount St. Helens, in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The town is popular for hiking, fishing, and exploring local caves, and the campground has plenty of amenities for recreators, such as bathrooms, showers, and a camp store. But the best thing about the site if you’re angling for a Sasquatch sighting is its proximity to so many Bigfoot encounters and reports. Drivers have claimed to see them on the roads, and backpackers have heard them yelling at night. According to one reviewer on the Dyrt, a park ranger at the Eagle Cliff Campground had seen evidence of one, noting that “the ranger was cool enough to tell us all about his Bigfoot experience in the area, complete with mobile phone picture of the footprint.”