Bigfoot in Washington

539 mapped reports in the TidyTuesday extract of the BFRO database (#1 of 49 states with reports). A row is a submitted report, not a confirmed animal.

One profile per state. 'stats' are computed from sightings_seed.csv (4,045 mapped BFRO reports, 1869-2021, from the TidyTuesday 2022-09-13 extract). These are mapped reports in that extract, not all reports ever made and not confirmed sightings. Class A = clear sighting, Class B = sound/tracks/obscured view, Class C = secondhand or less reliable (BFRO definitions). Festivals, creatures and museums are pulled from festivals.json, regional_creatures.json and research.json.

Mapped reports

Class A (clear sighting report): 225
Class B (sound, tracks, or an obscured view): 311
Class C (secondhand): 3
Years: 1941–2021. Since 2010: 120.
Busiest decade: 2000s (212). Busiest month: October (76).
Seasons: spring 111, summer 175, fall 195, winter 58.
Counties with at least one mapped report: 31.

Top counties: Pierce County (69); Snohomish County (48); Skamania County (41); Lewis County (40); King County (37).

Open these reports on the map

Regional names

Ts'emekwes — Indigenous tradition (Lummi); sometimes associated with Bigfoot
Skookum / skoocooms — Chinook Jargon word; historical account
Dzunukwa (Tsonoqua) — Indigenous tradition (Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth); sometimes associated with Sasquatch

Festivals

Legends of the Mountains · Packwood · 2026 edition was June 27-28 (2nd annual)
Maple Falls Bigfoot Festival · Maple Falls · 2026 edition Aug 1; usually first Saturday of August
Sasquatch Summit · Ocean Shores · 2026 edition Nov 13-14; usually mid-November
sQuatch Fest + Galactic Fest · Longview · Held the last Friday and Saturday of January (2026: Jan 30-31; 10th anniversary edition)
Metaline Falls Bigfoot Festival · Metaline Falls · 2026 edition was June 20-21 (Father's Day weekend)

Museums and landmarks

Ape Canyon - Mount St. Helens, WA — Gorge named for the 1924 prospectors' 'ape-men' tale; now a hiking trail.
Skamania County, WA (1969 Sasquatch ordinance) — County that passed a 1969 law against killing a Sasquatch and later declared a refuge.

Public land

Laws and proclamations

Skamania County Ordinance 69-01 (April 1, 1969; amended 1984): county-wide Sasquatch refuge
Whatcom County Sasquatch Protection and Refuge Area (1991)
Grays Harbor County refuge resolution (2022), Clallam County (2023) and Mason County (2024), each requested by fifth-grade classes