Myers says participants on his treks have witnessed uniquely glowing eyes through the trees and large, expertly woven branches forming a “Sasquatch nest” as evidence the mythical forest dweller walks among us.
“Bigfoot is a lot more mainstream than it used to be,” Myers says. “The number of people openly interested in the topic as opposed to not wanting people to know they’re interested for fear of being considered a nutcase has definitely increased.”
Bigfoot can mean big business for Colorado’s rural and mountain towns.
The National Paranormal Network hosts annual Bigfoot Adventure Weekends in Colorado to gather Sasquatch lovers to search for the creature, an activity often referred to as Squatchin’.
Bigfoot-hunting professionals host private forest tours to show off their Sasquatch know-how and sighting spots. And businesses across Colorado rent out shuttles, cars or bikes for Bigfoot hunts.
Myers has been a Bigfoot aficionado since he was a child, after laying eyes on the famed Patterson-Gimlin footage captured in 1967 depicting a large, hairy creature walking on two legs through a Northern California forest.
Get out there and keep your eyes open. Who knows what you’re going to see out there?
The cryptid consumed Myers’ life so wholly that when he and his wife were rebuilding a 150-year-old grocery store in Bailey, Colorado in 2012, they ditched the groceries and dedicated the store to Bigfoot instead.
Now the Sasquatch Outpost – a souvenir shop and museum dedicated to all things Bigfoot – is one of the more well-visited attractions in Bailey, Myers says.
“For a little town like Bailey, it’s a very popular destination,” Myers says. “We send people to the local restaurants, the gift stores and things just because once they’re in Bailey, then they want to do other things.”
It is not easy to gauge Sasquatch’s economic footprint in Colorado; the state does not track the financial impact of Bigfoot tourism.
Kevin McDonald, the special events coordinator for Estes Park, a town two hours’ drive north of Bailey, says: “We celebrate all things Squatchy.”
The town that serves as the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park has hosted the Bigfoot Days Festival since 2019.
About 5,000 people attend the festival, which features Bigfoot-themed vendors, Sasquatch celebrities from reality television shows like Finding Bigfoot, live music by the likes of Denver-based band That Damn Sasquatch and a contest to see who can do the best Bigfoot call.
The night before the event (the next is set for April 26, 2025) is the Bigfoot BBQ, when 150 people who have bought tickets take part in an intimate dining experience with their favourite Sasquatch celebrities.
“It’s a very engaged crowd, and people do travel for their Bigfoot,” McDonald says.
Estes Park and its surrounding forests are ripe with Bigfoot lore.
It’s the magic of the whole paranormal cryptid world. If Bigfoot are real – and they are – what else could be real?
That is why Andy Hitch, owner of Estes Park all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and Jeep rental shop Backbone Adventures, says he wrote a blog post advertising an ATV travel guide for spotting Bigfoot.
Initially, Hitch is reluctant to share his own Sasquatch encounters, having grown up in the mountains around Estes Park.
“I’m not huge into it,” he says, adding there is “a rumour mill” surrounding sightings of the creature. But he does admit to an experience of his own while dirt biking through the mountains 14 years ago.
“Something ran in front of me,” he says. “It was tall and had dark-coloured hair. I can’t say exactly what it was, but I don’t get riled about anything, and this made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I’m not saying I saw something, but I’m not saying I didn’t.”
Hitch figured others might be looking to have a similar encounter. He was right.
Since writing his post, people come to his business looking for an ATV or Jeep to get further back into the forest, he says, in the hopes of spying Bigfoot.
“Get out there and keep your eyes open,” Hitch says. “Who knows what you’re going to see out there? You might find antlers. You might just see Bigfoot.”
Bigfoot hunting expeditions do not generate enough income for Myers to make a living. His bread and butter is the Sasquatch Outpost shop and museum, while the expeditions are more of a hobby, he says.
What keeps Myers and other Squatchers hooked?
“It’s the magic of the whole paranormal cryptid world,” Myers says. “ Bigfoot is just one of the many unidentified, uncategorised species in the world. If Bigfoot are real – and they are – what else could be real? Are fairies real? Dogmen? Mothmen?
“It’s the wonder and mystery of what we don’t know and understand.”
In 2023, a Bigfoot sighting in southwest Colorado went viral after photos and video taken from the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad showed a Bigfoot-esque creature traipsing through nature. Debates ensued about whether the sighting was a marketing campaign or prank.
Bigfoot has a number of talents most do not know about, Myers says, including mind reading and the ability to put thoughts into people’s brains.
Another skill? The ability to draw a crowd.
People from all over the globe have ventured out for Myers’ expeditions, he says, but even more have visited the museum and store to gaze upon wonders such as a fibreglass Bigfoot replica measuring 6 feet (1.8 metres) and a 7ft 3-inch animatronic Sasquatch.
Around 90,000 people have braved the cryptid models, plaster footprints, video footage and educational information in the museum over the years, he says.
