My daughter and I were driving back from a friends house north of Atlanta and we were right at that point in the drive that we needed a break from the car to get up and stretch our legs. That’s when I happened to notice the sign for the Expedition Bigfoot: Sasquatch Museum. I’ll never argue with the opportunity to enjoy a different and interesting roadside attraction, so we took a short detour off the road to go and visit the museum.
The museum is nestled in the foothills of the mountains of northern Georgia. It serves as not only a museum but also a research and reporting center into the elusive creature called Bigfoot, Sasquatch, or Yeti- depending on where in the world you are.
We walked up to the door and were met with lines of colorful prayer flags and hiking equipment that have been on research treks looking for bigfoot. Admission to the museum is $8/adult and $6/children.
We purchased our tickets and stopped to examine the map of sightings on the wall. The map only covered a small area including the northern part of Georgia and corners of Tennessee and North Carolina. It was amazing to see how many sightings there had been in this area.
This museum is home to the largest collection of footprint casts in the world. Throughout the museum all the casts give an idea of just how big the foot of bigfoot really is. The term bigfoot came from a crew of loggers in California in 1958 who all claimed to have seen giant footprints set in the ground through the forest they were working in along with odd unexplained instances happening around their job site. They began referring to ‘Bigfoot’ as the culprit of the instances and the owner of the footprints.
Stories of these giant ape like creatures are not new but have been a common element in folktales for centuries. Indigenous cultures across North America have all had stories about a mysterious hairy creature that wanders through the forest. In some cultures the creature is a shapeshifter there to protect the forest while other cultures see the creature as more threatening and destructive. These tales of the creature can be found in indigenous artwork from many different tribes and areas.
Nearly every corner of North America has legends and stories told of encounters and sightings of Sasquatch. This led a lot of bigfoot researchers to believe that it was not just one creature, but actually an entire species of massive sized creatures that had spread out in all directions. Each part of the country seems to have a different idea on the physical appearance of Bigfoot , so researchers think there was some amount of adaptation within the species. Researchers come together to compare notes and learn from each other in their continued search for Bigfoot.
The museum has a section where visitors can listen to people tell about their encounter with Sasquatch. There is another section where a row of headsets allows you to hear recordings of the creatures themselves, communicating through the forest with others like them. Because this is an official reporting center, the museum offers a number for people to call and report their encounter with Sasquatch.
On one wall is a glass case with the massive sized skull that was found in a cave in Mexico in the early 1900’s. Supposedly the skull was in a cave surrounded by bones twice the size of regular human bones. It was believed to belong to an ancient race of giant like people. But for the believers, there could be nothing so concrete of evidence as this skull.
Whether you are a skeptic, believer, or knower of the existence of Sasquatch the museum is an interesting look at this larger than life icon and the firm place it holds in our ideas about the mysterious and unexplained. Are the bumps in the night a passing animal or are they something larger and harder to explain…something perhaps that leaves a very large footprint in the ground.
If you are a believer or if you are interested in the possibility of other such phenomenon, then you may be interested in these places:
UFO Museum and Research Center- Roswell, New Mexico
The Voodoo Queen- New Orleans, Louisiana
The Mermaids- Weeki Wachee, Florida
Thanks for joining me on this visit to the Expedition Bigfoot: Sasquatch Museum. May the skeptical give way to the power of possibility.
So what do you think? Did the museum convince you that Bigfoot is real? I would certainly have stopped here as I love this sort of thing. I was interested to see you link to the Roswell UFO centre as that’s exactly what I was thinking of as I read your post. The same mix of research and hearsay, and the same passionate conviction of the believers and equally passionate conviction of the deniers too no doubt.
I love that- a mix of research and hearsay. I think that is the perfect way to describe it. I really love places like this too. I tend to be more of the skeptic in many things…but I also have never experienced that scary moment of being out in the woods and feel that fear of the unknown like that. Maybe that moment of fear would change me from skeptic to believer 🙂
Like Sarah, I would love to know if you think Bigfoot exists. I do, but I also believe that we’re not alone in the universe. Just because we haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, right? I would definitely pay to visit this museum, and I’m adding it to my Georgia “to-do” list. Great post.
Thank you! 🙂 I tend to be more of a skeptic in things, but what I love about places like this and the UFO museum in New Mexico is that it opens me up to the idea of maybe. I would never say I am a hard and fast denier of the unexplained, I love reading the accounts of people who have experienced that moment and how it makes me think and wonder. You just have to get past the Hollywood filter to find the place of possibility. And you’re right, just because we haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it’s doesn’t exist.
I have a friend who is convinced beyond a doubt that he did in fact have a sighting, in the Pacific North West. Like Toonsarah I know there are a lot of things we just dont know about.
My step mom is from Oregon and she absolutely without a doubt believes that she experienced an encounter there in the woods. I think for everything we know and understand, there is still so much more that we don’t know for sure. And anything that can’t be so easily put in a box we tend to blow off as legend. But just because we don’t know to put it in a box doesn’t mean that it’s not real.
Yep. I am from Oregon as well
Great post Meg. I saw a special about Bigfoot about ten years ago and it was pretty convincing. Also, as Terry mentioned, a friend of ours says he has seen one. We were at a large event with him when the subject came up, and someone starting teasing him about it. He remained very serious and and would have none of the teasing; he was convinced. That said, it is interesting that Bigfoot has remained so elusive all these years.
I can see why he would remain so elusive- he probably likes his quiet life in the woods and wouldn’t want to be so consumed with paparazzi and popularity. I really loved listening to the accounts of people who have had encounters because it opened up the possibility so much more. I told Terry that my step mom is the same way as your friend- she without question or hesitation knows that bigfoot is real. We don’t know until we have had that experience.
Such a fun article, Meg. I too would’ve been unable to pass up the opportunity of a spontaneous visit, had I stumbled upon the museum. As a kid I was fascinated by the movie ‘Bigfoot and the Hendersons’, which sparked my interest in Bigfoot and had me reading several books on the subject. I love the informal grandpa’s-attic-approach to the museum, with its glass cases, tables, chests and wall art. It looks really well curated. Love the audio testimonies too, they have a similar thing at The Loch Ness Exhibition Centre in Scotland. Im guessing these were a few “characters” to be heard? 😉
Oh Leighton, another great movie that we both loved. I watched the Hendersons and their playful bigfoot over and over again as a kid. The museum was really well done, focusing more on the research and personal accounts than the more kitschy Hollywood perspective. I’ve been to Loch Ness but missed the museum. But you can’t look out over that water and not help but wonder. And this museum did the same thing for me, it made me wonder and want to learn more which always speaks of the merit of a place 🙂
We all love these unexplained mysteries and stories of giant or tiny beings, paranormal experiences etc. I would absolutely definitely have visited his museum if like you I’d seen the sign. I am definitely a sceptic, my feeling being that if such things were real, we would by now have conclusive proof given modern technology. But not for a moment does that stop me being an addict for such stories and intrigue.
There’s something about these stories of the unexplained that seem to draw us in, no matter where on the scale of belief we are. The museum was really well done and I was definitely glad that we stopped to visit it. I liked that it really was more based on people’s accounts and not the Hollywood kitsch of it.
I love it, I’d absolutely have stopped here too. I personally don’t believe they exist, but this looks super fun 🙂
It was a really fun museum and interesting to see how it was set up. It made me wonder how many other museums like this one there are across the country- probably a lot 🙂
I find these types of unsolved mysteries and encounters so fascinating. I guess it’s only natural for us humans to try to explain things, like finding giant footprints. I’ve never seen any signs that bigfoot actually exists, and I’d like to keep it that way!
I think so too, there’s just something about the unexplained that seems to draw us in and interest us no matter where we are on the belief scale. I’m with you though on never wanting to have that moment in the woods that me wonder what else is out there.
fascinating! did your daughter enjoy it?
She loved it- she’s right at that fun age where she really wants to be part of wholeheartedly whatever we are doing. So she wanted to listen to the different people tell their accounts and wanted me to read a lot of the writings about it. 🙂
What a great opportunity to stop off and visit the Bigfoot museum to learn about those unexplained sightings. It’s a bit like our Loch Ness Monster I suppose.
It was a great museum and interesting to hear some personal encounters and different research that has been done with Bigfoot. There’s something about the unexplained that grabs hold of us and makes us wonder 🙂 I hope you are having a wonderful trip to San Fran! I’ve loved seeing your pictures on instagram!
Thanks so much Meg. Everything is going well here and weather was good until yesterday.
What a great museum. I, too, was thinking of the Roswell museum as I read this. I love your spontaneity. I’d like to think we’d make an unscheduled stop, too.
It was a far better stop than just a gas station 🙂 It had the same feel as the UFO museum- a little research and history combined with a little Hollywood and kitsch. It was interesting to hear the personal accounts of encounters.
Haha! 😉
This huge footprint caught my attention. Anita
Thanks Anita 🙂
This is such a brilliant museum, and it amazes me how interest in the existence of this particular creature is at an all-time high. I’ve seen a good few documentaries about Bigfoot and still haven’t made up my mind whether or not to believe the myth, but as long as there are wild places in America, Bigfoot remains a possibility that, to its most ardent proponents, cannot be disproved. Thanks for sharing and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
Thanks for reading Aiva! I think you’re right that as long as there are wild places there will follow wild stories about Bigfoot. It was interesting to listen to the personal accounts of encounters in the woods. The museum allows a space to wonder which I appreciated. I hope you have a great weekend 🙂