Complete Guide to Wyoming Bigfoot Sightings (1967–2025)

Wyoming’s expansive wilderness, with its dense forests and towering mountains, has long fueled tales of mysterious creatures lurking in the shadows. Bigfoot sightings in Wyoming often emerge from remote areas where human presence is sparse, blending Native American folklore with modern eyewitness accounts. These encounters describe a massive, hairy humanoid that moves with surprising agility through rugged terrain.

The state’s vast undeveloped lands, including national parks and tribal reservations, provide ideal habitats for such legends. Wyoming Bigfoot sightings have intrigued biologists, outdoorsmen, and skeptics alike, prompting debates over whether these are genuine cryptids or mere misidentification.

As reports accumulate, they highlight patterns in locations like river valleys and timbered slopes, where footprints and eerie howls add to the enigma.

Wyoming Bigfoot Sightings

Wyoming boasts a rich history of cryptid encounters, with 28 documented reports primarily clustered in its western and northern regions, such as the Shoshone National Forest and Wind River Mountains.

These Bigfoot sightings in Wyoming frequently involve tall, bipedal figures exhibiting primate-like behaviors, often accompanied by a pungent odor or guttural sounds. Native traditions, including stories of Nanintaq or SHAMPE, align with these modern narratives, suggesting a cultural depth to the phenomenon.

Wyoming Bigfoot sightings span from fleeting glimpses on rural roads to prolonged observations in backcountry habitats. Witnesses, ranging from hunters to families, describe creatures with conical heads, long arms, and fluid movements that defy known wildlife. Hot spots like Park County reveal patterns tied to shelter, water, and food sources, fueling ongoing searches by enthusiasts.

The table below compiles all reported sightings chronologically, drawing from credible folklore and historical sources. It includes dates, witnesses where named, exact locations, and detail-oriented descriptions focusing on appearance, behavior, and evidence:

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Investigation Efforts in Wyoming

Efforts to investigate Bigfoot sightings in Wyoming have evolved from individual pursuits to organized expeditions, drawing on the state’s remote terrain and cultural traditions. Biologists and enthusiasts focus on empirical proof, collecting plaster casts of tracks and analyzing hair samples for unknown primate markers.

Skepticism persists, but credible witnesses drive deeper searches in hot spots like the Wind River Range.

John Mionczynski, a naturalist and former U.S. Forest Service biologist, has been a pioneer in these investigations. After his 1972 encounter, he spent decades assessing habitats, food sources, and migration patterns. He interviewed over 25 witnesses, mapping credible cases across North America with primatologist Jeffrey Meldrum.

Their work rated sightings on reliability, identifying hundreds of valid reports. Mionczynski set camera traps and snared DNA, facing professional backlash but persisting in non-invasive methods. His plaster casts, up to 18 inches long, show dermal ridges not found in hoaxes.

The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO) has led multiple expeditions in Wyoming. The 2009 expedition, organized by investigator Brooke Raser, explored Carbon County areas with Class A encounters, using thermal imaging and footprint casting. Participants documented vocalizations and game trails, emphasizing SWF fundamentals—shelter, water, food.

The 2022 Wyoming Expedition targeted remote zones in Park County, identified via report patterns. Teams deployed trail cameras and recorded whoops, analyzing terrain for berry-producing plants and creek beds as travel corridors.

Local groups, including Wyomingites on social media platforms, organize field trips to the Bighorn Mountains and Bridger-Teton Forest. They employ wood knocks and baiting with apples to elicit responses, sharing findings in private forums.

Tribal communities on the Wind River Reservation collaborate, respecting Arapaho and Shoshone stories of hairy men as spiritual beings. Elders share oral histories linking sightings to warnings, while younger members use digital tools for documentation.

Amateur researchers like Corey Hahn venture into northern wilderness, photographing potential evidence amid rumors. Expeditions often face challenges from harsh weather and vast undeveloped lands, but discoveries like fresh tracks in snow bolster enthusiasm.

Cutting-edge tools, including drones and audio recorders, capture elusive sounds, debating whether they indicate live catch possibilities or fundamental mysteries.

These efforts blend science with adventure, attracting tourism through festivals and merchandise. Debates over hoaxes and misidentifications fuel rigorous protocols, ensuring investigations remain credible. As probability of proof grows, Wyoming’s investigations highlight the state’s role in cryptid lore, encouraging seekers to explore responsibly.

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1972 Wind River Mountains Sighting

The 1972 Wind River Mountains sighting remains one of the most detailed and credible Wyoming Bigfoot sightings, involving wildlife biologist John Mionczynski on a solo camping trip for bighorn sheep research. Alone in a remote valley, he awoke around midnight to rumbling sounds outside his tent. His pony, tethered nearby, spooked and broke free, heightening the tension in the moonlit night.

Mionczynski initially thought a bear was leaning on the tent pole, but peering out, he discerned a gorilla-like face with a flat nose and dark hair. The creature stood about 8 feet tall, its muscular build casting a massive shadow.

It pressed a large hand—twice the size of his own, with an opposable thumb—against the fabric. When he struck it with his rifle, the being retreated momentarily but returned, collapsing the tent structure.

For nearly two hours, the standoff continued. The creature threw pine cones at him and breathed slowly and deeply, exhibiting curiosity rather than aggression. Mionczynski, armed but composed, noted its lack of clothing and humanoid proportions. Eventually, it wandered into the woods, leaving him to ponder the event by a fire.

Upon returning to civilization, Mionczynski learned of similar incidents that summer. He collected hair from a related cabin event, analyzed as primate but not matching local species. Despite job threats, this encounter sparked his lifelong pursuit. He described the hand as “large, human-like with fingers,” and the breathing as “slow, deep, like a large animal observing.” His testimonial emphasizes the creature’s intelligence, noting it never attacked despite opportunity.

This case aligns with patterns in Bigfoot sightings in Wyoming, where entities interact curiously in remote habitats. Investigations revealed strategic terrain with plentiful food like berries and water from run-offs. Mionczynski’s account, free of embellishment, underscores the enigma, blending fear with fascination in Wyoming’s rugged wilderness.

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2007 Wind River Mountain Range Sighting

In May 2007, multiple sightings near the Wind River Mountain Range marked a spike in Wyoming Bigfoot sightings, reported by a 41-year-old witness and co-workers. The primary observer recounted a childhood encounter at age 15 during a blizzard near Crowheart, opening a gate when a tall, hairy figure crossed the road rapidly, staring directly and causing physical dread—hair standing, clammy hands, stomach flipping.

Recent events began with a broad daylight sighting discussed at a health fair, where a towering brown-furred entity crossed a field. A week later, a co-worker’s girlfriend and sister, driving midnight on a dirt road near a rodeo ground, illuminated a hairy giant in car lights. It stopped, turned to face them, blocking the path in an area with trees and no escape, evoking terror.

On May 30, the co-worker’s mother spotted something near their treed home, suggesting persistent presence. The witness hoped for camera phone capture, noting increasing reports— at least four—and cultural ties to bad omens like suicides. Elderly natives viewed it as spiritual, while youth shared openly.

BFRO investigator Brooke Raser verified through phone talks, finding mutual corroboration. The terrain offered cover with willows, streams, and irrigation, unaffected by drought, with vocalizations in nearby canyons. The witness stated, “It was huge, walking rapidly across the road, and looked right at me,” emphasizing validity.

This cluster highlights communal aspects in Bigfoot sightings in Wyoming, linking modern accounts to tribal lore. Food sources like squirrels and berries, plus reliable water, explain lingering. The incidents, spanning dark hours to daylight, fuel debates on migration and habitat use in Fremont County’s vast valleys.

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2008 Medicine Bow National Forest Sighting

The September 2008 Medicine Bow National Forest sighting, a Class A encounter, involved an anonymous female witness at an elk hunting camp near Encampment in Carbon County. At 5:30 AM dawn, with mid-30s temperatures and rising light, she awoke in the truck to see a black figure run between the tent and a vehicle for half a second—torso up, slender, about 5’8″-5’10”, no head-shoulder distinction like a hoodie.

Her husband, preparing in camo, moved sluggishly compared to the figure’s fluid speed. He left hunting; her brother arrived similarly dressed but slower. The camp had a fire ring, table, tent, and vehicles by pine-aspen trees, creek, and meadow. No theft occurred despite accessibility.

The previous day, alone with her dog, she felt watched; the outgoing dog stayed clingy amid bush rustling. Her father heard creek noises nightly, thinking porcupine. Wet ground from rain yielded no prints despite searches.

BFRO investigator Brooke Raser confirmed credibility, noting dog’s behavior and area’s wildlife suitability—turkeys, berries, water. The witness described, “What impressed me was the speed and smoothness; this thing was FAST.”

This case exemplifies Wyoming Bigfoot sightings in hunting zones, where agility and stealth suggest adaptation to game trails. The non-aggressive peek aligns with curiosity patterns, enriching cryptid debates in Wyoming’s forested environments.

Bigfoot Sightings vs Other Cryptid Sightings in Wyoming

Wyoming’s cryptid landscape extends beyond Bigfoot, encompassing diverse legends rooted in Native traditions and pioneer tales. The jackalope, a horned rabbit hybrid, originated in Douglas around the 1930s, with sightings in prairies often linked to taxidermy pranks but persisting in folklore as swift, elusive beings.

The Shunka Warakin, a hyena-like predator, surfaced in the 1880s near the Montana-Wyoming border in ranchlands. Described in Shoshone stories as fierce with dark fur and powerful jaws, a mounted specimen resides in a museum, fueling debates over extinct species.

The San Pedro Mountains Mummy, found in 1932 near Casper in Natrona County, was a tiny mummified humanoid with adult bones, sparking myths of Nimerigar—aggressive dwarfs in Pedro Mountains from Shoshone lore, said to attack with poisoned arrows.

DeSmet Lake Monster, reported since the 1800s in Sublette County, appears as a serpentine entity with humps creating waves in the lake, resembling plesiosaur descriptions in calm waters.

Unexplained events include UFO sightings over Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne since the 1950s, involving hovering lights and craft, sometimes tied to cattle mutilations. Ghostly apparitions at the Plains Hotel feature pioneer-era figures wandering halls, while Devil’s Gate near Independence Rock hosts whispers and shadows from Oregon Trail tragedies.

Potential links to Bigfoot sightings in Wyoming arise in misidentifications—glowing eyes from UFOs might mimic Sasquatch bioluminescence, or Nimerigar tales could represent juvenile Bigfoots. Overlapping habitats in remote mountains suggest shared territories, with howls attributed to multiple cryptids. Shunka Warakin aggression parallels some Sasquatch rock-throwing, hinting at interconnected folklore without proven ties, enriching Wyoming’s supernatural tapestry.

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Conclusion

Bigfoot sightings in Wyoming persist as captivating enigmas, weaving empirical evidence with cultural stories across the state’s rugged wilderness. From footprints in snow to guttural echoes in valleys, these accounts invite exploration of unknown frontiers. Ongoing efforts underscore the allure, blending skepticism with wonder.

Wyoming Bigfoot sightings reflect humanity’s fascination with mysteries in vast habitats. Whether primal survivors or collective illusions, they encourage respectful ventures into nature’s depths. As fresh reports surface, the Cowboy State endures as a cryptid haven, promising more revelations in its untamed landscapes.