The Wisconsin Bigfoot Map: Tracking Sightings From 1867 to Today
A deep dive into 100+ reported Bigfoot encounters, mapped and analyzed for patterns, clusters and folklore connections.
After many hours spent virtually traversing the back roads of Wisconsin, matching witness testimony with terrain, I'm pleased to announce the release of the Wisconsin Bigfoot Map. View it here!
Compiled in Google Maps, the interactive map plots over 100 locations of reported Bigfoot sightings across the Badger State, with the earliest sighting dating back to 1867.
Each point includes a link to the original report and/or cites the author, book title and page number where the report is sourced. I have tried to plot each point as close to where the witnesses claim their encounter happened, obfuscating locations near homes and private land. In some instances where locations were vague or have significantly changed over time, points may be great approximations or merely dropped within the borders of a present-day location.
The points are labeled by the month and year a sighting occurred when applicable. If a witness only noted a season, I labeled it as the middle of that season (January, April, July, October) for consistency. When no month or season was included in a report, the map simply lists the year. In some cases, authors wrote of sightings in an area that spanned years or cited Native folklore, which the map notes accordingly (Bluff Monster Sightings, for example).
The map is an aggregation of data collected by researchers and journalists. I have done no original investigative work outside of researching and determining where sightings likely took place. Truthfully, Bigfoot as anything other than a cultural phenomenon and folkloric entity pushes my Boggle-Threshold. I do plan to keep the map updated as I uncover or hear of new sightings. For example, I have not done a deep dive in newspaper archives for the map yet.
Special thanks to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO), authors Chad Lewis, Linda Godfrey, Richard Hendricks and Jerome Clark, as well as the many newspapers whose reporting made this project possible.
The Data
What spurred this endeavor was a BFRO report from Iowa County that I came across while researching the Mineral Point Vampire. The witness in that report said they see Bigfoot at the same time each year and suggested it was because they migrate. Intrigued by the notion of migratory Bigfoot, I figured the only way to determine this was to plot sightings.
Below is a breakdown of sightings by month and the region of the state in which they took place.
As you can see, nothing indicates that the witness is correct in thinking that Bigfoot migrates around Wisconsin. Sightings are mainly concentrated in the northern portions of Wisconsin, and often, southern sightings coincide with northern ones.
However, two interesting things jump out to me when looking at the data this way. Firstly, almost all August sightings occurred near the state's eastern border. This is the only time when sightings were distributed in such a way. Secondly, between March and April, there is a cluster of sightings between Granton and Black River Falls.
When examining the data by year, 2012 had the most sightings. The most recent sighting took place in 2023. A breakdown of that data is below.
Take Aways
Aside from the couple of highlights mentioned above, I find a few more things interesting from the map.
For those readers familiar with the infamous Elmwood, Wisconsin and its long history of ufological high strangeness, there is one report from the area, with a few more to its north.
While the idea of migratory Bigfoot from the Iowa County witness seems incorrect, there is a cluster of sightings in the Iowa County area, all of which occur between September and November. For those unfamiliar with Iowa County and the region's high strangeness, it is home to the Mineral Point Vampire and, most famously, the Ridgeway Ghost. The county also lies in the unique Driftless Area. So, sporting a cluster of Bigfoot is par for the folkloric course of this region.
Unsurprisingly, most sightings occur in the Northwoods of Wisconsin around hunting season. However, the southern part of the state also has its fair share of sightings. I would be remiss not to call attention to the singular sighting from the state's capitol, Madison. The sighting took place on Lake Mendota in January and aligns well with the lake's other stories of high strangeness, which include a lake monster, UFOs, effigy mounds and more.
But that's just what jumps out to me. What do you see, dear reader? I would be very interested in your interpretation of the data and what intrigues you on the map. Please write to me here with what you see or if you have a report to include on the map.