Encompassing most of the Southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains, Colorado’s remote wilderness areas remain largely uninhabited – except for the scattering of hikers and backpackers who traverse the area, exploring the beauty of Colorado’s immense natural environment. The area is a perfect habitat for Bigfoot and in fact, during the past 50 years, there have been hundreds of documented Bigfoot sightings in the wilderness areas of Colorado.
The Jim Holder Bigfoot sighting (Estes Park, Colorado, 2007)
Widely considered to be one of the top Bigfoot sightings of all time, in 2007, Jim Holder and his son, using the camera on his cellphone, captured on video what they believed to be a Bigfoot while walking in Estes Park, Colorado, a remote wilderness area on the northern edge of the Rocky Mountain National Park just northwest of Denver. The Estes Park Bigfoot encounter testimony and convincing video footage generated a flurry of excitement, and the story was published in many of Colorado largest newspapers.
Almost immediately, cries of “hoax” erupted from skeptics who claimed the creature’s penis could be seen in one of the video frames and that it appeared to be circumcised (later, scientists revealed that even an ape’s natural penis can appear to be circumcised, and we’re assuming the appendage could even been seen in the low-resolution smartphone video footage). As a result, the Holder family came forward and gave a public statement admitting that someone may have hoaxed them. Despite Holder previously noting he had heard a collection of bizarre noises just prior to the sighting and that they had been close enough to stare into the creature’s eyes, the family claimed that they were not a part of any hoax but recognized that they may have been tricked by someone else. Researchers continue to debate the case with many believing it to be the best evidence to date of Bigfoot’s existence.
Teenagers sight Bigfoot from a car (Weld County, Colorado, 1972)
One of the earliest recorded Colorado sasquatch sightings occurred in 1972 when several teenagers came forward claiming to have seen a strange biped creature while driving in their car. The carload of teenagers were goofing around, driving on rural roads in Weld County, Colorado (near the location of the later Estes Park sighting) in the darkness with their car headlights switched off. The teenagers filed a report noting what they saw when they flicked the headlights of their vehicle back on:
“Those of us in the front seat saw a huge beast coming up and out of a dry irrigation ditch. What I saw scared me beyond belief. It appeared to be a huge man with dark hair covering its body, and with a leathery face. We had obviously startled it too, because it stood still, its eyes wide and its mouth open, almost as if it was growling or screaming. At the time, we had not heard of Sasquatch, or if anyone had, it was not mentioned as a possibility.“
Teller County Mine Bigfoot sighting (Teller County, Colorado, 1970’s)
A sighting in Teller County, Colorado (near Colorado Springs, the location of several notable Bigfoot sightings) left a grown man in tears. A nephew of the man recalled seeing his uncle, who had just completed the nightly rounds in the Cripple Creek mine ponds to make sure all equipment was functioning properly, scramble into a secluded miner’s building, burst into tears, then calling his father from the cabin phone to report seeing “a creature larger than anything he’d ever seen before”.
“I was 13 at that time, and I had never seen or heard my uncle cry. I am 29 now and I have never seen or heard him cry since that time.”
The sighting so upset the man, to this day he refuses to discuss the encounter with researchers.
Four-wheeler Bigfoot chase (Bianca, Colorado, 2000)
On August 20, 2000, a teenager and his uncle spotted a creature that at first, they thought was a motionless log. In a secluded area near Bianchi, Colorado, they watched as a reddish-colored creature stood up, about 7-8 feet tall, and “walked like a man”. The two gave chase in their four-wheel-drive vehicle but were unable to track the creature.
“We had gone about a half a mile when my uncle and I both spotted something that looked like a dead, burned tree stump that was about 7 to 8 feet tall. We didn’t think too much of it until it moved. It stood upright and walked like a man. At first, we thought it was a hiker, but it was all the same color, from head to toe. It walked about 15 yards before it walked into the trees.”
Lost Creek Wilderness Area Bigfoot sighting (Park County, Colorado, 1971)
Possibly no area in Colorado has produced as many sightings as Park County, Colorado (especially in and around the city of Bailey). Located between Colorado Springs and Denver, there have been at least a dozen documented Bigfoot sightings in the vast Pike National Forest area. The earliest documented Park County sighting occurred early on a Sunday morning in April 1971 near the Lost Creek Wilderness Area. A man and his girlfriend were hiking the area when they spotted a Bigfoot creature bent over near a pond.
“At first we thought it was a bear, but when he stood up erect and looked at us, we knew it was not a bear. I don’t think I have ever felt fear like that day. The next two weekends we took several photographers up to Lost Creek and walked all over the area but found nothing.”
Reports of Vocalizations and physical evidence emerge – Bailey Bigfoot sighting (Bailey, Colorado, 2012)
During much of the 1990’s and early 2000’s, many reports of growling vocalizations and overpowering cries surfaced in and around the Pike National Forest in Park County. Occasionally tracks were even found. But no sign of a Bigfoot. Finally, on May 29, 2012, two women hiking in Pike National Forest near Bailey, Colorado came forth with a very convincing Bigfoot sighting.
The Bailey Bigfoot sighting occurred at approximately 7:30 PM on the evening of May 29, 2012. Kate Murphy and an unnamed neighbor were walking a path in the wilderness area near Bailey, Colorado, about a mile off US Highway 285, when they heard a loud tree branch snap off in the distance. As they turned their heads towards the noise, they saw an extremely large figure running through the woods a few hundred feet away. It was running incredibly fast, on two long hairy legs, with a very long stride. Neither of them could clearly see the top half of the body, but it appeared to have been leaning forward while running. Familiar with the area, they concluded it was not a deer, elk, bear or moose. The women noted that the creature’s stride was very long and that it had no problems navigating through the trees. The creature’s hair was dark with signs of graying throughout.
By 2012, Bigfoot research had become popular, and an experienced research team immediately descended on the area towing the two eyewitnesses in hand. Using precise positioning of the participants (both the two women and the unidentified creature) and advanced metering equipment, the researchers were able to determine that the creature, when bent over, was about 7’ 2” tall and situated about 75 yards from the eyewitnesses. They estimated that if the creature had stood upright, it would have been well over 9 feet tall in height.
The researchers combed the area and found several ground anomalies including odd depressions where the creature stood amongst the trees. Deep footprints were found embedded in the ground, measuring 22 inches long by 8 inches wide and spaced approximately 10 feet apart. They also found, and photographed, broken tree branches and felled trees along the path the creature took.
The convincing testimony of the two women along with the ample physical evidence obtained by researchers has made the Pike National Forest sighting one of the most popular bigfoot sightings to date.
