Bigfoot Museum – Anything but Boring

There is a quaint little museum located just off U.S. Highway 26 in the town of Boring, a few minutes from the Mt. Hood Community College campus. But it just isn’t any ordinary museum – it’s one that focuses on the Pacific Northwest’s most famous cryptid: Welcome to the North American Bigfoot Center.

The Center, run by Cliff Barackman and his wife, Melissa, opened back in 2019. Cliff is one of the hosts of Animal Planet’s “Finding Bigfoot” series. The show focuses on a team of researchers investigating evidence about Bigfoot, wherever it may be found.

As you enter the building, you are greeted by the gift shop, with the exhibit halls located at the back. General admission to the latter is $8, $6 for seniors, children and veterans. The gift shop has hundreds of different bigfoot-themed items for sale, ranging from pins and postcards, to casts of a bigfoot footprint.

Upon entering the exhibit halls, you are greeted by “Murphy,” a life-sized sasquatch replica. You will find dozens of different displays, loaded with information about Bigfoot (and similar “apeman”-like creatures reported wide and far). Exhibits highlight the different sightings of Bigfoots around the world, like the Yeren, located in China, or the Yowie, reported in Australia.

Some of the other exhibits go in-depth about specific incidents, such as U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt’s story about The Bauman Incident in 19th century Montana. There are even entire exhibits about specific handprints and footprints that have been found.

The museum isn’t just a bunch of text on the wall. It is jam-packed with historical artifacts, videos, memorabilia, art, and more. Some exhibits feature interactive elements; you can listen to Bigfoot’s calls, or further investigate footprint casts.

Toward the rear of the exhibits is the Boggy Creek Theater. The small room is filled with memorabilia from various Bigfoot shows and movies and has benches where visitors can stop to watch a TV screen that plays some of these shows and movies.

Overall, The North American Bigfoot Center is a fun little museum that will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about Bigfoots.