Expedition Bigfoot: Inside TV’s High-Tech Hunt for Sasquatch

For decades, Bigfoot has loomed large in North American folklore—a towering, hair-covered, human-like creature said to roam the forests of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Sightings, blurry photos and footprint casts have inspired books, podcasts and countless campfire stories. In 2019, the Travel Channel (now under the broader Discovery umbrella) launched “Expedition Bigfoot,” a reality-style docuseries that uses technology, data analysis and a dedicated research team to try to track the legendary creature in real time. (travelchannel.com)

The show has now run for six seasons (2019–2025), following the team across Oregon, California, Kentucky and Washington as they comb vast stretches of wilderness for any sign of an undiscovered primate. (TVGuide.com)

This article breaks down what Expedition Bigfoot is, who’s on the team, how their investigations work, the kind of evidence they claim to find, and how all of that lines up with mainstream scientific views on Bigfoot.

What Is Expedition Bigfoot?

Expedition Bigfoot is a reality-adventure series that blends cryptozoology, survival TV and forensic investigation. Each season follows an “elite team of Sasquatch specialists” who set out on a multi-week expedition into remote North American forests. Their stated goal is to use data and modern tools to narrow down when and where they’re most likely to encounter Bigfoot. (TVmaze)

According to official descriptions from Travel Channel and Discovery, the team feeds five decades of reported Bigfoot sightings into an advanced algorithm. The software identifies “hot zones” and specific time windows where sightings cluster. The investigators then set up a mobile base camp inside that region and spend several weeks hiking, camping and conducting night-time surveillance. (TVmaze)

Over the course of six seasons, the show has featured expeditions in:

Central Oregon – the setting of Season 1, chosen because more than 1,800 Bigfoot reports have been logged there over the last 50 years. (The Source – Bend, Oregon)
Appalachia (including Kentucky) – where the team followed an uptick in sightings in heavily forested, mountainous terrain. (Bigfoot Society)
Northern California – long considered a classic Bigfoot hotspot and the focus of Season 5’s “Breeding Ground” storyline. (travelchannel.com)
Washington State – the primary setting of Season 6 (2025), where new leads point to a canyon system the team nicknames “The Fork.” (travelchannel.com)

The series airs on Travel Channel and Discovery-branded outlets and streams on Discovery+ and other platforms in various regions. (Discovery Channel)

Meet the Expedition Bigfoot Team

Part of the show’s appeal is its mix of personalities and backgrounds. The core team includes:

Dr. Mireya Mayor – Primatologist
Often described in promos as a “female Indiana Jones,” Mayor is a trained primatologist and National Geographic explorer who has led fieldwork on rare primates, including co-discovering a mouse lemur species in Madagascar. On Expedition Bigfoot, she lends scientific expertise on animal behavior, habitat and physical evidence such as hair and scat. (Rotten Tomatoes)
Bryce Johnson – Expedition Operations / Researcher
An actor and host of the Bigfoot Collectors Club podcast, Johnson coordinates much of the logistics, interviews witnesses and explains the data-driven approach to viewers. (Rotten Tomatoes)
Russell Acord – Ex-military survivalist and tracker
Acord is a former U.S. Marine and outdoorsman who has written about Bigfoot and frequently appears at Sasquatch conferences. On the show he leads deep-woods scouting, rappels into canyons and builds bushcraft traps and alarms around camp. (Rotten Tomatoes)
Ronny LeBlanc – Bigfoot researcher and author (earlier seasons)
LeBlanc, known from Finding Bigfoot and his books on the subject, appeared as the team’s dedicated Bigfoot investigator in earlier seasons before moving on to other projects. (Rotten Tomatoes)
Ryan “RPG” Golembeske and Biko Wright – Field investigators
Additional team members and guest investigators, including survivalist Biko Wright in Season 6, join the main trio in tracking footprints, tree structures and unusual heat signatures. (Rotten Tomatoes)

The mix of academic science, wilderness skills and fan-level enthusiasm is designed to make the team feel both credible and relatable to viewers.

Tools and Techniques: How the Show Hunts for Bigfoot

Rather than simply wandering the woods, Expedition Bigfoot emphasizes a tech-forward, methodical approach. Across episodes the team uses:

Data algorithms to map and time-stamp thousands of historical sighting reports, then generate probability maps for target regions. (TVmaze)
Thermal imaging cameras to scan hillsides and tree lines at night for large, heat-emitting figures.
Audio recorders and parabolic microphones to capture howls, knocks and other sounds that might represent vocalizations or communication knocks often attributed to Bigfoot enthusiasts. (Live Science)
Drones and night-vision gear to quickly survey difficult terrain like canyons, rivers and dense timber. (The Source – Bend, Oregon)
Footprint casting and eDNA sampling, collecting soil, hair and other trace materials at potential nest sites or print locations for later laboratory analysis. (Tetrapod Zoology)

Episodes often feature the team splitting up: one group hiking deep into remote drainages, another interviewing local witnesses, while a third monitors cameras and sensors back at base camp. Suspense builds as alarms trip, strange howls echo or large heat signatures appear on screen.

Season Highlights and Locations

Although each season follows a similar structure—a multi-week expedition with mounting discoveries—there are some distinct storylines:

Season 1 – Oregon Hot Zone

The debut season sends the team into roughly 90,000 acres of central Oregon forest, identified by their algorithm as having an unusually high cluster of Bigfoot reports over 50 years. (The Source – Bend, Oregon)

Key moments include:

Mysterious vocalizations recorded at night
Large, human-like footprints in remote mud flats
Unusual nest-like structures made of woven branches

Subsequent Seasons – Expanding the Search

In later seasons, the team follows evidence and new data to:

Southeastern Kentucky and other Appalachian areas, where a wave of fresh reports and historic tales of “wild men” suggest a long-term presence. (Bigfoot Society)
Northern California (Season 5), in episodes like “Breeding Ground,” where they investigate the idea that Bigfoot may congregate in specific regions to raise young. (travelchannel.com)
Washington State (Season 6), a state with many modern Sasquatch reports, where episodes show the team exploring a rugged canyon system nicknamed “The Fork,” rappelling down cliffs, navigating whitewater and discovering tree structures and alleged tracks. (travelchannel.com)

Across all seasons, the show emphasizes continuity: new evidence from one expedition is compared with previous seasons’ recordings, casts and samples to build what the team calls a growing “evidence package.” (Willamette Week)

What Kind of Evidence Does Expedition Bigfoot Present?

Fans tune in partly to see what the team might uncover next. The show has highlighted:

Footprints and trackways – Large, barefoot impressions with visible toe marks, often found in mud or riverbanks and cast in plaster.
Possible hair samples – Collected from branches or nest sites and occasionally sent to labs for DNA analysis.
Nest-like structures – Large ground nests woven from branches, which some researchers compare to great ape nests. (MeatEater)
Thermal silhouettes – Heat signatures on thermal cameras that appear tall, bipedal and moving through forest cover at night. (Live Science)
Audio recordings – Howls, whoops and wood knocks said to differ from known wildlife calls. (MeatEater)

The team often describes individual finds as “compelling” rather than definitive, framing each season as another step toward solving the mystery rather than delivering ultimate proof.

How Does Science View Bigfoot and the Show’s Evidence?

Mainstream biology and zoology remain highly skeptical of Bigfoot claims. Several broad reviews of physical and DNA evidence conclude that there is no credible, peer-reviewed proof of an unknown North American primate:

A detailed review of six major DNA studies found that alleged Sasquatch samples were either human, known animals (like bears, deer and dogs) or too degraded to be informative. (Idaho State University)
Paleontology and zoology articles note that no verified bones, teeth or clear bodies have ever been produced, despite decades of searching and hundreds of reported sightings. (Tetrapod Zoology)
Many “Bigfoot” hair samples tested by independent labs turn out to belong to bears, cows, horses and other common mammals. (Southern Style Sweet Tees)

Skeptical commentators argue that shows like Expedition Bigfoot can unintentionally blur the line between entertainment and science, since they often highlight unexplained anomalies without the kind of rigorous peer review normally applied to scientific discoveries. At the same time, even critical articles note that the program does attempt to structure its searches more systematically than earlier, purely anecdote-driven Bigfoot hunts. (Live Science)

In short, no piece of evidence from the series has been accepted by mainstream science as proof that Bigfoot exists. But for many viewers, the show is less about certification and more about the thrill of the chase and the possibility that something unknown might still be out there.

Why Expedition Bigfoot Has Found an Audience

Even people who aren’t convinced Bigfoot is real often enjoy Expedition Bigfoot for several reasons:

Adventure and atmosphere – The series is shot in dramatic landscapes: misty Oregon forests, steep Washington canyons, and remote California ridgelines. The visual style leans into suspense without relying on gore or shock, keeping it family-friendly. (Live Science)
Character chemistry – The interplay among the team—Mayor’s scientific caution, Acord’s military pragmatism, Johnson’s enthusiasm and the contributions of rotating field specialists—gives the show a personality beyond the monster itself. (Rotten Tomatoes)
Tech and “forensic” vibe – Viewers who like gadgets and investigative work appreciate the use of algorithms, trail cameras, thermal scopes and eDNA, even if they remain skeptical about Bigfoot. (TVmaze)
The enduring mystery – Bigfoot remains one of the most famous cryptids in the world. The series taps into that cultural fascination, offering new stories, eyewitness accounts and “what if” scenarios each season. (Wikipedia)

Where the Series Stands Now

As of early 2026, Expedition Bigfoot has aired six seasons and more than 60 episodes, with TV-tracking sites listing it as a “returning series,” though no official premiere date for a potential Season 7 has been publicly confirmed. (TVGuide.com)

The franchise has also inspired active online communities, podcasts, watch parties and debates about the evidence shown on screen. Some fans treat it as serious field research; others simply enjoy it as spooky outdoor entertainment.

Whether or not the team ever captures that definitive footage or specimen, Expedition Bigfoot has become a central part of modern Bigfoot pop culture—bridging the gap between ghost-hunting style TV and more data-driven wildlife documentaries, all while keeping the legend of Sasquatch very much alive in the public imagination.