At the Exeter UFO Festival, Mom and Dad attended a talk by Ronny LeBlanc of the television series, Expedition Bigfoot, and author of the book, Monsterland. He shared his experiences living near the Leominster State Forest, in Massachusetts. Specifically he talked about his personal encounters with Bigfoot there, as well as his research into the long history of strange sightings in the woods of Leominster. And things are definitely strange there! He recounted numerous eyewitness accounts of Bigfoot, as well as UFOs and other paranormal events. Now for full disclosure, we have never watched LeBlanc’s tv show, nor read his book. However, we were intrigued by his presentation and decided to go for a hike at the Leominster State Forest in search of Bigfoot!
Consisting of 4,300 acres, the Leominster State Forest is huge and includes land in the Massachusetts towns of Leominster, Fitchburg, Princeton, Sterling, and Westminster. So needless to say, Bigfoot has a lot of places to hide. LeBlanc recommended visiting the Elm Street entrance, where the most sightings have occurred. On the September day we visited, we parked at the dirt lot on Elm street (1022-992 Elm St, Leominster, MA), and began our investigation after taking a copy of the trail map at the kiosk.
Due to the intricate network of trails, we initially decided to follow the wide main trail, and not the smaller paths. It didn’t take us long to find the slight rise on the trail where LeBlanc claimed in a YouTube video that Bigfoot was seen peeking from behind the trees. Could he have been watching us here? Maybe. But this is also where witnesses claimed Bigfoot turned invisible while crossing the path. For all we know he could have been posing with us!
Onward we hiked, until I spotted this strange footprint in the mud. Much too small to be Bigfoot’s, unless it was a baby. But it did remind Mom and Dad of something else LeBlanc said in his talk, which was the woods got eerily quiet when Bigfoot was present. Now that they mentioned it, it was quiet. We didn’t hear the usual rustling of squirrels in the leaves, and there was only a single crow squawking. A little unnerved, but determined, we continued.
Past wetlands, fields, and densely wooded sections we continued until we reached a wide crossroads, and paused for water. There we surveyed our surroundings in all directions, high and low.
Alright, I admit we were getting a little impatient. So we decided to leave the main trail and follow a smaller one to Rocky Pond. After all, if we were thirsty and needed a drink, maybe Bigfoot was too if he was following us? What better place to lure him out of hiding than at a pond! We didn’t find him, but we did find an old campfire. People aren’t allowed to have campfires here. Maybe we were on the trail of Bigfoot!
Rejuvenated by our find, we decided to leave the main trail again, and this time followed the “Spooky Trail.” After all, if you’re going to experience the paranormal in the Leominster State Forest, what better location than on a trail with that has spooky in the name!
It being more densely wooded, I decided to let Asa lead the way. After all, he was wearing tactical gear, is good at breaking the tension when meeting new friends with his knack for comic relief, and not to mention with Asa in the lead, it gave me a head start running if we had to turn around and flee.
Along the way, we paused to inspect signs that Bigfoot was in the area. These signs we learned from other paranormal shows that we have watched over the years. For example, some paranormal hunters claim that random broken trees and structures made from branches are signs from Bigfoot to stay away. This photo reminded Mom of another theory LeBlanc shared. He theorized that the reason photos of the elusive beast are always blurry is because Bigfoot gives off a special vibe or energy that affects cameras. Could that be why I’m blurry in this photo? Were we getting closer to finding him?
We hiked on, and soon found ourselves back at the main trail. After wandering through the woods for approximately two hours, we decided that Bigfoot was either feeling shy and therefore remaining invisible. Or he heard that I, the renowned Dog Ufologist, was visiting that day, and was hiding elsewhere in this massive state forest. Either way, we decided to call it a day and head home.
Is Bigfoot hiding at the Leominster State Forest? We don’t know. What we do know, is it’s a great place to go for a hike, with its easy to follow trails, and dogs are allowed there on leash. Oh and be sure to pick up after your pets, because Bigfoot doesn’t want to clean up after your visit! To learn more about visiting the Leominster State Forest, go to Mass.gov. To read more about Ronny LeBlanc’s research and to purchase his book, go to RonnyLeBlanc.com or watch his series Expedition Bigfoot.
