How a northern Minnesota town became known as the "Home of Bigfoot"

REMER, Minn. — Just under 400 people live in the town of Remer, and one resident in particular is considered a celebrity.

"In our area, if you walk anywhere off-road up here, the woods are deep and dark. If you walk 100 yards you can't see back where your car is," said Marc Ruyak.

The town of Remer is surrounded by hundreds of acres of woods and marshes. A perfect place for squirrels, deer, bears and maybe even Bigfoot.

"This town was founded in the early 1900s and there were sightings all the way back to then," said Ruyak.

In 2009, a trail camera near Remer captured what looked like a real-life sasquatch. Fake or not, it gave life-long resident Ruyak an idea.

"I trademarked the town as the 'Home of Bigfoot.' And we began to take away the stigma."

About half the town loved the idea, the other half thought it was a little hairy. But in 2016, Remer's first-ever Bigfoot Days drew thousands of people. After that, Bigfoot could be found everywhere. Bigfoot cut-outs are on nearly every street corner.

There's a gas station called Bigfoot Gas and Gifts. And other businesses have embraced the beast. Even the Woodsman Café sells Bigfoot burgers and Bigfoot hashbrowns.

"Trust me, the Bigfoot hashbrowns? Bigfoot would be satisfied with them. It's a big meal," said Ruyak.

But he really has his footprint on Bigfoot Days. That's when they have the Bigfoot Olympics, Bigfoot Bar B Que and perhaps the most important event — storytelling time. Hundreds of people have an open mic to talk about their experiences with sasquatch himself.  

"We've had 70- to 80-year-old people who have never told their story in their whole life stand up and start crying when they tell this story that happened when they were 13 years old and scared them to death," said Marc.

The sightings, the folklore and even the mystique around town have also drawn Bigfoot research teams to Remer.

"I was just talking with a gentleman prior to you guys coming up, who was telling me about his sighting last year," said Abe Del Rio.

Twenty-four years ago, Abe founded the Minnesota Bigfoot Research Team. He enjoyed studying primates and was inspired by the famous 1967 Patterson footage captured in California.

"We bring our equipment, night vision, thermal imaging, long range hearing devices, we go out there and use every technique to try and gain communication with these creatures," said Del Rio. "Remer has everything that a Bigfoot requires. Food, shelter and habitat, it's the perfect location."

Del Rio said there are about five or six alleged sightings a year near the town, which is why he keeps coming back, though he's yet to see one up close.

Ruyak is more skeptical and not entirely a believer. But he loves what the legend is doing for his town. Guestbooks show people coming from across the world to investigate. Real or not, Bigfoot is putting Remer on the map.

"If you are at all around the world, interested in Bigfoot, there's one place to come and it's Remer, Minnesota," said Ruyak.

Bigfoot Days is July 5 and 6 in Remer. During this year's celebration, the town will be putting up a 25-foot-tall Bigfoot statue on the edge of town.