Small Fraser Valley village bets big on Sasquatch to attract visitors

Once a local Sts’ailes First Nation legend, Sasquatch has become one of Harrison Hot Springs’ biggest tourist draws in recent years. 

“What we’re hearing is that people are coming specifically for the Sasquatch,” said Bonnie Kent, Visitor Services Associate at Tourism Harrison. “I can tell you right off the bat that we are seeing as many people this year to date, so mid-July, as we did all of last year.” Kent said.

Located on the south shore of Harrison Lake, The Village of Harrison Hot Springs shares the more than 600 square kilometre area with the Sts’ailes First Nation, whose history dates back over 10,000 years. Harrison has been a vacation destination since 1886 and attracts more than 750,000 visitors each year. 

In consultation with the elders of the Sts’ailes First Nation community, Kent said Robert Reyers, the previous executive director of Tourism Harrison believed Sasquatch could be used to attract visitors to the area while simultaneously learning about the true history of the land.

Kent explains the Sasquatch is part of the Sts’ailes spirit world and is seen not as an animal, but as a different form of human. Eventually the Sasquatch died out and went up to the spirit world and now the Sts’ailes people draw strength and wisdom, seeing Sasquatch as a protector of the land who has the ability to manifest in the human realm at will. 

Sasq’ets – hairy man 

In the 1930’s, J.W. Burns, a school teacher and Indian agent who was responsible for implementing government policy on First Nation reserves by managing their day-to-day affairs. Burns coined the term Sasquatch, which was based on the Sts’ailes word Sasq’ets, meaning hairy man or wild man. 

According to Kent, the term was used to describe the giant creatures spotted throughout B.C. which brought an “accidental cultural exploitation” to the Sts’ailes people.

“[Burns] had no intention of doing that type of thing [accidental cultural exploitation] to the people of Sts’ailes,” said Kent. “I don’t think without his involvement they would ever have actually brought this spiritual part of their history into the open.”

Harrison is home to several Sasquatch themed stores along the updated waterfront and hosts events like the annual Sasquatch Days Festival in late June, Erinn Kredba, interim executive director for Tourism Harrison said. 

“Attendance was excellent, and I think we did see an increase in visitors to the Sasquatch Museum.”

In 2024, the visitor centre moved to its current location at 499 Hot Springs Road which allowed for the expansion of the Sasquatch museum and created a “better experience” according to Kredba.

“We’re also a visitor center; we have people who maybe start here coming for just a little bit of information, but as soon as they can see into this next area, then their curiosity is peaked, and so we’re converting people to come and learn a little bit more,”said Kredba.