Punxsutawney Phil, as a Groundhog Day tradition, has been “around” since the late 19th century, with the first official celebration in Punxsutawney taking place in 1887.

Quick Scoop: How Long Has Phil Been Around?

  • The Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney was formally started in 1887, when locals began the organized annual trek to Gobbler’s Knob to consult a groundhog for a winter forecast.
  • Local lore pushes the idea back a bit further: there are references to people in the area using a groundhog for weather predictions as early as the 1840s, but that wasn’t yet the big public spectacle we know today.
  • According to the tradition’s own mythology, there has only ever been one Punxsutawney Phil, kept alive by a magical “elixir of life” given to him each year so he can keep predicting the weather indefinitely.
  • In reality, groundhogs live much shorter lives (typically well under 20 years), so multiple actual animals have filled the role while the name and character “Punxsutawney Phil” has been continuous since the 1800s.

So what’s the real answer?

  • If you mean the character/tradition “Punxsutawney Phil”: he’s been around for about 139 years, from 1887 up to Groundhog Day 2026.
  • If you mean the current physical groundhog : the exact age isn’t publicly precise, but folklore currently describes him as well over 130 thanks to the elixir story.

In other words, Punxsutawney Phil as a legend dates back to the 19th century, and the town has kept that same name and persona going every February 2 ever since.

TL;DR: Punxsutawney Phil, as a named weather-predicting groundhog tradition, has been around since 1887—over a century of shadow-spotting and “six more weeks of winter” predictions.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.