WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — An Upper Valley scavenger hunt program is celebrating its 30th anniversary this summer.
Valley Quest was founded in 1996 by Vital Communities, a White River Junction-based nonprofit organization that was founded in 1993 and supports transportation, farming and food-based programs — among others — throughout the Upper Valley.
Delia Clark, the nonprofit’s founding executive director, and program manager Steve Glazer were looking for ways to encourage residents to learn more about the Upper Valley and form deeper community connections, said Gabrielle Ratté Smith, a special projects manager at Vital Communities who has overseen the Valley Quest program since 2021.
“The goal really was to create clue-based exploration that would encourage people to either discover new places in the Upper Valley or see familiar places with new eyes and a new perspective,” Smith said in a phone interview.
The pair came up with an idea to create a series of free scavenger hunts in which a series of clues would guide people to a hidden treasure box. Each clue tells participants a little bit more about the area and allows them to connect with others who had been there before.
“It’s always kind of fun to seek it out and find this box in what might seem like a wild place,” said Smith.
Each box — which is “maybe half the size of a shoebox” — also includes a logbook (with a writing implement) that those who had previously completed the quest could sign and add observations, Smith said. There’s also a stamp and ink pad that people can use to put in their own so-called Quest Books to track the Valley Quests they’ve been on throughout the region.
In 1996, Valley Quest premiered with a booklet of 16 quests. Now there are about 120 spread across 30 towns, Smith said. Each quest generally includes between 10 and 30 clues that are multiple sentences long. They also take on different themes from history to architecture to nature.
“There’s so much around us and hidden in places often right in front of us we don’t think to look at when we’re walking around town or visiting a park or walking along a waterway,” Smith said. The majority take people to outdoor locations while others go to area organizations, like libraries.
More than 40 volunteers keep track of the lock boxes. Their tasks include putting the boxes out before the start of the May 30 questing season and taking them in Nov. 15 when the season ends.
“As people are exploring different programs like Valley Quest they really begin to see the Upper Valley as their home,” Smith said. “Once you start to do that you can begin to sort of choose your own adventure and discover what you and your family love to do and continue to do those things outside of Valley Quest.”
Valley Quests are created by organizations, individuals and even school classes, where educators incorporate their creations into their lessons, she said. The majority are take less than 1½ hours.
A good Valley Quest is “engaging, interesting and easy to follow,” Smith said. Anyone can make one and Smith works with people to develop clues that are clear. When the person has completed a draft of a quest, Smith tries it out herself before it’s released to the greater public.
She also checks in on older quests and has archived some, if, for example, they lead to something that no longer exists, Smith said. Other quests have been shelved for safety reasons such as if a bridge collapses.
Noting that many of those who go on Quests are families with younger children, or grandparents who take their grandchildren, Smith said, “I would never want someone to plan an outing with their kids … and find out this Quest isn’t any good. What’re the odds you’re going to take another quest? Not great.”
Over time, the Quests transitioned from a booklet to Vital Communities’ website, where people can access the collection via a map. Each Valley Quest includes a difficulty level based on the length and terrain, an estimated completion time, directions and suggested supplies Questers should bring, such as binoculars. People can print the Quests off Vital Communities’ Valley Quest web page or download them as a pdf on their phones.
Vital Communities will have multiple events celebrating Valley Quest’s 30th anniversary. The first is scheduled to take place from 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at AVA Gallery and Art Center, located at 11 Bank St. in Lebanon, and includes going with a group on two Valley Quests located near Colburn Park. The anniversary celebrations also include a Super Quest — which encourages people to form teams and complete 10 to 30 quests before the end of the season and win prizes — with a “Clues to Connection” theme.
Five Valley Quests to try
Smith compiled this list of five of her favorite quests. Information about them — including a list of clues — can be found at vitalcommunities.org/quests.
- “Secrets of Tucker Mountain,” Newbury, Vt.
- “Pinnacle Hill,” Lyme.
- “Paradise Park,” Windsor.
- “Haverhill Corner,” Haverhill.
- “Lovely Looks of Lebanon,” Lebanon.
For more information about Valley Quest, email Smith at gabrielle@vitalcommunities.org.
