Actually it wasn’t that long ago.  In 1854, a guide named James Perrott left a bottle in Dartmoor National Park in the south of England for visitors to leave cards.  From that “letterboxing” grew into a popular activity in which  visitors exchange cards in hidden boxes all over the world.

Questing is meant to be more educational than letterboxing, so Cuyahoga Valley National Park ranger Arrye Rosser decided to create quests beyond her park.

 “My goal is to get people circulating within the Canalway.  When I talk to people who quest they say they never would have gone to X place -  Glendale cemetery- fill in the blank had it not been for questing. “

There are now 25 quest locations along the Canalway.   Quests start with a series of rhyming clues printed on a brochure or online.  Here are a couple examples:

 A Canal Mule’s Quest 

Cast your eyes and find Rudy’s Rest.

This landmark is the starting point for a final test.

Remember the plank count? Pray for no mistakes!

The answer is the number of giant steps to take.

CVNP Visitors Ctr clues as haiku

Face the railroad tracks.

Go to the platform entrance.

Do not walk on wood.

Four steps left on grass.

First post anchors the platform,

treasure at the base.

Quest boxes are hidden on park trails, but also at historic downtown sites – an old bridge, a cemetery, a 200-year-old house.   

Individuals, couples, or even teams go hunting.  Inside the quest box they will find a water-proof container with a small booklet and an ink stamp.   They can stamp their own journal and sign the book or leave their own stamp.  Teams of rangers and volunteers create the quests and write the clues. 

Interpretive ranger Arrye Rosser says the park will be adding another five quests somewhere along the Ohio Canalway this fall.