EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Beat the winter blues in West Michigan by solving clues that lead to a secret treasure stashed along a trail.
On Saturday, Trail Club, a local recreation collective, released a pair of puzzles, whose solutions reveal the location of a locked box and how to crack its code. The first person to the treasure can find a coin redeemable for $1,000 cash, along with other items.
"We can all go into hibernation mode in West Michigan," said Allie Walker, a spokesperson for Trail Club. "I promise you'll have more fun if you go outside."
The February hunt opened with a Sudoku, which— when solved— should have revealed the GPS coordinates of a treasure box, however the initial puzzle contained a "mistake," according to Trail Club, and was corrected.
In addition, a nature-based riddle clued toward the four-digit combination needed to unlock the box.
"This puzzle might be a little more challenging," Walker said, mentioning the level of difficulty would again increase in March. "Multiple steps."
While West Michigan boasts miles of trails, the secret spot will be somewhere within a 45-mile radius of Grand Rapids, Walker says, and only a few steps off a paved path, allowing for families with children to compete.
"Get a little bit of that fresh air," she said. "We all know we have this amazing nature around us, but lots of times we kind of think [only] about summer."
If participants find the treasure after the $1,000 coin has been claimed, they can still take a Trail Club sticker and post it to social media with the tag #trailclubtreasurehunt, earning themselves in a chance to win additional experiences.
The clues for next month's hunt will be released on Saturday, March 23 at 9:00 am and all boxes will be discoverable through April. For more information, visit the Trail Club website.
UPDATE: In an 8:15pm Facebook post on Saturday, Trail Club said the Treasure coin remained "UNFOUND."
