Letterboxing
January 3, 2009 by AmyS
What is Letterboxing?
Letterboxing is an outdoor hobby that combines elements of orienteering, art and puzzle solving. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly-accessible places (like parks) and distribute clues to finding the box in printed catalogs, on one of several web sites, or by word of mouth. Individual letterboxes usually contain a logbook and a rubber stamp. Finders make an imprint of the letterbox’s stamp on their personal logbook, and leave an impression of their personal stamp on the letterbox’s logbook — as proof of having found the box. Many letterboxers keep careful track of their “find count”. ~Wikipedia
I cannot recommend this hobby more highly. The whole family can get involved, get exercise and enjoy the outdoors. You simply need a compass, a notebook, and an ink pad. Some of the letterboxes are easy to find and some have more complicated directions which require a compass.
The official Letterboxing website has a page that lists all the all the hidden letterboxes in your area. You simply search by city. There are 265 hidden letterboxes in my surrounding area, so this is an activity that we are sure to enjoy for many years to come!
My son reaching down into the crevice of a large rock to pull out the tupperware container that held the stamp and logbook.
Amy is a devoted wife, Classical homeschooling mom to a six-year-old Superhero and the co-owner of Heart of the Matter. She has a passion for genealogy and is aspiring to be a Proverbs 31 lady. Be sure to visit her blog at Milk and Cookies.
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Kathy on Sat, 3rd Jan 2009 1:27 pm
I couldn’t agree more! We love letterboxing and I love that it gets us out being active as a family. My girls (ages 5 and 7) have actually hiked up mountains and it was a sweet reward to find the letterbox at the top! I love that even when they might be tempted to say “I’m too tired to keep hiking” we can encourage them to keep going so we can find the ‘treasure’! It’s been a wonderful hobby for us … =)
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Dawn on Sat, 3rd Jan 2009 9:50 pm
We love letterboxing, too! Our homeschool group scheduled it for our mother/son outing two years ago.
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Misty (elvisgirl) on Sun, 4th Jan 2009 2:09 pm
I’ve read about this before in a local parenting magazine, but we’ve never tried it. Thanks for the reminder!
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Lesley on Sun, 4th Jan 2009 6:16 pm
We discovered Letterboxing last year, and we are hooked!! :0) It is a great way to get outside, and learn about the history of an area.
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Lilbear on Mon, 5th Jan 2009 7:32 pm
Yes, it’s a blast! We’ve especially enjoyed the letterboxes on DisneyWorld property. Employees are supposed to discard letterboxes they find there, so when we find one still hidden it’s that much more exciting! Ones at national parks are fun, too, as they tend to be historical and have something to do with the park itself. Have fun all you first-timers!
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Beth on Wed, 7th Jan 2009 8:14 am
Amy,
We have never heard of this before. Sounds like fun! Thanks for the info.
Beth
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