There are a few reasons to head to Fairmount Park this winter season and brave the chilly weather for some fun times.
Beginning Jan. 14, and running until the end of next month (Feb. 26) the annual WinTOUR Scavenger Hunt will be in full swing. In total, there will be six missions released weekly on Mondays for different scavenger hunts that will be taking place at the iconic park, except for game launch on Jan. 14.
As a release states, the clues are essential for the “self-guided tour” component and they lead players through an area of the park like breadcrumbs, bringing each area to life with fun clues.
There are six areas of Fairmount Park that are locations for the hunt and will be fixtures separately each week: East River (Art Museum / Kelly Drive), West River (MLK Drive), Lower East Park (below Girard Avenue), Lower West Park (Centennial District, below Montgomery Drive), Upper East Park (above Girard Avenue) and Upper West Park (Belmont Plateau / Chamounix Drive, above Montgomery Drive).
While completing the missions, Philadelphians will get a unique trail of their own while exploring the 2,050 acres of trails, natural lands, historic landmarks, and public art of East and West Fairmount Park this winter.
And those who have set out on the hunt in years passed along with newbies will be able to check out a new promotion as well with “squirrel on the burl.” A burl is a mysterious large bump on a tree trunk and teams who are able to spot the hidden squirrel on the burl will win the top points for the week.
The release also states that each week, teams that complete all of the week’s missions will be entered in a random drawing to receive a prize, whether the team participates for one week or all six. For those who participate during all 6 weeks, the Conservancy will be offering prizes to the top three highest-scoring teams.
Fairmount Park Conservancy also sent out instructions on how to start the WinTOUR Scavenger Hunt. Head online to fill out a Google Form and receive the GooseChase game password at the end. Each participant on the team must fill it out to play and then if players don’t already have it yet, they can download the GooseChase app at goosechase.com/download.
When they open GooseChase, participants can search for “Fairmount Park” (and look for magnifying glass at top right to pull up the game search box), click on WinTOUR 2023 Scavenger Hunt in Fairmount Park, create a player profile, and enter the game password to start it.
The Park also urges participants to share any photos by tagging @myphillypark and using the hashtags #WinTOUR #fairmountparkscavengerhunt. For more information and updates, visit: myphillypark.org/
