Visiting a new city can be daunting. With so much to do and see, determining what attractions and areas to visit can take up a good chunk of your vacation time.
A new online company is making exploring cities across the U.S. and around the world easier and more fun with the help of organized scavenger hunts.
Denver-based company Let’s Roam offers individuals, couples and families the opportunity to take part in app-led scavenger hunts in more than 400 locations — including Greeley.
The hunts are comprised of questions, facts and photo challenges all completed through an app on your phone. As participants follow the path, they complete the challenges and games along the way.
“By the end of the scavenger hunt, you have a catalogue of photos that are really, really fun,” co-founder Charlie Harding said. “You get a great experience, and on top of it, you learn about hidden treasures that are in these cities.”
Learn more about Let’s Roam scavenger hunts on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eghG6Nu9kW8.
Some cities have different versions of scavenger hunts such as a haunted hunt, a bar crawl hunt or an art-focused hunt.
If you’re not up to getting outside but want to explore from the comfort of your couch while rocking your pajamas, there are virtual options for that as well.
The in-home scavenger hunts allows families and couples to turn their home into a world of adventure through activities, challenges and questions.
In-home scavenger hunts are tailored for all ages from as young as 3 years old and include a variety of subjects such as math, science, animals and writing.
Couples can do an at-home date night that features romantic and fun challenges and questions.
“We reached out to school teachers and they helped us write scavenger hunts that help inspire learning and creativity and all these different things for children,” Charlie Harding said. “And then you have the date ones that were written by couples who have been dating for a long time.”
The cost for the outdoor or indoor scavenger hunts is $39.99 for 1-2 players and $59.99 for up to six players. Each player will be given a specific role in the activity.
The company also offers annual pass options for $69.99 for 1-2 people and $79.99 for up to six people. This option allows pass holders to complete as many hunts as often as they like.
There is also an option for virtual game nights that brings together families and friends from different cities for a fun night of competition.
Pricing for game nights is $39.99 for one game or $79.99 for a season pass.
Let’s Roam was founded by Charlie Harding and his brother Mike Harding.
“I always knew I wanted to make games for people,” Charlie Harding explained. I just never realized I would make such interactive fun games that are online, virtual and in your city too.”
The concept of the scavenger hunts is based off of the brother’s time attending art festivals with their dad.
“He would give us each a dollar, and I think he still owes me dollars, for every time we found whatever item in art,” Charlie Harding said. “And that’s kind of like the first scavenger hunt we did as kids. We wanted to take that creativity that allowed us to see the world and have fun with it and make it possible for families.”
The brothers designed their first scavenger hunt when Charlie was in 5th grade, and, while they worked on the concept over the years, it wasn’t until four years ago that the two decided to focus their full attention to growing the company.
“We saw the opportunity and people were really excited to do activities outside and we had a great idea,” Charlie Harding said. “They could see all the hidden gems in each city, find little neat tricks and all the things that might interest people. It is great for families and dates.”
The company’s first scavenger hunt featured St. Louis, Mo. Mike Harding walked around the city looking for the best landmarks, crafting games and gathering historical information.
While the company offers hunts in a variety of small, medium and large cities like Boston; Palm Springs, California; and Melbourne, Australia, it recently added Greeley to the list.
“Being a Colorado company, we really wanted to get those mountain towns and all those different areas out there,” he said. “Greeley is small, but it’s not lacking any historical significance. It’s a really cool city, and we are encouraging people to get out of their comfort zone and make a trip to Greeley and other cities out that way.”
The company worked with the Downtown Development Authority to come up with locations for the hunt.
“They have writers that will just use the Internet to find things and write the hunts without even going to the cities,” Alison Hamling, director of Experience for the Downtown Development Authority said. “But I wanted ours to feature some cool downtown stuff, so with some guidelines from them, they pretty much let me pick out the route and most of the points of interest, and their writing team took it from there. Their writers are so good that even I had trouble finding the clues to answer some of the questions.
The Greeley scavenger hunt begins at Meeker’s: A Colorado Kitchen and Bar at 919 7th St. and takes participants to a variety of historical and unique places around the city. The hunt is about an hour and a half to two hours long and covers around a 1.15-mile radius.
“It’s such a fun way to learn about the art and historical places you probably pass almost every day. There’s a friendly competition aspect too,” Hamling said. “I would recommend doing one at every new city you visit if they have one there. All you need is fully charged cell phones. You go to the app and purchase your team tickets and then start whenever you’re ready.”
To learn more about Let’s Roam, or to purchase scavenger hunt tickets or annuals passes, go to www.letsroam.com.
The company’s newest venture is “Adventures From Scratch” books in family and couples editions.
Participants scratch off areas in the book to uncover fun and surprising challenges.
Check out this YouTube video about “Adventures From Scratch” books.
The books offer couples and families the opportunity to take part in more than 50 challenges. Adventure categories include exploring, creating, spreading joy, cooking, moving and more with some challenges taking around 15 minutes and others taking all day.
The books retail for $39.99 each or you can choose the book and an annual scavenger hunt pass for $99.99.
For more information on “Adventures From Scratch” books or to purchase a book, go to www.adventuresfromscratch.com.
