For the passed three or four years, my mother and I have signed up for the Summer Letterbox Adventure through Preservation Parks. We never complete it. This year, though, we will. We are out for stamps and lots of hikes in the woods.
The Summer Letterbox Adventure was designed by Preservation Parks to expose the community to their parks. Believe me, they are worth your while to check out. Some of the parks are closer to Columbus and others require a little drivetime into the Delaware County area. The parks are just beautiful, and many offer bird viewing areas, nice trails to hike, creeking for water play, picnic benches for lunch, and all have nice bathroom facilities. This year, too, they have created natural play areas for the kiddos – super fun and engaging. Growing up, I remember most of my time was outside, creating fun with things I’d find in the woods or along the riverbank. I was always filthy and starving from running around outside all day.
The Summer Letterbox Adventure was designed by Preservation Parks to expose the community to their parks. Believe me, they are worth your while to check out.
For this letterbox adventure, you need to go to one of the Delaware libraries and sign up. They have a booklet with all of the letterbox parks and clues to find them. Each park in the booklet is listed and there is a map and addresses to make it easy to find them. In the letterboxes, there is a stamp kids use to stamp their booklet (this proves they found it), a log for them to sign, and a piece of nature. The first one we found had a tiny rodent skull.
So you know, this is far easier then geocaching…especially if you have young children. The booklets contain clues that kids can read and easily follow the directions. I find that geocaching can take a much longer time and cause a bit of frustration, plus for a decent app it costs money. I like things that are free.
This was at Gallant Farm, which is a replica of a farm that families would have lived in during the Great Depression and WWII. You can tour the home and barns, but be sure to check their hours.
Anyhoo – check it out. Even if you do not complete it, it is fun to do a few of the parks. Here is a link for more information: Summer Letterbox Adventure and here is a list containing some of the parks you visit: Parks Map.
So you know, this is far easier then geocaching…especially if you have young children.
What to bring:
- Water
- Bug spray
- Lunch or snacks
- Change of clothes if you think the kids will want to get in the water
- Sunscreen
- Camera
- Nature journal or collection box if your child keeps one. A friend recently told me about her daughter collecting things and keeping them in a Pringles can. Cute!!
- Letterbox booklet
- Money for ice cream…well…that may just be us…
