Questing was born out of a 150-year old tradition in the region surrounding Dartmoor National Park in southwest England. "Letterboxing," as this tradition is called, has become a hugely popular past time, with thousands of boxes hidden in both natural and cultural locations.

Vital Communities built upon this tradition on this side of the Atlantic by developing the Valley Quest program. In the early to mid-1990s, Vital Communities was concerned about the future of the Upper Valley region, and was hoping to develop a program that might: (a) foster sense of place; (b) strengthen relationships between schools and the natural and cultural heritage of their communities; (c) build bridges across the generations, partnering children with community adults and civic groups; and (d) build relationships between new-comers and old timers. 

The result was Valley Quest, with “Valley” referring to our place and “Quest” referring to a treasure hunt—made by children and adults working together—leading to a treasure in the community.  This treasure might be a natural site (wetland, town forest) or perhaps a cultural site (abandoned mill site, historic cemetery, etc.).  Each Quest would be made up of three parts: clues, which teach visitors how to see—or read—a community story; a map guiding them along a specific route; leading to a particular “treasure” and treasure box, complete with a story about the site, a sign-in book, and a hand-carved stamp featuring a symbol for the site. 

Over time, the Valley Quest program has grown. More than 1,500 children, adults, families, scouts, students and historical society members contributed to the creation of the Quests found in the Valley Quest books.

Click here to learn more about the Local Valley Quest program and click here to learn about the quests created or inspired by the Valley Quest program in other regions.

“These are some of the finest wild-goose chases I’ve seen.
Enjoy them…and then enjoy your home more than before!”
Bill McKibben, author of Hope, Human and Wild