Although many U.S. letterboxes are found in parks and woodsy areas -- providing a fantastic way to draw reluctant hikers outside -- letterboxing has spread beyond the wilds and into suburban and urban areas. You can seek them out while sightseeing in Manhattan, buying treats in a pet shop in Park City, Utah, or while taking a peek into the past in a South Dakota ghost town."It's like a guided tour," says Boston-area letterboxing enthusiast Michelle Lee, who was introduced to the sport at a Girl Scout leaders' training weekend. "I've been to places I never knew existed." Letterboxing novice Cindi Huss agrees. Cindi and her daughters, Linore, age 10, and Jana, 7, found their first letterbox, a fake book, cunningly shelved among the real volumes in a library near their home. "It's like the kind of thing you want to play when you're a kid, spy stuff," says Cindi. "It's brought us to places we would never have thought of going."
For us, letterboxing is simple fun at its finest. All we need is the five of us, a stamp, an ink pad, and a notebook. Although we've barely begun to explore Dartmoor, we're already thinking ahead to the next time we'll get back to the States. We'll follow our favorite trails through familiar woods, but this time we'll be on the hunt and looking at everything with the eyes of Sherlock Holmes.
HOW TO PLAN YOUR OWN OUTING
Ready to try letterboxing yourself? With hunts in every state, there are bound to be some close by, no matter where you live. Here's how to get started.
