A scavenger hunt and curated insiders’ guide that will have you exploring Vermont’s outdoor environment, history, and its cheeses!
JULY 1 – OCTOBER 19, 2023
#vtcheesehunt
A scavenger hunt and curated insiders’ guide that will have you exploring Vermont’s outdoor environment, history, and its cheeses!
JULY 1 – OCTOBER 19, 2023
#vtcheesehunt
Loved it … This was a fun way to experience and see VT!
I loved it. It made our Vermont vacation extra special.
This was fantastic! My husband and I are only in the New England area for a year and we used The Hunt to come up with ideas on exploring Vermont. It made for the perfect weekend getaway!
I loved it … we hope to come back and do a different region every year!
Loved it – great idea!! We lived in Vermont for years. And visit every year…yet saw new things thanks to doing the Treasure Hunt! Hope to see it again another year!
A very clever, fun and creative way to organize our trip to Vermont!
I really enjoyed it. I had a friend visiting from out of town. She and I did it together. It helped us find things to do during her visit that I wasn’t aware of before then. For example, one of the things that we did was the Mural Walk in Burlington. I didn’t know that existed before seeing it in “The Hunt.” We also visited the Jelly Bean Bird Houses, which I had never seen before.
We love it!! This is our second year doing it and we’ve had so much fun exploring different areas of our favorite state, and snacking on delicious cheeses!!
It was a lot of fun!! We are on our honeymoon in Vermont, and this was a huge help in planning our week! We especially enjoyed the National Park and the Path of Light Garden. We loved driving through the countryside, seeing the fall colors change before our eyes throughout the week as we worked through our clues!
Totally fun way to visit places we might not otherwise see. Also perfect activity to do with our out of town guests (from Kazakhstan!).
Fantastic, exciting, never knew Vermont had so many locally owned cheese factories. Or the variety of cheeses made in Vermont. Great way to meet cheese makers and learn the way and why they produce their products.
canoeing and hiking images courtesy New England Inns & Resorts
HOW THE HUNT WORKS
HOW THE HUNT WORKS
We divide Vermont into six regions and provide a Hunt Clue Packet (i.e. things to do and find) for each region. To complete a clue packet you MUST complete Clue #1 and then four of the other nine available tasks/puzzles. Once you complete a clue packet per its instructions, you’ll need to submit your “answers” to our upload site to complete The Hunt by October 19, 2023 to be entered into our random prize drawing. Anyone who uploads a completed set of answers will be qualified for our prizes: Boxes of mixed Vermont cheeses shipped right to your door. You can create an entry for everyone in your “team” that does The Hunt with you (e.g. a family of 4 can have 4 entries) and you can enter answers for every region you do. Last year we shipped ~20 of these to winners! (limit 1 prize per person)
What are the clues and experiences like? They vary. One might have you exploring a local walking trail or cycling through a valley; another might have you picnicking in an apple orchard; another may have your visiting landmarks in the area. You can check out ABC News 10’s 2020 coverage of the event here to learn more – and note that there are 3 videos of “how it works” are on this page.
For folks who just want to use The Hunt to guide your travels/adventures around the state: Do it! We have been told by many folks over the last few years that they used The Hunt’s clue packets as a “travel guide” of sorts – to help them find things to do and places to explore – without any tracking answers or focus on prizes – and that they loved it! Tag us with #vtcheesehunt on your social media, so we can see your adventures!
COST TO ENTER
Free to participate in. Some clues may have a fee associated with an activity, though we try to ensure that all clue packets have options that do not require fees.
END DATE
All answers must be submitted either electronically online or be postmarked via snail mail by October 19, 2023.
We divide Vermont into six regions and provide a Hunt Clue Packet (i.e. things to do and find) for each region. To complete a clue packet you MUST complete Clue #1 and then four of the other nine available tasks/puzzles. Once you complete a clue packet per its instructions, you’ll need to submit your “answers” to our upload site to complete The Hunt by October 19, 2023 to be entered into our random prize drawing. Anyone who uploads a completed set of answers will be qualified for our prizes: Boxes of mixed Vermont cheeses shipped right to your door. You can create an entry for everyone in your “team” that does The Hunt with you (e.g. a family of 4 can have 4 entries) and you can enter answers for every region you do. Last year we shipped ~20 of these to winners! (limit 1 prize per person)
What are the clues and experiences like? They vary. One might have you exploring a local walking trail or cycling through a valley; another might have you picnicking in an apple orchard; another may have your visiting landmarks in the area. You can check out ABC News 10’s 2020 coverage of the event here to learn more – and note that there are 3 videos of “how it works” are on this page.
For folks who just want to use The Hunt to guide your travels/adventures around the state: Do it! We have been told by many folks over the last few years that they used The Hunt’s clue packets as a “travel guide” of sorts – to help them find things to do and places to explore – without any tracking answers or focus on prizes – and that they loved it! Tag us with #vtcheesehunt on your social media, so we can see your adventures!
COST TO ENTER
Free to participate in. Some clues may have a fee associated with an activity, though we try to ensure that all clue packets have options that do not require fees.
END DATE
All answers must be submitted either electronically online or be postmarked via snail mail by October 19, 2023.
PRIZES
EVERYONE WHO COMPLETES THE HUNT GETS…
A digital swag bag of discounts will be emailed to participants who complete The Hunt; these will go out approximately twice a month – so watch your inbox for them.
RANDOM DRAW PRIZES: CHEESE!
Winners will be selected randomly from all submitted/completed hunt entries and randomly paired with these prizes as follows:
- One grand prize winner
- One regional prize winner for each region
- All our remaining cheese boxes will be drawn from all the remaining entries
Last year, we had ~20 boxes of cheese that went out!
FAQs
How long does it take to complete a Clue Packet?
It varies a little bit depending on what tasks you choose to do. Some clues take less time than others – like finding something, then taking a selfie with it. Others take longer, such as those that have a hike or longer bike ride associated with them. And some are in the middle – like having picnic stop! While everyone must complete Clue #1 in their clue packets, whichever other four clues you want to complete – the shorter duration ones, the longer ones … it’s up to you. You can create a half-day outing, a day trip, or a weekend adventure. You can also choose to complete your clues anywhere between now and the last day of the event; so you can do a few clues this week and a few clues next week. It’s entirely up to you! In general, if you begin and pursue The Hunt in the region in which you reside, we’d guess it will take you 3-5 hours to complete most versions of The Hunt if you don’t choose to pursue a longer hike or bike ride.
What should I bring with me on The Hunt?
We recommend you read through all the clues in your packet before heading out, so you will know if you’ll need to load up your car with your bike, hiking gear, bug repellant, a picnic, water, sunscreen, cheese (yes, you might need this!!) or anything else. And if you are using the “printed” version of the clue packet/answer uploads – bring a pencil or pen with you!
Who is eligible to participate?
Anyone.
Can I hunt and submit entries from more than one region?
Yes.
Our team has more than one person doing The Hunt together; can each submit an answer entry to win?
Yes, any member of a team that participates in completing ALL the clues for which answers are submitted may submit an entry. So if you have a family of four who participates in completing their clue packet together (meaning they each participate in completing EACH OF the required five clues to complete The Hunt), all four may submit an answer entry independently (i.e. four people on a team can submit up to four entries). If a team member stops participating partway through The Hunt and doesn’t ACTIVELY participate in completing five clues total – this person should not submit an entry.
If we have a multiperson team, can we split up the clues – so that one person does three clues and another does two, such that together they complete 5 clues?
No. For any person to say that they have completed The Hunt, that person must complete the required 5 clues, though they can do it WITH other people.
If we need help finding something, where should we go/what should we do?
Ask locals – shop owners, visitor or welcome centers, chambers of commerce!
What do we do if we think something is wrong with a clue?
Please email us at info@vtcheese.com with your information/comments.
I am a lodging provider, visitor center, or other organization that would like to request marketing materials that I can share for this event; to whom should I reach out for more information?
Please reach out to info@vtcheese.com for this.
GET STARTED!
NOT ABLE TO VISIT VERMONT THIS TIME AROUND?
You can always order cheese to your doorstep using our Online Sales Directory or join our mailing list to hear about upcoming other events!
SPONSORS & PRIZE DONORS
A giant thank you to all of our sponsors & prize donors!
♦ GOLD SPONSORS ♦
♦ SILVER SPONSORS ♦
♦ SUPPORTING & RETAIL SPONSORS ♦
• Brattleboro Food Co-op • City Market, Onion River COOP • Co-op Food Stores – White River Junction • Lake Champlain Chocolates • Mach’s Market • Mad River Taste Place • Plainfield Co-op • Woodstock Farmers’ Market