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Letterboxing: A Hiker's Treasure Hunt

Letterboxing: A Hiker's Treasure Hunt

If you are into hiking, nature, and treasure hunts, Letterboxing may be the thing for you. It's an environmentally-friendly activity similar to Geocaching, but instead of looking for a box with trinkets and things in it, you find a box with a logbook (like the one below) and a hand-carved rubber stamp.

Here's the basic gist: Someone hides a waterproof box (usually a plastic Tupperware container) in some remote, scenic, or interesting location. It contains a logbook, a carved rubber stamp and perhaps other goodies like a pencil or stamp pad. The hider then writes directions to the letterbox (called "clues or "the map") which can be straightforward, cryptic, or anywhere in between. The clues often contain map coordinates, but don't have to.

Where can you find the clues? To find out

Finders either hear about the letterbox by word of mouth, or they visit websites like or to get the clues. When they go looking for it, they should bring hiking essentials, as well as a pencil, their own personal logbook, their own personal rubber stamp (either hand carved or custom made) and an ink pad.

Once the finder finds the letterbox, they write their name in the letterbox's logbook (a trail name that they usually make up - the one above says "Vermont Tree"), and then they make an imprint with their own personal stamp in the letterbox's logbook. The finder can also use the stamp that's in the letterbox to make an imprint in their personal logbook. That way, each letterbox has a record of its visitors, and each finder has a record of the letterboxes they've found. If you're an avid hiker, letterboxing could be very addictive.


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