Get ready for adventure at Kentucky State Parks

Published 11:58 am Thursday, January 25, 2018

FRANKFORT — The Kentucky State Parks Family Adventure Quest is ready for its lucky 13th year after record-breaking participation in 2017. The digital photo scavenger hunt for families or friends had 438 teams out snapping photos in parks while tracking down objects, buildings, and facts to fill up their challenge booklets.

Registration for 2018 is now open online or registration cards for mail-in registration can be picked up at any Kentucky State Park beginning in February. A $15 registration fee gets teams a fleece hat, beach ball, exclusive park coupons, state travel information, and of course, the booklet of 26 challenges that will start shipping out on Jan. 15, 2018.

Teams will be challenged with games, historical photo re-creations, nature know-how, and lots of riddles to keep them on their toes.

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“But what is a quest?” you ask. It may be a riddle, or it might even rhyme, as it directs you how or where to spend your time. You might have to ponder, you might float or chop, as you discover fun facts and you plan your next photo op! So grab your friends and grab your gear, discover state parks in a new way and at your own pace throughout the year!

In case that did not give it away, many of the quests, are in the form of riddles. Most of them lead teams to multiple points of interest throughout a park. About one-third of the 26 quests are park-specific, while the remaining two-thirds can be completed at your choice of park, as long as it has the quest subject required—a trail, lounge, historic site, leaf, etc.

Teams have until Dec. 1, 2018, to complete as many quests as they chose. It’s a great goal-oriented way to explore the natural, cultural, and historical resources of the nation’s finest park system. A digital camera or a camera phone of a minimum of 8 MP is needed to capture your team’s fun along your journey, and your photos just might show up on the park website or Facebook page.

Participants from six-months-of-age to 78 have enjoyed the quest over the past 12 years, and once they start, many teams repeat year after year. Forty-three teams that signed up in 2017 were repeat teams, some for as long as 5, 6, and even 12 years!

Oh, and did we mention there are prizes? By correctly completing just 10 or more quests, a team will receive a certificate for a one-night stay at the park lodge or campground of their choice (Sunday through Thursday) and free passes to park museums or forts. Complete 20 quests and receive the lodge stay and passes, plus a $35 Kentucky State Parks gift card. Complete 25 quests and get the lodge stay, passes and a $60 gift card. If planned out properly, the first prize level can be attained by visiting as few as four different parks.

More details and registration forms can be found at www.parks.ky.gov (look for the “Family Adventure Quest” button) with a mail-in or electronic option. While there, peruse the photo gallery of past participants and feedback. Expect to receive your quest kit within two weeks of registering beginning Jan. 15, 2018.