Illustration by Hsinping Pan
Want to spend a day searching for clues, finding your way with a compass, and solving puzzles while you learn more about Atlanta’s parks, landmarks, and trails? Then Clue Town Books is for you. The four-year-old company, started by stay-at-home dad Jay Carlson, sells paper pamphlets for between $7 and $15. The booklets come with a pencil and a plastic compass and take you on walkable hunts around places like Piedmont Park, Oakland Cemetery, and Virginia-Highland. Some of the clues might seem a little advanced for kids under 12, but so long as someone can read, it’s good family fun.
Here are Carlson’s favorite titles for littles:
- The Grant Park mini-hunt (about 40 minutes). “It’s in the park itself, with lots of great green space, so you don’t have to worry about cars. A six-year-old can handle the compass and help with the mazes and connect-the-dots.”
- The Oakland Cemetery full hunt (about 90 minutes). “It’s a best-seller, great for birthdays. I naively thought my customers would be adults who like Sudoku and crossword, but it’s attracting families that like to do outdoor activities together.”
Kids in the ATL: “You can play detective” is reason 25 of our 25 Reasons it’s Great to be a Kid in Atlanta. To read the full list, grab a copy of our May 2016 issue, on newsstands now.
A version of this article originally appeared in our May 2016 issue.
