Chasing Durango's Stories With a Game Host in Your Pocket
A two-hour team game on foot through downtown Durango. Tara runs it over WhatsApp, and talking to locals is part of play.
Creative Soul Scavenger Hunt turns downtown Durango into a two-hour game for your group. Nobody from the company walks with you. Tara, the host, runs the game from WhatsApp and comments on each clue as your team sends it in. The listing promises tales of local history and culture, plus tasks that ask you to capture the town in photos, video and audio.
Each hunt is curated by Tara and shifts with your team's answers, according to the operator's own site. The same site says she has worked as a tour guide for 25 years.
Book through Viator for an 11:00 AM or 2:00 PM start. Ages 9 and up pay USD 35, ages 3 to 8 pay USD 30, and one booking holds up to fifteen people.
Creative Soul Scavenger Hunt (Durango,Colorado)Two-hour team scavenger hunt in downtown Durango, hosted live over WhatsApp. Starts 11:00 AM or 2:00 PM.www.viator.comMessage Tara the Day Before You Play
The listing asks every team to get in touch with Tara on WhatsApp the day before the hunt, for pregame information. The operator says the teams that struggle are the ones that skip that chat, arrive with a dead phone, or show up hungry, tired or late. Ask her for the starting point in that chat. Neither the listing nor the operator's site names a fixed start for Durango.
There is no geocaching and no GPS. One traveler wrote in January 2023 that all 19 clues arrived at once and the team could pick the order, and that many were tasks such as counting the dogs you pass and asking their owners for names. Tara curates each hunt, by her own account, so your set may differ.
Talking to Durango Locals Is Part of the Game
The listing builds the hunt around people: chat with locals, collect their stories, and record what you find. The operator says you learn what it calls the Vibe Test for finding friendly locals. A 2023 traveler put it plainly: the game takes a bit of social outgoing-ness to get the most out of it. Others found it eased them in. Two friends who called themselves shy wrote that it helped them talk to people with ease, and a family in January 2023 singled out the staff at the Strater Hotel as particularly helpful.
You may not be the only team out. A November 2023 reviewer mentioned another family playing the same hunt at the same time and called the mood "cool and creative, not hyper competitive."
Bring a Teammate, and Put Kids on an Adult Team
The listing does not recommend this hunt for solo travelers and says no teammates can be provided. A booking can be a single person, and the operator says it cannot promise another group for you to join.
Ages on the booking page start at 3, with a child price for ages 3 to 8, and an adult has to make the booking. The operator's guidance is that kids do well on an adult-led team and teenagers 15 and up often manage as their own team. A 2023 group aged 12 to 76 wrote that the walk was easy for all of them.
The operator is frank about fit: someone with their heart set on a traditional scavenger hunt may not enjoy it. One 2023 reviewer who expected that format was disappointed, and another wished for a keepsake or certificate at the end. The inclusions list only the clues.
Charge the Phone, Eat First, Wear Walking Shoes
- Included: the clues, delivered and hosted over WhatsApp.
- Bring: a smartphone with WhatsApp, fully charged, and a charger. The listing names both.
- Before you start: eat a meal and wear walking shoes, per the operator's own checklist.
- Weather: the calendar stays open into winter, and one family played through fairly frigid temperatures in November. Dress for the day.
- Access: the listing ticks suitable for all fitness levels and allows service animals. The operator's own site does not mention wheelchair or stroller access.
- Cancel at least 24 hours before your start time for a full refund. Inside 24 hours, nothing is refunded.
- The listing also lets the operator cancel for poor weather or too few travelers.
📍 Played on foot in downtown Durango, starting 11:00 AM or 2:00 PM, for about two hours. Two 2023 reviewers recommended a stop at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, one of them for a big caramel apple at the end.