Race Rival Teams Across Laguna Beach to Name the Murderer
A hosted detective race on foot through downtown Laguna and Heisler Park, worked from a paper clue packet and a helpline.
Each team gets a list of suspects and a packet of tricky clues, riddles and puzzles, then heads out on foot into downtown Laguna Beach. Every location the clues lead to hands over another piece of the case and lets you strike another suspect off the list. The team that reveals the murderer fastest, with the least help from headquarters, wins.
Laguna is the original course. The first Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt premiered here in 2013 after a year of planning, and five more courses have followed, from Huntington Beach down to Old Town San Diego. This is a hosted event with rival teams spread across town. The clues live on paper, and a smartphone will not help. One basic cell phone per team covers the helpline.
Public games run on select Saturdays, and each of the company's towns gets its own dates and start times, with players asked to arrive 20 minutes early. Tickets are USD 39.99 per person, booking closes 24 hours before the start, and all ten reviews on the listing give it five stars.
Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt Laguna BeachHosted team game on foot through downtown Laguna, about four hours. All game materials included. Full refund for cancellations made at least 24 hours before the start.www.viator.comSuspects, a Clue Packet and a Helpline
Starting points are assigned to spread the teams out, and after the first stop you take the remaining locations in any order. Every team solves the same clues in a different sequence. The Laguna course takes up to ten teams.
The operator says most scavenger hunts hand you clues that solve themselves the moment you spot the object. These are built to make you think like a detective, and the numbers bear that out: about 65 percent of teams solve everything and reveal the murderer. The helpline is there when you stall, and the standings reward the team that leaned on headquarters least.
One reviewer from February 2026 described the pull of the race: "My only regret is that I got so tunnel-visioned about beating the other teams that I didn't stop to take any pictures."
Forest Avenue, Heisler Park and the Lookout at Brown's Park
The Laguna course works the downtown blocks along Forest Avenue, Ocean Avenue and Coast Highway, walks through Heisler Park, and goes as far south as the ocean lookout at Brown's Park. Most stops sit no more than a couple of blocks apart. The full course runs about four miles, with some hills on mostly flat ground.
Orange Coast magazine listed the game as Best Make-Believe Sleuthing in 2015. Its write-up covered the Laguna Beach and San Clemente courses and noted that the riddles are built to reveal little-known facts about each town as well as to solve the crime. The operator hears the same from locals, who tell them they saw parts of Laguna they had never noticed.
Team Size, Fitness and a Shorter Option
The operator recommends teams of four or five. Six can work, though keeping everyone involved gets harder. Pairs can play, but the operator's team rules count at least three admissions per team, and many two-person teams cannot finish the full course. Teams are never topped up with strangers. The people on your booking play together.
The listing asks for a moderate level of fitness and the ability to walk about four miles. At weekend public games, a shorter version cuts about an hour and a mile of walking. It plays the same, and choosing it takes your team out of the competition. Ask for it after the orientation.
At least four of the ten reviews come from company team outings, and the operator books private and corporate games on any day of the week. The Saturday game on this listing is the public one, with rival teams on the course.
Timing, Ages and the Rain Rule
- Plan on about five hours from the orientation to the announcement of the winners. The hunt itself averages about four.
- Tickets on this listing are for ages 12 and up. The operator asks a parent or guardian to sign a release form for any player under 18.
- The game goes ahead in light rain. When heavy rain is forecast, the operator cancels it. Viator bookings can then be rescheduled, and refunds follow Viator's terms.
- Cancel at least 24 hours before the start for a full refund.
The exact meeting spot downtown comes in your confirmation email. Bring water, snacks, sunscreen and comfortable shoes, plus a cell phone for the helpline. Everything else you need for the game comes in the packet.
The day wraps with the announcement of the winning teams, and you head off knowing downtown Laguna far better than when you arrived.