Urban Adventure Quest, Boston

Exercise body and mind this winter through team-based scavenger hunts in Boston. One covers landmarks along the Freedom Trail, and the other Boston Harbor; both pose puzzling clues and questions. Inspired by The Amazing Race television series (minus the physical challenges), the interactive historic walking tours were created by Urban Adventure Quest. “Our mission,” says co-owner Christie Walker, “is to make sure you learn something—and have some fun.”

Old South Meeting House
Photograph by Diego Grandi/Alamy Stock Photo

A team of two to five people—friends, colleagues, or family members—logs in, downloads the web-based tour, and designates a “quest master” to enter answers. Then, the race is on. The two-mile Freedom Trail adventure, starting at Boston Common, typically takes two hours. (Check for COVID-19-related hours for the stops at Quincy Market and the Granary Burying Ground.) The two-mile, two-hour Boston Harbor quest begins at Armenian Heritage Park, on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, and finishes at South Station.

The company website touts top-ranking teams; bragging rights are encouraged. And anyone who joins numerous quests—which are offered in more than 40 locations, including Memphis, Savannah, and Beverly Hills—receives price discounts, as do readers of Harvard Magazine (use code Harvard20 at check out). “Once people get hooked,” says Walker, “anywhere they go, they wonder: ‘Is there a quest here?’”