What time of year will work best for a company scavenger hunt for your group?
Summer Scavenger Hunts
In a lot of locations the summer tends to be the nicest time to do an outdoor team building activity. However, for corporate groups, this may mean that you will have many participants who cannot attend because they will be on vacation. Also in some areas the summertime is simply too hot. For example, a New Orleans Scavenger Hunt would be a very warm affair in the summer.
Spring or Fall Scavenger Hunts
Because of the issue with vacations, we find that in most locations corporate groups prefer to have their scavenger hunts in the spring or in the fall. This way they get a high participation rate and the weather is generally pleasant
For hunts at these times of year, you will need to think about temperature and precipitation and what the plan will be if the weather is not favourable. For the most part, our programs run rain or shine. Because of the nature of the activity it usually isn’t feasible to have an indoor backup option and so we tell our clients to ensure that participants know that they will be outside and should dress appropriately for the weather.
Outdoor Scavenger Hunts with an Indoor Backup Option
Some locations have places where people can travel around indoors if the weather is nasty and these are cities that have indoor walkways that connect buildings together in the downtown area. In these locations, we create scavenger hunts that take place “in and around” these indoor areas. This way participants can travel outdoors if the weather is nice or move indoors if it is now. Examples of such walkways are The Minneapolis Skyway, The Houston Underground, The Toronto PATH, The RÉSO aka Montreal Underground City and The Calgary +15.
Indoor Scavenger Hunts
Can a company scavenger hunt be done at an indoor venue such as a museum, zoo, or art gallery? Generally speaking the answer is yes, however there are some drawbacks. You will need to make sure that the venue is large enough to support your group doing the activity there. If is is not particularly large, then your scavenger hunt will be too short, or participants will run out of time.
You will also need to check with the venue to see if they permit groups to run scavenger hunts. It could be disruptive to other patrons of an art gallery for example.
Some of these venues may have their own in-house scavenger hunts. However, please consider that these may be designed for children and or may not be designed specifically for corporate groups. Even if they are meant for corporate groups, there is a tendency for such programs to be poorly designed and very informal.
Winter Scavenger Hunts
An outdoor winter scavenger hunt is possible in certain locations. These locations tend to be oriented to the outdoors and more adventurous places. A Whistler Village Scavenger Hunt would work well in the winter. Mont Tremblant is another possible place. Blue Mountain Village in Collingwood Ontario is another suitable winter spot.
Can you do a winter hunt in a city? It’s possible, but plan for a shorter activity and do it in a place where there are plenty of places such as hotel lobbies or train stations where people can go inside and warm up.