Erie MetroParks pumpkin hunt sends visitors searching for cryptid clues

Erie MetroParks' Great Pumpkin Hunt is sending visitors onto park trails to solve clues and photograph hidden pumpkins, with the final clues scheduled for Oct. 29.

The park district's hunt page has posted the first two clues, dated Oct. 1 and 8. The next clues are scheduled for Oct. 15 and 22, followed by clues to the fifth pumpkin and the Great Pumpkin on Oct. 29.

This year's theme uses cryptids — legendary creatures — in a fictional mystery about stolen pumpkins. Each clue points participants toward a park and trail.

Participants must photograph themselves with all five pumpkins and the Great Pumpkin, then send the photos to behere@eriemetroparks.org. The district says the first person to submit the complete set wins; two other participants will be selected at random for prize packs.

The page does not list prize contents or a final submission deadline. Its introduction describes five pumpkins placed each week, while the detailed instructions and dated clues describe five pumpkins plus the Great Pumpkin for the hunt.

Photo: Bruce Dupree, CC0 1.0. File photo; image unchanged.