Letterbox challenge introduced to Warren Co. Bikeway

LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. (NEWS10)-- The Warren County Bikeway is introducing a new letterbox challenge to celebrate a combination of history and recreation. As the nation's birthday approaches, the challenge celebrates military history through 10 sites along the trail that walkers and bikers can identify.

Letterboxing capitalizes on orienteering, problem-solving, and art skills to find hidden treasures. The free challenge starts in Glens Falls and ends at Battlefield Park in Lake George.

Participants will solve riddles to find weatherproof boxes containing stamps that can be used on a passport to document their completion of the challenge. Passports to document the stamps can be picked up from the Warren County Planning Department from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the week or at other locations around the county.

The challenge highlights spots that were significant in the 18th-century military conflicts. The bikeway follows part of the Old Military Road, used by troops in the U.S. Revolution and the French and Indian War, and Fort Amherst, Halfway Brook, and Colonel Williams Monument markers.

Those who send completed passports online to the Warren County Department of Planning and Community Development will receive a patch. Warren County GIS and co-architect of Letterbox the Bikeway Sara Frankenfeld said the challenge was a combined effort with county historian Stan Cianfarano and historical society treasurer John Berry.

"There are so many neat and interesting things to see along Warren County Bikeway, chief among them historic sites where events occurred that helped shape our region and nation," Frankenfeld said. "We hope Letterboxers will enjoy this challenge and appreciate the role that Warren County played in the formative years of the United States."