On the hunt for winter tourism

Bundle up, just in case

By John Showalter

One would think that winter is a slow time for tourism in a state like Minnesota, even those of us who consider ourselves immured to the cold by living here in the frozen north winter after winter, only to find ourselves coming up with excuses to stay inside where it’s warm and toasty.

That’s something that Explore Minnesota, the state’s tourism promotion office, realizes. But tourism is a 13 billion dollar industry in the state, so for the third year in a row Explore Minnesota along with the Minneapolis-based marketing agency Monopoint Media will be hosting an eight week state-wide scavenger hunt called Checkpoint Minnesota.

If a scavenger hunt doesn’t sound like enough impetus to brave the weather, you have to keep in mind that there are prizes. A combined $35,000+ in prizes, to be exact, with loot ranging from winter gear like Wigwam socks, to Minnesota getaways,and even ski, snowboard, and bike packages from The-House.com. The F-M area’s very own Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County will be participating, according to the museum’s Maureen Kelly Jonason, with ten family passes to the museum being put up as prizes.

So how does this whole thing work? Participants sign up on the Checkpoint Minnesota website at CheckpointMN.com. Also on the site is a list and map of the ten destinations throughout the state of Minnesota where potential scavenger hunters can check in, along with complete rules, sponsorship details, user-submitted photos from the various checkpoints, and travel information. Locations range from the historic Hopperstad Stave Church at the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead, to the world’s largest free-standing hockey stick and puck in Eveleth.

”Minnesota is a one-of-a-kind winter travel destination. Visitors can venture outdoors with numerous activities at our beautiful regional, state and national parks, catch a game, tour a museum or take a brewcation. Each checkpoint destination offers a unique experience that can be found only in Minnesota this season. The checkpoints are a simple addition to a planned winter vacation, or good excuse to plan new trips around them,” according to Explore Minnesota director John Edman.

Each contestant wins a prize just by checking into their first location in the scavenger hunt. Of course, the more places you visit, the more prizes you can win. Thousands of dollars of prizes are being offered, as mentioned earlier.

Trekkers are also heavily encouraged to share their travel experiences during the event on social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, using either the hashtag #OnlyinMN or #CheckpointMN. The event seeks to tap into the prevalence of social media in our technology and information-saturated world in order not only to share the experiences of participants, but bring in new ones as well.

Maureen Kelly Jonason says so far there have already been approximately fifty people who have checked in in front of the sign at the Hopperstad Stave Church outside of the Hjemkomst Center this year, often running up to the sign from their cars and running back after taking a selfie in front of it. However, you can get one dollar off admission to the museum that day if you check in at the Moorhead location and take your selfie, so instead of immediately running back to your car you might want to consider running into the Hjemkomst Center instead. Not to mention that it’s warm in there as well.

If you’re thinking about participating, the event already began on December 3rd. But don’t despair, it all goes on through the end of January 2016 and contestants can enroll at any time during the eight-week period of the scavenger hunt. “It has been surprisingly popular.” said Jonasen. “People are having a lot of fun and we’re pleased with the results.”

So if you want to give vent to your youthful wanderlust or at the very least are looking for something to do this winter, you might as well take advantage of the unnaturally warm weather this season and hit the road. But bundle up, just in case.