Plan the Route
Once you have buried your treasure, its usually time to start coming up with a path people will travel to find it. You may start working some maps and notes for finding the treasure, but after the route is well planned is you start the actual treasure map.
When making a pirate treasure hunt, it is important to think like a pirate. If you made a map that says "X is where I buried all that gold.", another pirate could go through your stuff while your on watch and steal the location of your treasure. For that very reason is why reading treasure maps can be cryptic and misleading, and that is the mindset you want to harness to create a good hunt.
Waypoints
Waypoints are places on the map you may need to go to in order to help you navigate to the next point. While a waypoint can be a special pirate place, or a landmark, it can also be solely for navigational purposes. It is important that when you get to a waypoint, you know you are there. If the waypoint is not completely obvious, I suggest making it obvious in some way, perhaps by putting up a sign, marking it with a symbol that corresponds to one on the map or a recovered clue.
Pirate Tavern
Any old structure or place where an old structure was will work for a pirate tavern. Pirate taverns are good waypoints and hiding places for coins and clues. Metal detecting around old structures can also provide hours of entertainment for kids and adults alike.
Pirate Hideout
Kids love places to hide, so hideouts are a great feature for any pirate treasure hunt. You can give it a name like "Yellow Beards Hideout", "Secret Hideout", or simply "Hideout". A hideout can be a manmade structure, a deep ditch or gully, a big hollow tree, a clearing in some brush, or any other place someone can hide. You can make a simple hideout by making a teepee structure and covering it with brush.
Underwater Shipwreck
If your near a lake or river, a pirate shipwreck is always a fun place for treasure, clues, or even a place to find a treasure map. If the water is clear, someone can dive down and have a look. If the water is murky, use a retrieving magnet to "fish" for a metal object like a jars metal lid, or a bottle tied to a small anchor. To make a jar sink, just add some sand. "Metal fishing" is quite fun, so it might be fun to throw in a few extra magnetic tidbits like chain, steel balls, and pulleys.
For some instant aged iron, get car battery or charger, and a coffee can filled with water and a few tablespoons of salt. Put on some rubber gloves for safety purposes, as 12 volts in saltwater can shock you if get in between. Attach the positive (red) end of the battery charger to the can. Attach the negative (black) end to the item to be aged and place it in the can, not letting it touch the edges. The best way to do this is to cut a small hole in the plastic lid in the middle and side, so the middle clip can hang and not fall through, and the side clip can attach to the edge of the can. Plug in the charger and check the progress every minute or two. Do this outside or in a ventilated area, as small amounts of flammable hydrogen gas is produced in the process.
Washed Ashore Shipwreck
Shipwreck treasures and clues wash ashore. This is a great place for Metal Detectors, Shovels, and Sieves. You don't even need water, just sand.
Stashes
A stash can be marked on the map as a "pirates stash", "secret hiding place", or "hidden goods", and is good place to hide clues that will help locate the treasure. You can also hide a Compass, Shovel, Lantern, or other helpful tools. Hiding places can be hollow trees and logs, holes, caves, under rocks and rock piles, and under foot bridges.
Landmarks
Lakes, rivers, creeks, mountains, cliffs, old buildings, boulders, trails, and roads are obvious landmarks. I suggest "piratizing" their names in some way to add to the effect. Spotting new landmarks can be interesting too. Perhaps there is a hill that has a face from a certain angle, a stump of a fallen tree that looks like an octopus, a fire pit, or a special kind of tree. You can also make landmarks. Half buried anchors, chain, rope, old wood planks, oars, or even simply a sign. One of my favorites was a sand pile "island", which to the kids dug through to find the treasure.
Once you have buried your treasure, its usually time to start coming up with a path people will travel to find it. You may start working some maps and notes for finding the treasure, but after the route is well planned is you start the actual treasure map.
When making a pirate treasure hunt, it is important to think like a pirate. If you made a map that says "X is where I buried all that gold.", another pirate could go through your stuff while your on watch and steal the location of your treasure. For that very reason is why reading treasure maps can be cryptic and misleading, and that is the mindset you want to harness to create a good hunt.
Waypoints
Waypoints are places on the map you may need to go to in order to help you navigate to the next point. While a waypoint can be a special pirate place, or a landmark, it can also be solely for navigational purposes. It is important that when you get to a waypoint, you know you are there. If the waypoint is not completely obvious, I suggest making it obvious in some way, perhaps by putting up a sign, marking it with a symbol that corresponds to one on the map or a recovered clue.
Pirate Tavern
Any old structure or place where an old structure was will work for a pirate tavern. Pirate taverns are good waypoints and hiding places for coins and clues. Metal detecting around old structures can also provide hours of entertainment for kids and adults alike.
Pirate Hideout
Kids love places to hide, so hideouts are a great feature for any pirate treasure hunt. You can give it a name like "Yellow Beards Hideout", "Secret Hideout", or simply "Hideout". A hideout can be a manmade structure, a deep ditch or gully, a big hollow tree, a clearing in some brush, or any other place someone can hide. You can make a simple hideout by making a teepee structure and covering it with brush.
Underwater Shipwreck
If your near a lake or river, a pirate shipwreck is always a fun place for treasure, clues, or even a place to find a treasure map. If the water is clear, someone can dive down and have a look. If the water is murky, use a retrieving magnet to "fish" for a metal object like a jars metal lid, or a bottle tied to a small anchor. To make a jar sink, just add some sand. "Metal fishing" is quite fun, so it might be fun to throw in a few extra magnetic tidbits like chain, steel balls, and pulleys.
For some instant aged iron, get car battery or charger, and a coffee can filled with water and a few tablespoons of salt. Put on some rubber gloves for safety purposes, as 12 volts in saltwater can shock you if get in between. Attach the positive (red) end of the battery charger to the can. Attach the negative (black) end to the item to be aged and place it in the can, not letting it touch the edges. The best way to do this is to cut a small hole in the plastic lid in the middle and side, so the middle clip can hang and not fall through, and the side clip can attach to the edge of the can. Plug in the charger and check the progress every minute or two. Do this outside or in a ventilated area, as small amounts of flammable hydrogen gas is produced in the process.
Washed Ashore Shipwreck
Shipwreck treasures and clues wash ashore. This is a great place for Metal Detectors, Shovels, and Sieves. You don't even need water, just sand.
Stashes
A stash can be marked on the map as a "pirates stash", "secret hiding place", or "hidden goods", and is good place to hide clues that will help locate the treasure. You can also hide a Compass, Shovel, Lantern, or other helpful tools. Hiding places can be hollow trees and logs, holes, caves, under rocks and rock piles, and under foot bridges.
Landmarks
Lakes, rivers, creeks, mountains, cliffs, old buildings, boulders, trails, and roads are obvious landmarks. I suggest "piratizing" their names in some way to add to the effect. Spotting new landmarks can be interesting too. Perhaps there is a hill that has a face from a certain angle, a stump of a fallen tree that looks like an octopus, a fire pit, or a special kind of tree. You can also make landmarks. Half buried anchors, chain, rope, old wood planks, oars, or even simply a sign. One of my favorites was a sand pile "island", which to the kids dug through to find the treasure.
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Treasure Hunt
Resources Page.
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