Scavenger Hunt Date Ideas in Columbia

Have you ever been on a scavenger hunt? One of my favorite memories was a group date scavenger hunt I did with a bunch of friends back in college. We each raced to take pictures of each item around town and had to come back within an hour. Scavenger hunts can be a great way to get to know more about your partner and the city! Here are a few options of scavenger hunts you can do locally: 

Go On a Scavenger Hunt in Downtown Columbia

There are so many hidden gems in downtown Columbia, and a scavenger hunt highlights places and things you may have never noticed before. This scavenger hunt, provided by Discover South Carolina, helps you find sculptures and art around the downtown area. Here’s the first part of the instructions:  

“Start your hunt in Boyd Plaza, right in front of the Columbia Museum of Art.

1. Can you find the girl and the lamb playing by the wall of moving water?” The little girl and lamb are a lovely bronze sculpture called “Le Jeunesse” by Paul Silvestro, circa 1920-30. It’s in the corner of the plaza, to the left of the front doors of the museum. There are several other sculptures in the plaza. See how many you can find!”

3 Scavenger Hunts via Experience Columbia

This website offers three different lengths of scavenger hunts, from walkable to drivable. The directions are in riddle form, so you and your date have to solve the riddle to know where to go next. These scavenger hunts focus more on locations than items, so you may want to plan time to tour some of the destinations. They are all very similar, so I’d recommend picking just one depending on your time constraints. Here’s an excerpt of one of the clues: 

“Stop #1
The first stop
Along your way
Is a place that fosters 
Learning and play. 

It is here that kids 
Laugh and go wild
And parents can release 
Their inner child.”

Go on a Scavenger Hunt in a Store

My husband and I tried this recently at the Dollar Tree. We had a list of categories (see below) and had to find items that matched. Then we met up at the back of the store and compared what we found. Each spouse judged the other’s “finds” and the person with the most points wins. You don’t have to purchase anything, although we ended up buying some of the items. 

1. Something that reminds you of your wedding night
2. A snack your spouse would want
3. An embarrassing gift to bring to a birthday party
4. Something your spouse would hate to wear
5. The most awkward card
6. An item that starts with the letter “D”
7. Something that reminds you of your first date
8. A toiletry  item your spouse would use
9. A toy that reminds you of your childhood
10. Something you would find at your grandmother’s house

For a group version of this, you can go to Target and race to find things in the following categories: 

1. Smallest item in the store
2. Cheapest item in the store
3. Most expensive thing you can fit in your cart
4. An item someone wouldn’t know how to use
5. A seasonal food item
6. Highest quality dollar spot item
7. Something marked over 70% off
8. An item with a foreign language written on it
9. Ugliest shirt
10. Most popular person featured on a product

Have you done any of these scavenger hunts before? Which was your favorite? Or do you have a recommendation for another fun one?