In November 2025, I helped The Circuit Trails celebrate 500 miles completed! Each week, I shared a puzzle that pointed to a location on a Circuit Trail in Greater Philadelphia where I’d hidden a bike lock key. Puzzlers didn’t need to take the key—they just needed the password written on it, and the lucky prize drawing winners walked away with $50, $100, and $150. And each Puzzler who submitted at least one entry won a collectible Trail Treasures prize card!
For each puzzle, you had six days to find the key and enter the password online, in addition to submitting a moment you’ve experienced on a Circuit Trail. It could be from any time and any trail, and didn’t have to relate to the puzzle at all. It was just about sharing any memorable trail experience—to help The Circuit Trails build momentum for completing the full planned 840+ mile network!
Rails to Trails Conservancy provided a “Trail Extension” for this project! On Black Friday, Puzzlers could #OptOutside for a bonus puzzle and photo contest—here’s how it worked:
At 8am on Friday, November 28th, I posted an easy bonus puzzle that solved to a location on a Philadelphia Circuit Trail.
There wasn’t a key to find, though—instead, Puzzlers had to visit the spot and take a photo there!
To enter the photo contest, they could post their photo on Instagram or TikTok, use #OptOutside on the post, and follow @railstotrails and @ericthepuzzler.
Puzzlers had until 5pm on Sunday, 11/30 to visit the location and post their entry. I then awarded $150 for the best photo! As a photographer myself, I evaluated submissions based on composition, creativity, and overall quality.
Where: Puzzle videos were posted on TikTok and Instagram. Bike lock keys were hidden on Circuit Trails within Philadelphia city limits.
When: • 10am on 11/8/25 (concluded) • 10am on 11/15/25 (concluded) • 10am on 11/22/25 (concluded) • Bonus puzzle photo contest on 11/28 (concluded)
Difficulty: ◉◉◎◎◎
Price: Free!
Trail Treasures Rules: • Do not take the key. • One prize drawing entry per person per puzzle. If you participate as a team, each team member may submit their own entries to earn their own prize cards. • Do not trespass or violate any laws while participating in Trail Treasures. • By participating in Trail Treasures, you assume all associated risks and agree not to hold Eric The Puzzler, The Circuit Trails Coalition, or the Rails to Trails Conservancy responsible for any liability that results from your participation. • Follow good trail etiquette.
Photo Contest Rules: • You must have a public Instagram or TikTok account and be following @railstotrails and @ericthepuzzler on your respective platform to be eligible. • The photo you enter in the contest must be taken at the location that the puzzle solves to, and must be taken after 11/27/25. • One entry per person. If you submit multiple eligible posts or a post containing multiple photos (a “carousel”), only your first post or the first photo in the carousel will be evaluated for the contest. If you solve the puzzle and visit the photo location as a team, each team member may submit their own unique photo to the contest using their own social media account. • You may use basic photo editing techniques, such as those found in the Instagram and TikTok photo editors, but you may not use any form of generative AI in any part of your submission. • Follow good trail etiquette.
How to participate: When a Trail Treasure video dropped, you could solve its puzzle and go find the key, then use the password written on the key to enter the prize drawing. Drawing winners were announced six days after each puzzle was posted.
Prizes: Any Puzzler who submitted an entry won a Trail Treasures prize card! In addition, one Puzzler was chosen at random each week to win: • Week 1: $50 • Week 2: $100 • Week 3: $150 And those who submitted an entry for every single week were awarded a little something extra! The prize for the photo contest was $150.
Accessibility: All hidden keys and the photo contest location were fully accessible.
