There are several Facebook groups dedicated to hiding creatively painted rocks for others to find. This is meant as a way for the community to bond over a shared experience. Everyone is free to participate making it an uplifting, unifying project.
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Making these painted rocks can be a fun family activity, or a relaxing activity for creative adults. I have seen some elaborate rocks on facebook and Pinterest! You choose some fairly smooth, well shaped rocks. Clean them thoroughly, paint, and seal them with a poly-seal. Definitely don’t skip the sealing step, otherwise your rocks will not withstand the next rainfall.
The process to participate is fairly straightforward. Look up your local painted rock group on Facebook and join. The back of each rock should be labeled with instructions for the finder to share a picture of your rock on the Facebook group. Hide your rock in a local park, outside a business, picnic area, etc. When you find a rock made by someone else, you post a picture and then hide the rock somewhere else for someone new to find. Many participants have tracked their rocks all over the USA! If you decide that a rock is so lovely that you want to keep it, you must make one to replace it. Simple and fun right?
Believe it or not, this wholesome activity could cause some controversy. You may have heard the slogan, “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.” It’s meant to preserve the natural beauty of our outdoor spaces. This is an important concept that we should all strive to abide by. I personally have not seen any painted rocks along our trails. If you do want to bring painted rocks to the trail, it would be best to hide them in areas that already have structures or have “breaks” in nature such as at the trailhead or near picnic tables, benches, and rest areas along the trail. This way you can add this creative activity to your trail time and preserve nature scapes at the same time.
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