San Francisco Chinese New Year Hunt

This urban adventure is San Francisco's longest-running, created in the 1980s by local private investigator Jayson Wechter. Wechter, a fan of detective fiction, designed the hunt to let participants experience a live film noir, shining flashlights into alleys to uncover the city's hidden history. The hunt functions as a fundraiser for local non-profits, with a portion of ticket sales benefiting organizations like Walk San Francisco and the San Francisco Circus Center. It has been a staple of the city's celebrations for over three decades, running since 1989. Teams of two to nine people choose from four different difficulty levels, from beginner to expert, making it accessible for both tourists and long-time residents. Clues are designed to be solved collaboratively and often involve wordplay, puzzles, and trivia that lead teams to find specific details on historical plaques, murals, or architectural features. The event happens alongside the historic San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade, one of the largest and oldest of its kind outside of Asia. The parade tradition dates back to the 1860s, when the city's Chinese community sought to share their culture and push back against prejudice during the Gold Rush era. While hunters solve clues, the parade features floats, lion dancers, and school groups. The grand finale is the Golden Dragon, a spectacular 268-foot-long dragon that takes a team of 100 people to carry through the streets of the city.