What is the Hidden Bottle Hunt?
In 2021, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Oregon’s iconic Bottle Bill by hiding six commemorative bottles across the state, all in the special places the Bottle Bill helps keep litter free. Thousands of Oregonians joined in the hunt, went outside, and followed the daily clues to search for the hidden bottles. The lucky “finders” got to keep the commemorative bottle (they’re like a trophy!) and were also able to direct a donation to the BottleDrop Give nonprofit of their choice.
Since 2021, the Hidden Bottle Hunt has continued to grow in popularity. We are pleased to announce that we will once again be hosting the event to celebrate the anniversary of Oregon’s Bottle Bill in 2024! This year’s hidden bottle design pays homage to the beautiful Oregon Coast, and the lucky finders will be able to direct a $1,000 donation to the BottleDrop Give nonprofit of their choice for each bottle found.
Like previous years, each bottle will be hidden in a different geographic zone of Oregon (map below), and we’ll release separate clues for each bottle at 8:00 am, every day of the hunt. Sign up to receive the daily clues.
Sign up to get the Daily Clues - July 3-7
When is the Hidden Bottle Hunt?
The Hidden Bottle Hunt begins with the announcement of the first clue at 8:00 am on Wednesday, July 3. The final clue will be issued at 8:00 am on Sunday, July 7 (or until all bottles are found, whichever occurs first).
Where are the bottles hidden?
OBRC and the BottleDrop network conduct statewide container redemption operations through a series of five operational “zones,” which we’ve used to break up the state geographically, and we’re hiding one bottle in each zone. Due to the population of Zone 1, we’ve further divided it into Zone 1E and Zone 1W, and we have hidden a bottle in each for a total of 6 hidden bottles across the state. Bottles are hidden in parks or trails that are open to the public.
What do the bottles look like?
We have taken six of our unique BottleDrop Refillable bottles – used for our Refillable beverage program – and had them specially painted by an Oregon professional. The bottles include a unique label and a metal emblem honoring Oregon’s Bottle Bill, which has produced outstanding recycling and litter-remediation outcomes for the past 53 years!
The bottles will be wrapped to prevent breakage and covered in a burlap sack to protect them from the elements while they wait for you to find them.
How do I participate?
Participation is simple! Just follow the clues and hunt for the bottles. It’s even more fun to team up and hunt with your friends and family. If you’d like to get notified by email that the clues are live each day, just sign up here.
What do I get if I find a hidden bottle?
For one, you get all the esteem and bragging rights that come with cracking the clues and being first to the bottle. Congratulations! Second, you get to keep the bottles, and they are super cool! Finally, and best of all, you get to direct a $1,000 donation to a nonprofit of your choice from our list of thousands of participating BottleDrop Give nonprofits across Oregon. Each hidden bottle includes instructions for how to contact us when you find it. Just follow those directions as soon as you find the bottle!
What are the rules for the Hidden Bottle Hunt?
Here are some of the rules related to the Hidden Bottle Hunt.
- Do not trespass on private property. All bottles are hidden in parks or trails open to the public.
- Do not go inside any buildings to look for bottles. All bottles are hidden outside.
- Do not dig for the bottles or otherwise damage/destroy any plants or structures at the park/trail, and bottles will not be hidden in any community garden spaces or next to highways.
- The bottles may be concealed but will not be hidden in places that require damaging property in any way.
- You do not need to dig underground or destroy anything to access the bottles, and doing so is prohibited.
- Abide by any park/trail hours and rules while you are hunting.
But there is, of course, some legal language and more detailed rules as well. Here are the 2024 Hidden Bottle Hunt Official Rules & Regulations, in full.
Happy hunting!
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Daily Clues
Zone 1E Clues
View Zone 1E Clues and Explanations
DAY 1
You need a four-prong strategy, a tall task indeed
Tenacity, research, cleverness, exploration
Everything can have meaning, down to the letter
Needs attention and careful calibration.
Supposedly a joke, beat Bobby Flay Fair and square
If you’re taking a stab in view of zone bifurcation
Let yourself reorder the character of the piece by one
Furnishing a general handle on the location.
DAY 2
Old math: before division by seventeen
130000 plus equaled number one.
Always subtraction, who needs addition?
But the new math might multiply your fun.
DAY 3
In a rush to produce some liberty
A political tug of war came to a head.
The city won in DC, but somewhat pyrrhically
We Trust you’ll grade better if you there tread.
DAY 4
Ladder by water at the path’s east
Killer by air at the path’s west
Where on the path to trade for something divine?
With the preacher by earth to the south, align
Your mission will certainly be blest.
FOUND!
Zone 1W Clues
View Zone 1W Clues and Explanations
DAY 1
Chinook, Clatskanie, Kalapuya, and Tillamook
inhabited the lands where you must look.
To find our treasure, you’ll need reliance
on the section of territory with a current alliance.
DAY 2
Gasoline ain’t cheap!
By transit our prize you can reap.
A melancholy Oregon election
leads you in the right direction.
DAY 3
In the county, it’s older than any other.
Lift the Veil and listen to our mother.
Trained asylum boxers, movie stars, a soaring coiffeurs pillar,
sake pioneers, mystical seniors, all make this town a thriller.
DAY 4
Sammy just couldn’t drive this way.
From intersectional addition don’t too far stray.
Do not go gentle into that good night
as austral flight will lead to a future bright.
Bonus:
If your prospects feel bleak,
Go give Roger’s Hub a peek.
FOUND!
Zone 2 Clues
View Zone 2 Clues and Explanations
DAY 1
Along a thundering river,
Stands a titan of lumber.
For one month each year,
He awakens from his slumber.
Looming at record height for another year
In hopes of spreading seasonal cheer.
If this nutty case you’ll crack,
Follow Weihnachtsmann’s homeward track.
DAY 2
This county was home to 8 legendary teens,
Whose story seemed plucked from the silver screen.
By morning they tended to sheep and to hay,
On weekends and evenings, giants they’d slay.
When life gave lemons to these bells of the ball,
Quakers and Cardinals, they vanquished them all.
DAY 3
He traveled west as a pioneer.
Sadly, he was no volunteer.
Although born on Independence day,
For 30 years his own freedom remained at bay.
Armed with his fiddle and a vision,
This worthy man earned manumission.
He spent his final days, until from life he did depart,
In this once capital town at the valley’s heart.
DAY 4
There is power in changing geographic names.
What once was accepted, today evokes shame.
Near the south branch of a resurrected waterway,
Honoring female elders, our bottle does lay.
Be respectful of this riparian land,
Conduct your search with a gentle hand.
FOUND!
Zone 3 Clues
View Zone 3 Clues and Explanations
DAY 1
65. And shrinking. Respite for our feathered friends.
The story is familiar, but it’s unclear how it ends.
A halophile’s paradise on the razor’s edge.
Alkaline dust clears revealing petroglyphs above the ledge.
It’s terminal. Drought seeds doubt.
Let’s look ahead.
Will the Public Trust Doctrine prevail?
What do you think—phalarope’s head or tail?
Fly south.
DAY 2
Beverly wondered: Who took it? It happened so fast.
Everything is Illuminated in the light of the past.
This place. Just wide-open space.
Many had a dream. A vision. Come stay at The Pioneer!
Canoes. Arrowheads. It’s the American Frontier!
Some say…
The land was two feet higher than it is today.
Golden, like the hay.
A mouth full of water moccasins.
Is it Southern Pacific or COPCO that wins?
Jim Straw, an old cowboy to the end, reluctantly moved away.
Once a visitor in these lands, the Trust Buster saves the day.
You bring back my sign? REWARD $1,000.
Once you’re here, keep west.
DAY 3
Old Hay Seeds gather for a picnic.
Vague agrarian frustrations start to get specific.
Two bold ones speak with the power of ten.
But the Kansas Cyclone roared louder than the men.
Promises made in a distant place sour across the landscape.
The movement gains momentum when federal incentives stagnate.
Come what may, ‘Oregon Style’ is the only way.
Themes emerge. And they sound familiar to a modern ear.
“Conspiracy! They want to silence the free!” is the cheer.
Mutual regard helps fan the flame.
And fightin’ words take aim.
Veiled subtext in Dorothy’s classic tale.
Plays out with a “Bang!” and ultimately does fail.
He fell back on the stoop.
On the street named of this drupe.
But so too Fehl the cunning and dangerous Tiger.
And the town around them grew a little bit wiser.
From the doorstep of this historic home, find what you seek by continuing south in this county.
DAY 4
“One day in 1968, Chambers discovered a clue—
and that led him to what he swore he would never do.”
But anyone who knew him would say he’s no quitter.
And his legacy is any Oregon trail, beach or roadside that is free of litter.
Of course, he had a somewhat reluctant partner with the spotlight.
Whose political might helped them win the fight.
“What happens in Oregon is going to set a precedent for the rest of the nation.”
And like that, the name “McCall” became synonymous with bottle bill legislation.
Outside of this place that shares his name, a sapling was planted in 1890.
As a symbol of love by a father who delivered the Daily Tidings.
Magnolias still bloom from the branches of this Oregon Heritage Tree.
From here, wander toward a Great Place whose acres number 93.
FOUND!
Zone 4 Clues
View Zone 4 Clues and Explanations
DAY 1
What can you do to narrow down
the best county to look in Zone 4?
Stand at attention to these two-stars
And you’ll need to look no more.
DAY 2
A double yellow line or 3,189 kilometers in the ground.
Flex your focus here and your heart will abound.
According to Mr. Owl, it only takes 3 licks…
If you follow his advice, you’ll get your geographic kicks.
DAY 3
these friends who use bottle drop love the redemption dime.
can you use your observation skills before running out of time?
Paulina just loves a frothy Rootbeer.
Irving drinks with friends, but his is a Non-alcoholic cheer.
Ewan is not fond of soda, he needs a V8.
Ida loves Lemonade, it makes her feel great.
Lane loves the jolt an Energy drink can provide.
if details aren’t your thing, where do you think barney would imbibe?
DAY 4
So much green on the map in our city of old.
Pack up your wagon and head to that blue bold.
And while you’re at it, you might as well heed Mr. Owl’s advice really well.
Stay south of that double yellow and you’ll have your own tale to tell!
FOUND!
Zone 5 Clues
View Zone 5 Clues and Explanations
DAY 1
From nine counties
you’ll have to choose.
Which of these gives you
the blues?
DAY 2
Take the 2 from 64.
Drop him
and go explore.
DAY 3
Don’t go full Monty
but you’re getting near.
Within 5 miles
of this Mountaineer.
DAY 4
If you went north
you’d be happy as a lark.
Across the river side
you’ll find a park.