Hidden Bottle Hunt
June 26 – 29, 2025
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 2025! This year’s hidden bottle design theme celebrates Oregon’s dark skies, including the Oregon Outback, which is the largest International Dark Sky Sanctuary, 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 on this page for each bottle every day of the hunt. Sign up if you’d like to be notified by email when the clues are live each day.
Sign up for Clue Notifications - June 26 - 29
All clues for this year’s Hunt have been distributed.
When is the Hidden Bottle Hunt?
The 2025 Hidden Bottle Hunt will take place from Thursday, June 26 through Sunday, June 29 (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, trails or lands 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 54 years (and counting)!
This year’s commemorative bottle design honors the Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary in Lake County. Thanks to the work of DarkSky Oregon, this majestic southern Oregon sanctuary offers one of the most breathtaking night sky viewing experiences in the country.
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. Sign up if you’d like to be notified by email when the clues are live each day.
Clues will be released as follows (or until all bottles are found):
Clue 1 – Thursday, June 26 at 5pm
Clue 2 – Friday, June 27 at 9am
Clue 3 – Saturday, June 28 at 9am
Clue 4 – Saturday, June 28 at 5pm
Clue 5 – Sunday, June 29 at 9am
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!
Pro-Tip: Start thinking about which BottleDrop Give nonprofit you want to support when you find a 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, trails or lands open to the public.
- Do not go inside any buildings to look for bottles. All bottles are hidden in areas open to the outdoors. If bottles are hidden in a structure, it will be a structure that is open air, or has an opening that does not close.
- 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 2025 Hidden Bottle Hunt Official Rules & Regulations, in full.
Happy hunting!
Frequently Asked Questions Answered by a Seasoned Clue Writer
You will receive an email notifying you when the clues are live on our website each day.
Use common resources, such as key word searches. Try and try again! Keep an open mind in case there are multiple solves to clues.
The solution to the first clue narrows the search area somehow. It is not the bottle location. 😊
The bottles are big and hard to conceal for a 4 day hunt. They are very unlikely to just be lying out in the open. Don’t destroy pants or disturb things, but look hard!
Be prepared! Wear sunscreen, a hat, and comfortable footwear. Bring gloves and use a stick to gently move plants or poke under plants, rocks, or logs. Don’t forget to bring extra water and snacks!
Have fun!!! This is essential. At the end of the day, the hunt should be a fun experience where you get to enjoy time outside with your friends and family. It’s a great time to exercise your brain and your body. If you’re feeling frustrated, take a break.
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Daily Clues
Zone 1E Clues
View Zone 1E Clues and Explanations
CLUE 1
The merchants were weary, their patience decaying
Of farmers’ subsidies they were dismaying
In ‘54 their protests were braying
Thanks to their pleas, you know where you’re staying
CLUE 2
To narrow more, let’s consider some numbers
Though it’s tempting to camp out and slumber
You’ll lock in on a Hoosier’s scene
When you determine which fed came in 31st, 35th, & 33rd,
and tried to save a Polynesian queen.
CLUE 3
You’re saddled up and ready to ride
But where oh where does that bottle hide?
If you’re in it to find the gold,
You should seek the company of 108 13-year-olds
CLUE 4
Missing here is one key decision,
Dendrologists surely celebrated the vision.
The aldermen met, but it wasn’t a deciduous on their minds,
Their December 2012 deliberation could spur a find.
CLUE 5
Green views advertise where the path is charted
Red diamonds show where hikes are started
If you’d rather not be brokenhearted
Look just west of where the route is parted
It’s tempting to say X marks the spot
But this clue won’t be cracked by a bot
Near where the maples beckon “V for victory”
Look along the back of a downed tree
FOUND!
Zone 1W Clues
View Zone 1W Clues and Explanations
CLUE 1
Our story begins with two David pioneers.
Overcoming doubt, these farmers persevered.
The first, a papa, his plantings prized beauties.
The second, self-avowed latecomer, his arrival still early.
Area maps filed federally in ‘83.
Nine point Ninety designates our hunt boundary.
CLUE 2
“Dr. Jones, I presume?” A vintner may ask.
His predictions aid industry in terroir tasks.
New forecast zones produced by NWS in ‘24,
Pair with the OSU Dijon clone ending in four.
CLUE 3
Allison’s Lake was no mistake,
Jory soil and cataclysmic dam break.
An argillite stowaway of greatest size,
Its county holds our zone’s grand prize!
CLUE 4
If you wing it, a young man can still be seen
Where a noble experiment once reigned supreme
Until ‘66, when voters spoke up en masse
Now friends can gather, and raise a glass.
FOUND!
Zone 2 Clues
View Zone 2 Clues and Explanations
CLUE 1
This year we celebrate Oregon’s dark skies,
while searching for our special prize.
Zone 2 consists of a Lucky seven,
don’t Look Low and you’ll find heaven.
CLUE 2
In 1850 the DLA was the major factor to settle,
this county rich in grass and metal.
Take this info and add it to your files,
as the path to treasure still includes many miles.
CLUE 3
Calapooia and Takenah played the role of rival,
but another hub emerged after the brother’s arrival.
Lewis, Clark and Adair all contributed to our conjecture,
that the spots amongst the State’s most diverse and historic architecture.
CLUE 4
Four historic districts in a city of this size,
demonstrate its importance in the Valley’s early rise.
Focus on parks near two and Be in the know,
An act of loyalty, an aviator and an unusual volcano.
FOUND!
Zone 3 Clues
View Zone 3 Clues and Explanations
CLUE 1
No Babe, but a behemoth’s brother,
Ralph stands watch like no other.
Success in this year’s venture
Falls east of this smallest-town’s center.
CLUE 2
In a statewide quest for Jeff’s treasures
This one created by earth’s pressure.
Aqueous carved stone surrounds
Nearby, ancient footwear abounds
Zone 3’s sought after bounty
Awaits within this county
CLUE 3
It’s the largest of its kind in the world
See a bear or lion? Yes, but not a zoo.
Certify major progress by reaching for them
But you shouldn’t expect a kangaroo.
Is there also a way to spot a little fox?
The anser is also worth a view.
CLUE 4
O ye of little faith but remarkable consistency
Hunters, locating this old place will reward persistency
Hot though it may be, if you’d really like to be bold
Spring into action nearby at a place associated with cold.
(Or, another way, solve this one if you like,
Take 395’s by and replace it with bike.)
FOUND!
Zone 4 Clues
View Zone 4 Clues and Explanations
CLUE 1
Hitch up your wagon, and lend me your ear.
Follow the road to rich bunchgrass for steer.
Surveyed for horse travel in fifty-nine,
Years later completed for autos in thirty-nine.
Keep that wagon ready, head east on the trail.
In this County, all bottle seekers will prevail.
CLUE 2
Does this year’s bottle have you looking to the sky?
Wouldn’t it be stellar if 2264 caught your eye?
To journey to this area, make a note to follow so.
If you are still looking, ask Hazel and Fiver to give it a go.
CLUE 3
Tired from all that wander and roam?
For the bottle you’re thirsty, hungry and groan?
It’s a new day, and a New Deal.
Change three hundred into letters (for real).
Please take a newfangled snack.
Go ahead and give this area a crack.
CLUE 4
Go grab binoculars: there’s eagles, ospreys, and kingfishers, as well.
Named for a brush covered dome whence to dwell.
Which map do you use? Does it show you the way?
The road that you want, there’s two ways to say.
No need to stick your thumb out, the answer to everything is here,
But do add an hour to your answer, my dear.
Stand on the earth, see the dazzling blue.
If you see two marks, the bottle is next to you!
FOUND!
Zone 5 Clues
View Zone 5 Clues and Explanations
CLUE 1
The names for this place pass the test of abundance
Don’t overcook it here, there will be pungence
Travelers general and gentleman specific
To stay alive, prefer away from the Pacific.
CLUE 2
The hunt can provide incredible highs
Lows also, and all points in between.
What state are you in just now?
Get comfortable near the mean.
CLUE 3
In order to keep rollin’ past this stage
Stop and switch to a bygone age
Oh! Are in you the time to dwell?
A line through the blues serves you well
If correctly do you gauge.
CLUE 4
In the Eighties, a mayor created a Campy sensation
By parading the town’s qualities in a proclamation.
Two twenty ones might provide quite the Revelation
But still, beware the water whisking you into intoxication.
CLUE 5
Don’t wait’ll they get their stampede on to cut ‘er loose!
Go to the biggest little before the spurs and latigo
You’ll find utility
In this cabin from Whitney
It was still restorable
You’ll find it adorable
And it will do a Hale of a job for your ego.