New Treasure Hunt Game Rivals Pokemon Go Across Orange County

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CA—There is life beyond the augmented reality game, Pokemon Go, Orange County. One Rancho Santa Margarita area family discovered the joy of searching for, finding and hiding painted rocks in easy to find places outdoors.

The idea? To get away from technology with a good, old fashioned scavenger hunt.

"We discovered the painted rocks while camping in Washington state this summer," Justin Lutz of Laguna Hills said in interview. "We found a painted rock on a path while hiking. On the back there was a Facebook link for where to go to post a picture."

In Kitsap, Washington rock hunting is not new however Lutz and his wife decided this was something that Orange County families desperately needed.

Modeling their OC Rocks Facebook group on Kitsap's page, they have already engaged over 450 fans in just a matter of weeks. Now, parents, grandparents and kids are painting rocks and hiding them across Orange County for others to find and get involved.

"This lets your creativity flow when you are painting. If you see a dog in the rock, you can paint the dog or just paint a word that is meaningful, and give someone a lift," he said.

The first rocks they found in Kitsap were everything from Disney themed to inspirational messages. Now, they are placing their rocks along with over 400 Orange County families in a giant "Easter egg hunt."

Look for OC Rocks at:

• City Parks and Playgrounds
• Beaches
• Walking Trails
• Hiking Trails
• Skate Parks
• At Pokestops and Pokemon Gyms
• In tree roots
• In easy to spot locations.

Hide OC Rocks:

• In plain sight
• At kids' eye level
• In places that look unique and fun
• Keep them relatively easy to find until more people get the hang of it.

Paint OC Rocks:

• Bright and colorful paint.
• Seal it with a paint sealant, if you choose.
• Use themes based upon holidays, characters, or even Pokeballs!
• Always paint with friends and family. It's engaging and gets conversations started.

"We want them easy to locate, something that kids will be able to discover easily," he said. "When I was a kid we were always out doing stuff. We were at the park until dark and this is something I see that we can do to be creative and get away from technology or Pokemon go."

If you happen to be at a south Orange County pokestop, look around for colorful rocks.

"We leave pictures of rocks that we've hidden around Orange County on our Facebook page, and many are located near Pokestops," he said.

Decorate your rocks however you choose, look up, look around and enjoy the scavenger hunt.

Join OC Rocks Facebook group and happy hunting!

Photos by permission of Justin Lutz, Sherry Lutz, and Ashlee Duerr