There's A Treasure Chest Containing Over $10K Buried Somewhere In San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO — The mysterious benefactors who buried a treasure chest filled with $10,000 worth of loot at an undisclosed location in San Francisco last May are back and the hunt is on yet again, complete with another batch of perplexing clues.

This year’s prize weighs over 150 pounds and comes out to $10,001 in cash, according to the organizers, who launched the hunt on Wednesday on the r/sanfrancisco subreddit, same as last year, and probably for the final time.

“It was a questionable financial decision the first time and downright idiotic the second,” the organizers posted on their website, buriedtreasuresf.com, adding that, barring the addition of a wealthy collaborator, “There truly can’t be a third.”

The 2026 treasure is buried under a foot of earth and a set of clues that appear even more befudding than those of the 2025 hunt. Last year, the treasure was discovered in just 11 hours in a hollow at Mount Sutro Open Space Preserve, but as of Sunday evening, no one had claimed 2026's booty, although the organizers said in a Reddit update Saturday that one person or group “got shockingly close.”

In addition to the riddle-style clues, the organizers have revealed that no technical equipment is needed to find the treasure and it’s not underwater.

This year’s clues read as follows:

Minute steps climb, and beyond fingers rise,
onward on pins where the treasure lies
deem heavenly island towers, over derelict ward;
stern wood haven north and powell, off back-ward
under stone this mint rests buried in keep,
but intermiss briefly, please-do take a seat
spare a moment between us, you who shall reap;
only we know this plane, this sanctum, this peep
let's celebrate our land, the city, this jaunt,
the clamber, the sights, our sole hunt for this haunt
truly framed in full cast stage left at your feet;
dig just one foot down and — finally — heft the prize that you seek

Just as enigmatic as the clues are the organizers themselves, who have remained anonymous but did reveal to The New York Times that they are two 30-something men who are friends, live on the west side and don’t work in tech.

Whoever finds the treasure is asked to contact them at buriedtreasure2025@proton.me.