Rock Painting Phenomenon Sweeping Enfield

ENFIELD, CT — Last year, the Pokemon Go craze made headlines for a brief spurt, but the latest treasure hunt trend to sweep the nation, and Enfield in particular, involves a lot less technology - in fact, it inspires a return to the basics.

Painting, hiding and finding rocks has become a huge activity across the country, combining artistic creativity with the simple premise of a scavenger hunt. Some people choose only to paint and hide rocks, while others opt to paint, hide and find, and in many cases, re-hide their findings.

A Facebook group called Enfield Rocks has recently been formed, and already numbers 783 members. (UPDATE: the group had swelled to 1,438 members by Friday afternoon).

"I follow several businesses on Facebook, and one of them in Lakeland, Fla. posted about rock painting," said Shannon Grant, who created the Enfield Rocks page. "I decided to start a group in Enfield, which I did in late December, but it was slow at first being in the winter. It began taking off in April, and we had a children's event in May at the library to introduce families to the idea, which was extremely well-attended."

The group description on the Enfield Rocks Facebook page states, "We are painting rocks to hide, find, re-hide (or keep) around Enfield, CT to spread joy and brighten people's day. Come join us! This is a community-building group meant to inspire creativity in all ages and energize people to explore the beautiful area we live in."

"The heart of this is to spread joy, and everybody in the group has been highly positive," Grant said. "Some towns actually discourage these types of activities, so we are truly blessed to have the support of Enfield."

Getting involved is simple. Gather some flat, paintable rocks, acrylic paint, brushes and sealer, then paint the rock and seal it. Write some instructions on the bottom of the rock to let the finder know which Facebook group to post a photo to. Then find a good spot to hide the rock and watch the Facebook page to see when (or if) it is found.

Grant said some good places to obtain rocks in the Enfield area are Home Depot, Ocean State Job Lot and Michael's, as well as one's own personal yard. She highly discourages taking them from public locations.

When hiding rocks, participants are advised to stay away from private property (stores, parking lots, etc.), unless owner permission is obtained. Good locations to hide them include parks, river banks, walking trails, ballfields and playgrounds, preferably in an off-ground location such as a tree or fence post so as not to cause any problems with mowing.

The creations spotted thus far have covered a wide range of preferences: ladybugs, baseballs, minions, sharks, palm trees, American flags, peace signs, sailboats and many more.

To join the Enfield Rocks Facebook group, click here.

Submitted photos