After 4½ months of clues, theories, late-night searches, long walks, and more than a few wrong turns, Naperville’s first Golden Key Hunt has officially come to a close!
The Hunt began on May 8th and ended on September 25th, when Suzi Jones found the Golden Key and took home the $3,000 cash prize.
But if there’s one thing Naperville taught us, it’s that the Golden Key is only part of the adventure.
4½ Months of Hunting
Our hunters were committed.
They searched with friends and family, went out at night with flashlights, braved the rain, researched clues, compared theories, and explored parts of Naperville they’d probably passed hundreds of times without ever really noticing.
We even heard from hunters who had lived in Naperville for more than 30 years and discovered things about their hometown they never knew.
Some came across local charity events while searching and stopped to support them. Others told us that all the walking and searching actually helped them make progress toward personal fitness and weight-loss goals.
That’s something we’ve come to love about the Golden Key Hunt:
The hunters who truly participate become the real town experts by the end.
People may start because they’re looking for a Golden Key and a cash prize. But along the way, they’re learning about their town, discovering new places, getting outside, and making memories with people they care about.
The town itself becomes part of the treasure.
Meet Our Winner: Suzi Jones!
After 4½ months, someone finally cracked it.
Congratulations to Suzi Jones, winner of the Naperville Golden Key Hunt and $3,000 CASH!
Congratulations to Naperville Golden Key Hunt winner Suzi Jones, who took home the $3,000 grand prize!
Suzi lives in Naperville with her husband, Matt, their daughters, Emma (4) and Julia (almost 2), and their 11-year-old toy poodle, Violet.
She spent many years working in higher education, advising college students and developing academic programs, before becoming a stay-at-home mom.
Now she can add something a little different to the résumé:
Golden Key Hunt Champion.
Suzi plans to save her winnings to help fund trips to visit family and some of her closest friends — shoutout to HOWYF!
Congratulations, Suzi!
The Clue Stops Along the Way
Throughout the Hunt, hunters had to get out into the community and visit our four main Clue Stop Sponsors to receive additional clues.
Those stops were:
- Serotonin Centers Naperville
- Troubled Puzzles Escapes
- The Can Bar
- Everleigh Naperville
And because the Hunt lasted 4½ months, these weren’t necessarily one-time visits.
New clue. New visit. Another piece of the puzzle.
Hunters became familiar faces. Some Clue Stops offered specials specifically for Golden Key hunters, and several received new 5-star Google reviews from hunters who discovered and appreciated them through the Hunt.
That’s exactly what we hoped would happen.
We don’t want our sponsors to simply be logos attached to a treasure hunt. We want hunters to walk through their doors, meet the people behind the businesses, and discover what they have to offer.
One Winner. A Whole Lot of Adventures.
That’s probably the biggest lesson we’re taking away from Naperville.
Only one person can find the Golden Key first, but we want everyone who really participates to get something out of the experience.
Maybe it’s discovering a business you never knew existed. Maybe it’s learning something about your town. Maybe it’s getting a ridiculous number of steps in.
Or maybe it’s simply having a reason to text someone:
“New clue dropped. Let’s go.”
The cash prize might get someone excited about starting the Hunt.
Our goal is to make the adventure the reason they stay.
One Last Celebration
After the Hunt concluded, we held a private, invitation-only post-Hunt celebration with a group of our participating hunters.
Hunters came together one last time to celebrate the conclusion of the Naperville Golden Key Hunt.
After 4½ months of keeping secrets, we could finally give some answers.
We revealed the actual location where the Golden Key had been hidden, went through some of the clues and how they connected, shared stories from the Hunt, and celebrated the adventure together.
We also recognized several hunters through our Bonus Treasures Program.
Some received an extremely rare handmade Golden Key Hunt Journal, featuring a personal note signed by the Founder of the Golden Key Hunt.
Some of our Bonus Treasures participants with their handmade Golden Key Hunt Journals.
Our sponsors also provided giveaways for guests to take home.
And, of course…
We had a BBQ worth showing up for.
A special thank you to Fluffy Clouds Bakery, whose amazing sourdough helped make the post-Hunt celebration even more delicious.
Between the food, prizes, giveaways, clue reveals, and finally getting to talk openly about the Hunt, it was a pretty great way to wrap up 4½ months of adventure.
One Mystery We’re Keeping
So where exactly was the Golden Key?
Nice try.
We revealed the actual hiding place during our private post-Hunt celebration, but we’ve decided not to publicly release the final location.
After all, just because the treasure has been found doesn’t mean every mystery needs to disappear with it. 🔑
Where Does the Golden Key Go Next?
That’s the big question.
We’re currently looking at several possibilities, including St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, Naperville, and Warrenville — and we’re even exploring what it could look like to have more than one Hunt happening at the same time.
Where we go next will depend heavily on the sponsors willing to help bring a Hunt to their community and the support we receive from the people who want one in their town.
We’ve also opened a way for hunters and residents to contribute directly toward the next Golden Key prize.
Those contributions go toward the next treasure — meaning you could help make the next prize bigger…
and then go out and try to find it yourself.
🔑 Want to Help Fund the Next Golden Key?
CLICK HERE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE NEXT GOLDEN KEY PRIZE
There are also additional perks at different contribution levels. And if we move forward with a multi-town Hunt, certain supporters may have opportunities to access more than one Hunt simultaneously.
We’ll keep some of those details up our sleeve for now.
It is a treasure hunt, after all.
The bigger idea is simple:
We want the community to help us decide where the Golden Key goes next.
The Businesses That Helped Make It Happen
A Hunt like this doesn’t happen without local businesses willing to take a chance on the idea and help bring it to life.
So one more huge THANK YOU to our Clue Stop Sponsors:
Serotonin Centers Naperville • Troubled Puzzles Escapes • The Can Bar • Everleigh Naperville
And to our Supporting Prize Sponsors:
Arrow Electric • DL Property Management • Danny at Realty Executives
And a special thank you to Fluffy Clouds Bakery for helping make our post-Hunt celebration a delicious one with her amazing sourdough.
Thank you to everyone who helped make the Naperville Golden Key Hunt possible.
