Fredericksburg's Otterly Amazing Scavenger Hunt

bronze otter statues in Fredericksburg, Virginia (Otterly Amazing Scavenger Hunt)

What is an Otterly Amazing Scavenger Hunt?

Fredericksburg, Virginia is a city full of rich history, perched right on the Rappahannock River. Its waterfront location made it important strategically in the Civil War and economically in local trade, but in modern times, its location makes for a beautiful, vibrant downtown area.

This river city is also home to — you guessed it — otters! They celebrate this adorable river critter with a scavenger hunt called “The Otterly Amazing Scavenger Hunt.” It is free to all visitors! We heard about it and had to give it a go.

We started off at the Fredericksburg Visitor Center and grabbed a map. I can’t say nicer things about the staff. They were excited to see us and happy to be there. The center was warm and bright.

children pose with bronze otter statues in Fredericksburg, Virginia (Otterly Amazing Scavenger Hunt)

The simplified map of city blocks provided general locations for each of the bronze otter sculptures. All were within walking distance, even for my youngest’s little legs. We plotted a course and made a loop around downtown Fredericksburg, going up and down the hills.

Shortly after starting our hunt, we made our first discovery. The first otters we found were right outside the Visitor Center! We checked them off and headed to the next stop.

We were delighted to discover that each otter has a name and a story to share! Because they both wanted to be the one to find the otter and share their name and info, the kids took turns reading aloud as we found each statue, including the importance of the locations where they were placed.

Clearly they thought the sculptures were adorable and that the Otterly Amazing Scavenger Hunt was fun. While I started to look for a good spot for a break, they ran ahead. Both of them couldn’t wait to find the next otter!

Because the city encourages visitors to take selfies and post them with #fxbgotters on social media, we took a ton! Not many photos are out there yet. The Otterly Amazing Scavenger Hunt is still relatively new, as are the statues themselves.

Unfortunately, we didn’t see any live otters on our visit. We were still happy to snuggle up to the bronze ones!

Poking around this friendly little city in search of otter sculptures was so much fun! We had the chance to explore several places we wouldn’t otherwise have visited, like taverns and bakeries, historic cemeteries, local parks, and one of Virginia’s fantastic LOVE signs.