Go Take a Hike!
Library & Historical Society Create Hi-Tech Walking History Of Rolling Meadows!

You can now check out a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit at the library with a list of clues and coordinates that will take you on a historical treasure hunt in Rolling Meadows!

Unlock Local Mysteries!

Did you know that the first family slept here? Have you heard how the city was saved … before it was built … and from what? Can you explain why the city symbol could easily have been a golf ball embedded in a potato? Do you know why it wasn’t just a coincidence that no one named Jones was believed to be among the original residents? Is there truth to the rumor that declassified time-travel experiments have been conducted in a building on Central Road?

To unlock these and many more local mysteries, bring your Rolling Meadows Library card and a drivers license to the library and ask to check out a Rolling Meadows Adventure Pack. We’ll give you a backpack, a GPS unit accurate to 15 feet anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, a pair of binoculars, and a book of clues and coordinates to begin your adventure. It is a great excuse for taking a hike with your family. The coordinates will lead you to historical locations in Rolling Meadows, but for the master detectives in town, we challenge you to deduce the location before the GPS delivers you to the spot.

For those of you who have heard of but never tried geocaching, this is your chance. We have shamelessly adapted the essence of geocaching (finding treasure caches using a GPS unit) for our local history project. In this case, we will be using the Defense Department’s three billion dollar GPS satellite system – to help you explore Rolling Meadows!

Get Hooked on Hiking and History!

Two Rolling Meadows Adventure Packs will be available for reservation by calling the library at (847) 259-6050, and one will be available for walk-in patrons without a reservation. Rolling Meadows Adventure Packs will be yours for three hours. Call the Rolling Meadows Library for more details. We’ll also post the clues and coordinates here for those that already own GPS units. From time to time, the library and the Rolling Meadows Historical Society will add new clues and new locations for those that get hooked on hiking and history!

Be one of the first 200 families to check out a Rolling Meadows Adventure Pack and you will receive a special prize upon its return!

If you have your own GPS unit, download the full Rolling Meadows Adventure Pack booklet which contains all four History Hikes for you to enjoy. You can also download each section individually;
Getting Started, Distances, History Hike 1, History Hike 2, History Hike 3, History Hike 4, and Notes.
You will need Adobe Reader 7.0 or newer, for a free download click here.

Visit the Rolling Meadows Historical Museum webpage.