The St. Paul Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt is an annual contest put on by the St. Paul Pioneer Press newspaper in conjunction with the St. Paul Winter Carnival. The contest is open to all and consists of lyric type clues published daily in the newspaper. The object of the contest is to decipher the clues and locate the treasure which is hidden on public property within Ramsey County, Minnesota. The treasure, which is now a medallion, is exchanged for the prize money at the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

The start of the 2003 Treasure Hunt is on Sunday, January 19, 2003. If it follows the current pattern, it will run from Sunday, January 19th to Thursday, January 30th, for a total of 12 clues. One clue is published each day or until the treasure is found.

The new clue will be in newspapers sold from the downtown lobby at 345 Cedar Street, starting at about 11 pm each evening during the hunt. The clue will also be posted at midnight at twincities.com.

No one, other than the person hiding the medallion, really knows exactly when it is hidden. But back in the 1950's when information was given a little more freely, there were various articles in the newspaper about how careful they are while hiding the medallion and some of those articles even mentioned the date of when it was hidden that given year. At that time the medallion was usually hidden in the week prior to the start of the hunt and was usually done in the middle of the night.

Generally, the medallion is hidden in or attached to something else. But there have been years when the medallion was hidden loose in the snow. In recent years it has been concealed by something white in color. In years with little or no snow cover, look for the medallion to be concealed in a clay and grass mixture or something that will blend in with the natural setting.

According to a 1992 newspaper article, the modern translucent blue medallion is approximately two inches in diameter and one-half inch thick. I like to think of it as the size of a snuff box, which is what it was hidden in on Harriet Island in 1996.

When the treasure started in 1952 the treasure was hidden by editors and brothers, Daniel and Robert Ridder. They wrote the clues and hid the treasure and were the only two people who knew the treasure location.

An article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press in the 1970's stated that the treasure was hidden by two couples known only as Mr. and Mrs. X and Mr. and Mrs. Y.

It is unknown who or how many people are involved in the clue writing and hiding process for the modern day treasure hunt. It still is one of the best kept secrets in St. Paul.

No, the treasure has never been buried below ground, but it usually is buried in the snow. The rules state that you do not need to destroy property to find the treasure, this includes digging up the ground. It has also been hidden in trees and parks benches above the snow and ground. A note to you tree climbers, the years that the treasure has been hidden in trees, it was located in the lower branches or root systems of the trees. You DO NOT need to risk personal injury to find the treasure.