Walk! Discover! Win!

Aug 1 - 17 2025

A Little History

Gumshoe is slang for “detective.” It’s also the name of a walk that since 2006 has been challenging participants to solve their way through 30 clues and 5 kilometers of Seattle’s Phinney Ridge/Greenwood neighborhood, all for the chance to win prizes and raise funds for local non-profits.

How to Gumshoe

First, to get a flavor for the Gumshoe, check out last year’s clues and answers. Then, when you decide you’re in for 2025:

  • To purchase your entry form, click the register button at the top of this page, pay for one or more forms online and starting on August 2nd, take a copy of your purchase confirmation email and a picture ID to Greenwood Hardware, 7201 Greenwood Ave N, to receive your form(s).

  • If buying online isn’t your thing, between 9 and 11am on Saturday August 2nd, Saturday August 9th, and Saturday Aug 16th, you’ll also find volunteers outside Greenwood Hardware who’ll sell you entry forms for cash, check, or card.

  • With your form in hand, head to this year’s start/end point Take 5 Urban Market (6757 8th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117) and begin gumshoeing. Do the Gumshoe in one day or over several—you’ve got 17 days, including three week-ends—to solve your way through the walk. Experienced gumshoes say it takes about three hours of bipedal locomoting and scratching your head to complete.

  • When you finish, drop your completed form into one of the red lock boxes at Take 5 Urban Market. You’ve got until 6p Sunday, August 17th, if you want to be eligible for the prize drawings at 8pm.

  • If your entry form is drawn, you answer pre-selected clues correctly and the email address you print on your form is legible, someone from the gumshoe team will give you a call or email!

Join Our EMail List

We’ll send you helpful reminders for next year’s Gumshoe, discounts, when and where to pick up your entry forms, and deadlines for returning your forms.

2025 Prize Sponsors

$100 gift card prizes have been donated as prizes by the businesses below

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Greenwood Hardware

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El Chupacabra

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Red Mill Burgers

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Chicken Supply

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Phinney Books

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Halcyon Brewing Co.

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Snapshot Brewing

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Georgeous George's

- Greenwood Hardware - El Chupacabra - Red Mill Burgers - Chicken Supply - Phinney Books - Halcyon Brewing Co. - Snapshot Brewing - Georgeous George's

100% Profits to Local Charities

Since it began in 2005, the Gumshoe’s has raised nearly $100,000 for a variety of local non-profits. For 2025, all proceeds will be donated to our friends at the Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church Food Bank.