What is The Secret Vault? 

Each Curiosity Route city guide comes with access to a companion website we call The Secret Vault. You can find the password and link (or QR code) to the Vault near the end of your guide. 

Once you unlock it, you'll find an ever-growing list of our favorite restaurants plus hidden gems and curious places that didn't fit into the guide. Just like people, cities are always changing and growing, so we needed a place to stash all the exciting new spots we keep discovering! 

But the snacks and side quests are just the beginning. The Vault is also home to many surprises including printable crafts, book lists, and other goodies we're always dreaming up. We believe kids deserve a real say in how they explore. The Vault exists to feed their curiosity: to give young explorers more ways to lead and make the adventure theirs.

Inside the Vault

The Snack Map

The Snack Map is an interactive list and map of restaurants we believe families with older kids will love. You won't find big chains here, just beloved local spots, our favorite bakeries, and the best places to grab a cup of coffee (for the grown-up explorers!). You can filter the list by meal, snack, or coffee to find what your crew is craving. Click on a restaurant’s name to see exactly where it is on the map. 

 Side Quests

The Side Quest section is where we keep all the recommendations for cool places to go and fun things to do in each city. These are the stops that didn't make the main route in the guides, but are absolutely worth a detour. Just like the Snack Map, you can filter places by Curiosity Pathway, so your crew can easily find what interests them: art, action, nature, or history. We also added a whole filter for completely free things to do! And if you click "Rye's Finds," you'll get his favorite local shops to explore.

Guide Pages

Is there more than one curious explorer in your crew? Need extra copies of the DIY zine? You can download PDFs of every interactive page from the guide and print as many copies as you need. Mission logs, scavenger hunts,  journal and coloring pages are all inside the Vault. You can also print out copies of the illustrated maps and full page comic to decorate your space!

Extra Goodies

Every city Vault contains an assortment of goodies. You'll find craft printables like a Paper Chain Trip Countdown, a fun Bagel Necklace and Bagel Decoder craft,  an interactive Pathway Picker (cootie-catcher style!), and a jointed Rye Papercraft Puppet. Each printable includes instructions and lists extra materials you will need. 

There’s also city-specific loot: a snack recipe inspired by each city, a DIY zine full of poems Rye wrote (yes, really), a book list for digging deeper into each city's story, and a playlist Rye put together himself.

Heads Up

We work with a whole flock of artists and makers, so these goodies don’t appear all at once. If something isn't in the Vault yet, don't worry. It's coming. Good things take time, and we're always cooking up something new.

How to Make the Most of the Vault

Here are some tips for making the most of the Vault:

• Check back regularly. We add new restaurants, new side quests and new goodies as often as we can! 

• Most goodies that require printing can be printed on regular printer paper, but some of the crafts work best when they are printed on cardstock. Some crafts also require extra supplies, such as brads and yarn. 

• Check out the Secret Vault before your trip! Some of the goodies are made to be used before you explore, such as the Paper Chain Countdown. Others are great for downtime at the hotel or at the table during restaurant waits.

• Want to see Sneak Peeks of what’s inside the Vault? We have a highlight on Instagram dedicated to Vault goodies. Click here to take a peek!

 

Unlock Your City Adventure

Cities change quickly: new museums open, Rye discovers a new donut shop, a cool new mural pops up. The Vault is our way to help keep your family exploring, wondering and wandering long after the guide is read and the mission log is complete.

Ready to dive in? Grab a guide, unlock the Vault, and let kids lead!