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Visit Travelers Rest Turned Downtown Public Art Into a Rabbit Chase
Visit Travelers Rest launched Beyond the Burrow on Seeker XP, turning six hand-painted public art sculptures along the Swamp Rabbit Trail into a free, self-guided digital challenge through downtown Travelers Rest, SC. Where the trail usually carries cyclists and walkers straight through town, the Rabbit Challenge gives them a reason to stop.
Overview
Visit Travelers Rest launched the Beyond the Burrow public art installation in 2025. For 2026, they paired the installation with a Seeker XP digital passport, giving locals and visitors along the Swamp Rabbit Trail a structured reason to seek out every rabbit. Each of the six sculptures carries a QR code; scanning it checks participants in, unlocks a unique badge, and surfaces the artist’s story and inspiration behind that rabbit. Participants who collect all six badges earn a Certificate of Completion through the app and can redeem it for a sticker at any of ten participating downtown businesses.
At a Glance
- Activation: Beyond the Burrow Rabbit Challenge
- Location: Travelers Rest, SC (Upstate South Carolina)
- Timeline: 3 Months. Ends Labor Day 2026
- Audience: Visitors, cyclists, and locals exploring downtown Travelers Rest
- Use Cases: Art Trail · Visitor Experience · Placemaking
- Experience Type: QR Code Scavenger Hunt · Digital Passport
- Industry: Destination Marketing
- Key Features: Digital Badges · QR Codes
- Platform: Seeker XP
About Visit Travelers Rest
Visit Travelers Rest is the destination marketing organization for Travelers Rest, SC, a small city nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Greenville County. Known to locals and regulars simply as TR, the town draws visitors with a mix of outdoor adventure, boutique retail, farm-to-table dining, craft beer, and arts culture. The organization promotes TR to visitors from across the Upstate region and beyond, with a goal of turning trail traffic into genuine downtown dwell time.
TR’s national profile has grown substantially on the strength of the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail, a 22-mile paved greenway connecting downtown Travelers Rest to Greenville that’s earned coverage in Southern Living, USA Today, and Outside magazine. That trail built TR’s identity as a bike-friendly destination and pulls a steady stream of cyclists, walkers, and day-trippers directly through the heart of downtown. The challenge, as with most trail towns, is converting passing traffic into participating visitors. People who stop and explore spend more, return more often, and tell more people.
Beyond the Burrow gave Visit Travelers Rest a structured reason for those visitors to slow down. The city’s art initiative created the physical trail; Visit Travelers Rest built the Seeker XP digital passport on top, turning each sculpture into a checkpoint and giving visitors a trail-wide game to play as they explored the town.
How it Works
Visitors find the Rabbit Challenge through the dedicated challenge page at visittravelersrest.com, where the Seeker XP passport link and a map of all six rabbit locations are available. Participants can also pick up a printed brochure at any of ten participating downtown businesses before heading out, which serves as both a trailhead guide and a reminder of where to redeem their sticker once the challenge is complete.
Once on the trail, participants use the Seeker XP passport on their phone to scan the QR code mounted at each rabbit sculpture. Each scan checks them in and unlocks a unique digital badge named for that rabbit. The six sculptures are spread across TR’s downtown corridor and Swamp Rabbit Trail, designed so completing the full route requires real exploration on foot or by bike.
The six rabbit check-in locations:
- Honey (Trailblazer Park): Artist Marc Evan’s love letter to the TR Farmers Market, painted in vivid produce and market-day scenes
- Tsisadu (Corner of Roe Rd. and Main St.): Named for the Cherokee word for rabbit, artist Mary Beth Owen honoring the region’s Indigenous roots
- Bridget (Main St., near the driving range): Artist Elizabeth Kinney’s stained-glass-style portrait of the historic Poinsett Bridge
- Starry (Corner of State Park Rd. and Poinsett Hwy.): Artist Grey Thompson’s celestial night-sky design
- Hareitage CottonTRails (Center St., near Gateway Park): Artist Jennifer Guy Stewart’s montage of TR’s rail and textile heritage
- Echo (Corner of Henderson Dr. and Main St.): Artist Kane Carrera’s black-and-white illustrations of Travelers Rest landmarks
After scanning all six, the Seeker XP app issues a Certificate of Completion. Participants show that certificate at any of the ten participating businesses to claim a TR sticker. Every Rabbit Challenge finisher is automatically entered in a drawing for a two-night TR Getaway package, with the contest running through Labor Day 2026.
Activities
Trail Exploration
Walk or bike the Swamp Rabbit Trail, tracking down rabbits along the corridor from Trailblazer Park to downtown streets.
Public Art Check-Ins
Scan QR codes at six hand-painted rabbit sculptures and earn a unique digital badge at each location.
Downtown Discovery
Pick up a brochure, explore participating shops and breweries, and claim your completion sticker at any of ten downtown TR businesses.
Badges
Honey
Check in at 1 location
Tsisadu
Check in at 1 location
Bridget
Check in at 1 location
Starry
Check in at 1 location
Hareitage CottonTRails
Check in at 1 location
Echo
Check in at 1 location
Rewards
Participants who find all six rabbits earn a Certificate of Completion through the Seeker XP app. Show that certificate at any participating downtown business to claim a TR sticker, and you’re automatically entered in the drawing for a two-night TR Getaway package.
TR Completion Sticker
Unlock all 6 badges
2-Night TR Getaway Package
Unlock all 6 badges
(Prize drawing held after Labor Day 2026)