City Tours and Pub Crawls With Pokemon GO
Gotta have a Kadabra or rare Vaporeon? Take a Pokémon GO tour or bar crawl. While you’re looking for virtual gyms and Jigglypuffs, you can get in some real-world sightseeing or share a cocktail with friends.
Visit Albuquerque/www.visitalbuquerque.org
Historic Old Town is a great place to catch them all, thanks to 15 hotspots and local merchants who keep them active with lots of lures. Hit that location and more on September 29 and 30 with a one and a half hour Pokémon GO "Egg-Hatch & Hunt" Bike Tour. Tickets include a bike rental, bottled water, lure-drops, tricks for catching the creatures and a special Pokémon gift. The ride is somewhat slow, so players have time to hatch their eggs. As you ride along the Bosque River Trail, look for water Pokemon.
Visit Albuquerque/www.visitalbuquerque.org
Check the Albuquerque website for updates; in addition to bike rides, plans are underway for self-guided and guided Pokémon GO tours. And while you're chasing your prey, don't forget to look up now and then to see Albuquerque's beautiful sights, like the skyline at twilight.
Marble Street Studio/Visit Albuquerque
Take in the magnificent scenery in this Canadian province while you visit Pokéstops and gyms. The self-guided Pokemaster's Guide to Alberta directs you to the characters' favorite hang-outs, which include tourist stops like Fort Edmonton, a living history museum.
Travel Alberta
If you like spotting wildlife as much as Pokémon, continuing playing on Elk Island National Park, about an hour’s drive from Edmonton. It's a refuge for elk, bison, over 250 species of birds and lots of colorful cartoon characters.
Travel Alberta
Pokémon have also been spotted on Calgary’s Peace Bridge, known for its award-winning design; at Drumheller, the “Dinosaur Capital of the World”; around lakes and many other locations.
Travel Alberta
The Cheyenne Street Railway Trolley typically stops at places that played a role in the city’s Western history, such as the Wyoming State Museum and Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum.
Matthew Idler/Visit Cheyenne/www.cheyenne.org
Recently the trolley has been transformed into a Pokémon Express that takes gamers to over 40 Pokéstops around town.
Visit Cheyenne/www.cheyenne.org
Look for an extended stop at Lions Park, where large numbers of the virtual creatures have been known to hang out. Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased in advance or on the day of the trip, as long as seats are still available. The last tour is scheduled for August 17, but keep an eye on the website to see if additional dates are added.
Visit Cheyenne/www.cheyenne.org
It's not a big gamble. Your quest to find a Pikachu will pay off when you Crawl Reno on September 17. Twenty bars are participating in this pub crawl. A ticket gets you a red, yellow or blue cup-- the color represents the team you’re on--along with exclusive drink specials, giveaways, maps to help you play the Pokémon GO game and more. Come dressed as your favorite Pokémon character or just wear your team’s color, and compete to win a costume contest.
Some 4,000 fans have indicated their interest since a Pokémon pub crawl in Toronto was announced on Facebook on August 19. Bring your lures and Pokéballs, if you’re a seasoned player, or just come to make new friends and learn the rules (chances are good you won’t be the only newbie). New dates will be posted as pub crawls are added.
Pokémon pursuers will also be pub crawling in Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 27. Three bars will serve as starting points for the Valor, Instinct and Mystic teams, and each bar will be on a Pokéstop or near a gym.
Hop on an air-conditioned bus and head for some of Austin’s best-known landmarks on a Pokemon GO City Tour. See the website for a list of available dates and times; tours are currently offered in August and September. Gamers say Pikachu are plentiful when the bus stops at the state capital. Catches also abound at Vic Mathias Shores Trailhead, in Mueller's parks; Congress Bridge, and UT Tower. Expert tour guides live-track the virtual creatures, giving passengers a head’s-up when it’s time to open their phones. Similar tours are on the drawing board for Houston, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Portland, Boston and other cities.
Check Facebook and Google for more events in more locations. The first-ever UK Pokémon pub crawl, in Glasgow, sold out just 28 hours after tickets went on sale, and players have been turning out in droves in Denver, Sacramento, Atlanta and other cities. Events may be added in other locations as long as the game is hot.
Note: Events like pub crawls and even some tours have age limitations, so avoid disappointment by asking about restrictions before you go.