History of Hillside Letters

(From Hillside Letters A to Z by Evelyn Corning)

        Giant capital letters adorn hillsides near many towns and cities in the West.  These modern geoglyphs were well suited to this     part of the country with many treeless hills and mountains.  Letters were painted on rocks, made of cut out letters, or were letters built of concrete or rocks.  Letters were at least 10-15 feet high, sometimes illuminated at night, and were used for homecoming rituals at colleges or high school.  

        Hillside letters have a respectable history dating back to 1905.  The University of California's "Big C" on the Berkley hills is the granddaddy of them all.  Only 70 feet high, the Berkeley letter was followed by the U at the University of of Utah and a Y at Brigham Young University.  This spread to other colleges in the 20s and 30s. Many hillside letters are connected to a college or a high school.  Several land grant colleges originally made letters- "A" for Aggies, "M" for Miners, and "N" for Normal Schools.  There are about 400 hillside letters still in existence.  They continue to be the pride and joy of the school/community.

Purpose of the Program

        At the local level, this program is great for our club's image/exposure and will encourage more walkers to come out to this part of the country.  We are in the North Central Region and attempt to present walks and programs that will entice walkers to drive the extra miles.  

        The AVA's purpose in these special programs is to promote fitness and create public interest in volksporting.  The Hillside Letters Program is a unique, but eccentric feature of this part of the country.  This western icon is slowly disappearing due to safety and environmental issues.  It would be a shame to pass up the opportunity to experience these walks without learning some of the local history.

Requirements of the Program

1. Program requires 12 different sanctioned events.  No walking or biking events are retroactive or can be repeated.

2. Criteria is a sanctioned AVA event that goes as close as possible or within sighting of the authentic hillside letter or letters.  "Authentic" letters are painted on rocks, made of concrete or rock, or cut out letters on a hillside.

3. Events will start January 1, 2010 and the program will end December 31, 2012.  Completed booklets can be turned in later if awards are still available.  Insert cards can be used and must be attached to the booklet.  

4. Participants who complete all 12 events in the program will receive a multicolored patch.

5. List of sanctioned walks that qualify will be posted on the web site:  www.ava.org/clubs/bhva  and will be mailed out with your booklet.  If there are additional walks that we did not include or correction are needed, please let us know by emailing walkusa@rushmore.com.

How to Register

        Books can be purchased for $10.00 each.  Please mail money and information to:  

Beth Hendricks
1031 Park Hill Dr
Rapid City, SD 57701

        This is also the address to mail completed books too.  

        Black Hills Volkssport Association in Rapid City, SD is the sponsoring club and Thanks You for your interest in this special program.  We hope you will enjoy the walks as you journey across the western United States.

Hillside Letters-Sanctioned Seasonal Walks

Arizona Walks-7                                                                                                                

YR1185 Tempe                                                                                                                  

YR1196  Ajo                                                                                                                                        

YR0321  Tucson                                                                                                                 

YR0669  Bisbee                                                                                                              

YR1184  Mesa                                                                                                                    

YR0986  Tombstone                                                                                                         

YR1420  Wickenburg      

California Walks-14

YR1430 Susanville

YR1779 Los Angeles

YR0458 San Obispo

YR0664 Morrow Bay

YR1478 Riverside

YR1043 Claremont

YR1427 Quincy

YR0584 Redlands

YR1480 San Francisco

YR1426 San Diego

YR0700 Oroville

YR1761 Pasadena

YR0860 Ventura

YR1762 Whittier

Colorado Walks-4                                                                                                             

YR1706  Ft. Collins                                                                                                            

YR1945  Golden                                                                                                                 

YR1956  Salida                                                                                                                   

YR1052  Boulder           

Idaho Walks-2

YR0089 Boise

YR1521 Lewiston

Montana Walks-3

YR0766 Glendive

YR0483 Helena

YR1948 Colestrip                                                                                                     

Nevada Walks-6

YR0935 Reno                                                                                                                     

YR0474  Las Vegas                                                                                                            

YR0936  Carson City                                                                                                         

YR1393  Virginia City                                                                                                        

YR1210  Henderson                                                                                                        

YR1880  Boulder City   

New Mexico Walks-3                                                                                    

YR0185  Albuquerque                                                                                     

YR0010  Las Cruces                                                                                         

YR0931 Los Alamos       

Oregon Walks-8                                                                                                               

YR1379  Baker City                                                                                            

YR1831  Condon                                                                                                

YR1608 The Dalles

YR1330 LaGrande                                                                                            

YR1458  Rogue River                                                                                        

YR1440 Vale

South Dakota Walks- 2

YR0045 Rapid City

YR0035 Spearfish

Texas Walks -1

YR0900 El Paso

Utah Walks-3

YR1628 Salt Lake City

YR1577 Brigham City

YR0198 Ogden

Washington Walks-3                                                                                     

YR0417  Clarkston                                                                                             

YR0437  Colville                                                                                                  

YR0059  Kelso           

Wyoming Walks-4

YR0991 Evanston

YR0038 Thermopolis

YR0856 Newcastle

YR0667 Laramie                                                                                      

If there are any additions or corrections to this list, please let me know (walkusa@rushmore.com). We would like to encourage all the clubs to sponsor a weekend walk or a seasonal event that would include hillside letters.