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  Several land grant colleges originally made letters- "A" for Aggies, "M" for Miners, and "N" for Normal Schools.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

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.

*AVA Website