By Diane Metzger

With non-toxic paint, rollers, and stencils in hand, Generation Wild volunteers spent a full week in September at Chatfield State Park in Littleton with one goal in mind: breaking the Guinness World Record for Longest Hopscotch Game.

Generation Wild, supported by Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), is a statewide movement to get kids and families outside more often. And what better way to encourage outdoor play than to tap into the fun and nostalgia of hopscotch? However, rather than the traditional 10-squared design, volunteers needed to complete more than 4.2 miles of squares to beat the previous record.

Attempting to do so was no easy feat. Volunteers faced heat, rain, wind, and long hours of painting. For the record to be valid, the course needed to be continuous (with no breaks between the squares), have all squares sized the same, follow a 1-square to 2-square pattern, and have specifically crafted turns. Plus, two brave hoppers would have to complete the entire course in one sitting on judging day.

But the Generation Wild community said, “Bring it on!”

After six days of painting, we gathered on September 17 at the Chatfield State Park swim beach anxiously awaiting the result from the finish line. A Guinness World Records official traveled along the entire course to check the work and watch three volunteer hoppers brave the entire length. When they reached the end, the group was greeted by an excited crowd of families, partners, and other supporters, along with Generation Wild’s beloved spokescreature, Wilder.

Finally, it was the moment we’d all been waiting for. The Guinness World Records official stepped up to the microphone and announced that Generation Wild had successfully broken the world record for Longest Hopscotch Game at 4.37 miles and 21,871 squares. It took the three hoppers 2.5 hours to complete the entire course—now that’s endurance!

The Generation Wild community is overjoyed with the result of our hard work, and even more excited for how the news of the world record has reached kids and families across Colorado to serve as a unique reminder of how fun it really is to get outside – whether you’re walking, running, swimming, biking or, in this case, hopping!

Special thanks to the incredible kids, families, community members, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, GOCO staff, hoppers, and everyone else who made the World’s Longest Hopscotch Game possible. We did it!

Visit GenerationWild.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more inspiration and ideas for getting outside, and news about upcoming events and opportunities to hang out with the one and only Wilder.