You Rock, South Lake Tahoe: Painting, hiding, finding rocks the new craze

They are showing up on ATMs, leaning against the car wash, in the playground at school, on the side of a local business parking lot and they even have their Facebook pages.

What are they?

Painted rocks, of course.

A new social media craze made its way across the country this summer.

The concept is simple, and fun. People paint rocks bright colors, with a few words, or mini-masterpieces, then hide them (but not in a hard place, more like hide in plain sight). Then, they put a clue on Facebook. Whomever finds the rock will take a photo of it and post that back on the Facebook page. Then they can keep the rock and hide another rock, or re-hide the one they found.

Denise Llewellyn of South Lake Tahoe started the Facebook page, You Rock South Tahoe on August 12, so its still a new thing for participants.

There are 137 members of Youth Rock South Tahoe, and more people are being added as word gets out about the fun new way to treasure hunt and paint rocks.

Llewellyn said her goddaughter moved to Washington, DC and participate din a hunt and posted on Facebook about her experience.

"I loved the idea and jumped in to start a group here for my grandchildren to enjoy and then began to invite my friends," said Denise. "It's been fun painting rocks, hiding them, and inviting people to join in on the fun."

She said she and her grandchildren have painted and hidden over 100 rocks in the community. They then post clues on Facebook or just leave them for someone to find.

There is no wrong way to join in on the craze, but Denise reminds people to not take rocks from private property.

To join the South Lake Tahoe adventure, visit You Rock South Tahoe's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/341131929676495/.

The photos in this story are from Denise Llewellyn on You Rock South Tahoe.