Geocaching: All the World’s a Scavenger Hunt!

Did you know that your neighborhood or local park contains hidden treasure? Okay, not so much hidden treasure but hidden containers filled with trinkets, coins, or, at a minimum, a logbook. Geocaching – Geo-what? (pronounced Gee – O – Cashing) – is an outdoor activity in which you use a hand-held GPS device or smartphone to locate hidden containers (or caches), which are typically waterproof and hold trinkets and a log book.

Geocaching is an outdoor activity you can do anywhere, anytime, and at any age. More than 2.5 million geocaches are worldwide, including many throughout Fairfield County. Who doesn’t love a good treasure hunt? Especially kids! Geocaching is a great way to spend some time outdoors as a family and a great way to interest your kids in the outdoors by taking notice of everything around them.

So, if you have a few dollars and a smartphone, head outdoors with the family and start geocaching. Here is everything that you need to get started.

1. Go to www.geocaching.com and register for an account (it’s free).

Get GPS coordinates for a geocache in your area or the area that you are visiting. Beginner caches are highlighted in green, but each listing should describe the difficulty level (including whether a leisurely stroll or an intense hike are required to find the cache) and clues. My husband and I have found caches in our town and nearby Waveny and Cranbury parks.

2. Put the coordinates into a geocaching app downloaded to your smartphone. 

There are various apps available that allow you to navigate directly to caches without having to go to the website. (If you own GPS receivers, you could use those instead of your smartphone).

3. Start searching!  

Be respectful of other people’s property and the environment. While most geocaches are located in public places, there is always a chance that private property or sensitive environmental terrain lies between you and where you think the geocache is located.

Look high and low and all around! Geocaches can be hidden anywhere – under rocks, inside a hollowed-out tree, underwater, etc. Geocaches can be big or small and made out of almost anything so long as it is waterproof – my husband and I have found large Tupperware containers or Nalgene bottles, some smaller than a film canister.

4. Geocache found!  

If you successfully locate your geocache, don’t forget to leave something in exchange for anything that you (or, more likely, your kids) take from the geocache. Think small dollar store trinkets. Some ideas include coins, bouncy balls, stickers, or plastic finger puppets.

You can also consider leaving a fun travel bug or tag, such as Signal the Travel Frog, a small, metal tag with a unique tracking ID. You and your kids can have fun tracking the bug or tag on www.geocaching.com and seeing where in the world it travels.

5. Log your experience.

If the geocache has a log, note your information in the log – it is always fun to see who else has found it. In addition, be sure to log your experience at www.geocaching.com, where you can keep track of your geocaching adventures, note tips or tricks for others, or even log a problem with the geocache.

6. Consider creating your own geocache in your neighborhood or local park.

Be mindful of these guidelines when placing a geocache in state parks and forests.

Finally, explore and have fun!

Now, aren’t you curious to find the geocaches in your neighborhood and local parks? Let us know about your experience in the comments below!