I’ve always found geocaching fascinating. I wanted to do a post about how it was a good family activity, but I don’t have the experience. Enter, my friend Amanda from Spinning Yarns and Other Things (and also a friend from high school). She and her family LOVE geocaching together, so I asked her to do a write up for you guys. Thanks Amanda!
What IS Geocaching?
Geocaching. It’s a weird word, I know, but it is so much fun. It even sounds a little bit illegal but it isn’t. Some of you may be thinking, “What in the world is that??” The answer is simple. Geocaching is a modern day treasure hunt that uses coordinates of latitude and longitude to mark the treasure instead of maps. When you find the treasure box you can take something from it, but you must leave something of equal or greater value.
We decided to give geocaching a try this past summer. After our first cache we were hooked! We have now successfully found 71 caches. There is very minimal cost involved and it has turned out to be an awesome family activity with an educational aspect to boot.
Getting Started
To get started, you must visit www.geocaching.com and sign up for an account. The basic account is free and will give you access to tons of caches, or the premium membership is $10 for 90 days or $30 for the year. We actually paid for the entire year. All caches are good, but the ‘better’ caches are usually only available for premium members.
For us, the fee was worth it, but I would suggest not paying until you find several and make sure you like it.
Caches are the containers that you are looking for. They can be anything from a tiny little capsule to something huge. The biggest one we’ve found so far was an old soda machine and we had to figure out the correct combination of buttons to push to open it, and the smallest was a tiny screw top magnet hidden in a drain pipe.
All caches contain a log for you to sign your user ID, but some are too small for anything to be traded. After you have your account set up, you must have a handheld GPS of some sort. Yes, this is different from the kind used in a vehicle. There are lots of options for this. You can get a very basic one that will require you to print out each cache you are looking for and carry the papers with you, or you can get a paperless geocaching unit that does everything for you.
Another option is to download the Geocaching.com app if you have a GPS enabled Android or I-phone. This is what we did. A cheap GPS is probably around $50, but it does require a bit of skill to learn and use, and a basic paperless GPS was around $150. The app was $10 and it has all the geocaching features that you will need. You simply click on the cache you want to find and an arrow comes up that shows you which way to walk.
Any GPS will get you within about 20 feet of the cache and the rest is up to you. Most owners give clues to help you find it. I’m not familiar with actual GPS units but I’m assuming the paperless ones work the same as the app. The website has a “send to GPS” button that allows you to transfer it to your phone or GPS unit.
Educational Aspect
This is a great way to teach children how to read latitude and longitude, and work on their map and survival skills. It also provides opportunities to get off the sofa and out into nature. I’m planning on finding a nature guide of some sort so that we can start identifying different species of plants and animals on our trips out.
There are different types of caches. One type is an earth cache. These are caches that are associated with a historic or geographical landmark. There is no container to be found at these types of caches, but instead you have to learn something about the area or location you are visiting and report back your answer on the website to get credit for your find.
Every cache has a webpage dedicated to it stocked full of information about the area, or it explains the reason that the owner hid the cache. The seeker also uses this page to report if they found it and what condition it was in.
Some of the caches even involve puzzles. We enjoy these the most. The owners enter fake coordinates into the webpage and they require the seeker to use logic, math, deciphers, or other skills to find the real coordinates and make the find. In some cases there are series that give the first set of coordinates and from there you must find the cache to find clues or puzzles for the next stage.
Occasionally you will find things called geocoins or travel bugs in the caches. If you find one of these you are supposed to take it, log it on the website and move it along to another cache. This is another great learning opportunity as it allows the kids (and adults) to see how far that bug or coin has traveled. We started our own travel bug in Abingdon, VA and it has already traveled all the way to HI, and back to WV! The possibilities for learning are endless, and the quality time spent together is priceless.
Making Memories That Last a Lifetime
We have had lots of laughs, picnics, hikes, and a few DUH moments since we started geocaching, but it has been an absolute blast. We have even had my mother and our friends join us as well. Together, we have visited lots of beautiful areas and spent more time outdoors than we ever have before. We have discovered places that we never even knew existed right here at home.
Now that we have an account and an app we are never without something fun and free to do. The kids ask to go all the time. If anyone decides to try it, and needs help, please send me a friend request through the site. I’ll be happy to help you if you have any questions. My user ID is RubyRedCachers. We also have a beginner cache hidden for you to find if you are in our area as well. 😀
Do you think this is a good activity for your family?
My name is Amanda and I have two wonderful little boys that I refer to as Batman and Thunder. These are the superhero names they have chosen for themselves. Batman is turning 5 in two weeks, and Thunder just turned 9. If you have a question about boys, I guarantee you I’ve been there and done that! There is nothing that could surprise me at this point, but I love every minute of it. I’m currently a mostly stay-at-home mom. I substitute teach a few days a month for a little extra income when I need it, and I’m working on a Master’s degree in education, so that one day when they both in school I may be able to find a full time job. I recently started blogging, but I find I don’t have enough time to do it full time. I post when I can or have a good idea that I want to share. Come visit me over at Spinning Yarns and Other Things.
our family loves letterboxing! check it out at letterboxing.org and atlasquest.com
Everyone is making me want to try it! 🙂
Nikki, this is totally something I think your family would love! 🙂
Our family really wants to do this. So far we have tried three times to find a cache and failed every time so we’re a little discouraged. We’ll probably work up our courage and try again sometime. 🙂 The letterboxing sounds interesting maybe we’ll try that too.
The letterboxing DOES sound fun. 🙂 I want to try it!
Don’t give up on it! My aunt tried several times and we went with her one day and showed her the ropes and now they have over 30 in less than a month. Choose an easy one to start. All the caches have both terrain and difficulty ratings. Look for a 1/1 or the lowest rated one in your area to start with. Also remember any GPS unit will realistically only get you within 20 ft of a cache, some a bit closer. Look at the HINT and then look for good hiding spots that match or something that looks just a little bit out of place, like a dark rock when all the others are light colored, or a pile of sticks that doesn’t look like it should be there, etc. Once you find a couple your “geosense” as we like to call it kicks in and it will get easier and easier to find even the tough hides.
Also read through the recent logs too. Sometimes the caches disappear due to non-cachers stealing them or wild animals destroying them. If, say, the last 3 people didn’t find it then it probably isn’t there anymore and you can report a maintainence log to the owner in an effort to get it replaced.
I have always wondered what geocaching was! Yay! Now I know! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I bet you’ve got some great places out there to do it!
Most Minnesota State Parks have several caches – and they just started carrying GPS units to check out (for free!) so that you and your family can try it out. I’ve got it on my summer to do list already! 🙂 It doesn’t get much better than being outdoors with your family trying something new for free!
WOW!!! That’s awesome! I wish that was an option around here. Thanks for posting that!
Hungry Mother State Park rents units and they keep a list of all caches in the main office. I think that’s an option at many of the VA State Parks too.
Woot for me!!!!!!!! 🙂 I have to check that out!
Also, the VA State Parks sponsor a new series of caches every year as well. Last year it was the Anniversary series, and this year it’s called the Blooming Adventure series.
That sounds like so much fun! I am going to look into both the geocaching and the letterbox thing! Thank you!
Take me with you!!! 🙂
My brother does this, and I think it’s something my boys would enjoy when they’re a little bit older.
And you too….I know you can do it. 🙂
If you are strapped for cash but think geocaching sounds like fun you might try letter boxing. It is similar (but you buy a rubber stamp, an ink pad, and a journal – when you find the box you stamp the journal in the box with your stamp and stamp your journal with the stamp provided) and it is free to participate (no GPS needed). The website I found is http://www.letterboxing.org/. We planned to start this a while ago and never started. I’m thinking this might become a fun weekly summer activity. 🙂
Wow, Rebekah! I had never heard of that one. Thanks for mentioning it!
We’ve never tried it either, but it’s very similar. Instead of GPS coordinates, it gives you directions like find the old stump, turn left 40 paces, etc. We bought stamps but never found a box on purpose. We found one on accident one time and just signed it anyway…lol
Geocaching is a blast! Montie and I started when our kids where small to make our “hikes” more interesting for them. They loved hunting and finding small treasures. Now that they are grown, we still cache together on a smaller scale but have loved learning more about our area and even about our vacation spots. This is a wonderful family activity! Thanks for posting and hopefully getting more people interested.
I think I’m going to be able to get Barry into it…he likes phone apps. LOL
Awesome post! So excited. I have been meaning to try this with my kids but really didn’t know much about it other than it was a cheap, fun, outdoors activity to do! I can’t wait to try it. THANK YOU
Good luck! I hope to take this up as a family hobby eventually. 🙂
i want to do this, too, but i think i should wait until my girl is older; say, five or six? right now she is three.
Annie turns 3 this month and I think she would LOVE it…but it would require short and easy trips. 🙂
I don’t think the age matters. You can choose easier trails and she will still really enjoy it. She will always be getting new little “treasures” too, and trading things she no longer wants or likes. That’s a good age.
We love it. We have 200 caches now, and have been visiting waterfalls and different landmarks throughout the region. It’s so much fun!
Hi, i’m very interested in geocaching, but i’m on a very very very limited income. I have an Android phone but am looking for free apps and I live in grand rapids, Michigan. So any help, suggestions our advice are greatly appreciated. And i’m not sure how to become friends with you here. Have a great day.
There are free apps availabale, although I’m not as familiar with them and there is some question as to whether or not they violate the Geocaching.com terms and conditions because they are ran by third parties. You can always do a search through the App Store for geocaching and see what you can come up with.
Also, when you set up your account, you just click on the friends link and do a search for our user name, RubyRedCachers
Excellent post. I have done a bit of geocaching myself and would love to do that with kids someday! Ive learned so much about my community, taking me to places I may not normally go, and its great exercise. Thanks for the post- lets get the word out- this is a great and educational activity!!!
It really makes me want to go! Sounds like a total blast! 🙂