Have you ever taken your kids Geocaching? This is a great way to get your kids outside exploring nature. Geocaching uses maps and navigation skills to locate small treasures hidden throughout your neighborhood, public parks, and national forests. Currently, there are more than 8,000 geocaches hidden throughout the Twin Cities, 28,000 across Minnesota and 2 million worldwide. So wether you’re home or on vacation, you can take advantage of this fun outdoor activity.
What is Geocaching? Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which seekers use GPS coordinates to locate hidden treasures. Most caches include a visitors log to document who has found the treasure. Some also have small trinkets for kids to take. The rule is, if you take a treasure, leave a treasure, so always plan to bring small items to leave behind.
For more information about how to play, check out Geocaching 101.
Where can we find some caches? Download the Geocaching app for a full list of worldwide caches. The app has various membership options:
Free for basic maps and limited cache maps
$5.99/month for full access
$29.99 for yearly subscription
The Minnesota DNR offers free GPS kits at 37 parks. Click HERE to see the list. The Three Rivers Park District also offers a list of local geocaching-friendly parks. Click HERE to read more about this list of locations.
Discovering what’s inside.
Signing their Geocaching name in the log.