Geocaching 101: A Quick Start Guide to Fair Weather Geocaching

Have you heard of geocaching? It’s a great activity to enjoy with family and friends of all ages! My family prefers to take the “fair-weather” approach to geocaching, so if you’re like us and want to give it an easygoing try, here’s what you need to do: 


Geocaching 101: A Quick Start Guide to Fair Weather Geocaching

 

Quick Start Guide to Fair-Weather Geocaching

1. Download the app and watch this video.

2. Pack a bag. 

Our bag has extra socks, pants, sunscreen, bug spray, and trinkets. If the caches are large enough, they will contain trinkets. The idea is you take a trinket and leave a trinket. We went to the Dollar Tree and bought 5 packages of little trinkets to leave at the caches.

3. Look for Caches.

Use the app to look for caches in your area. We’ve had the best luck finding caches in city and county parks. The app will tell you about the difficulty level of of finding the cache, the terrain, and the size of the cache. Some geocaches will require you to walk through creeks, climb trees, and scale bridges. I skip those caches and stick to the ones that are easily accessible for you and your kids. (Our biggest obstacles we have encountered are poison ivy and spiders.)

4. Find the Cache.  

The microcaches usually only contain the logbook–no trinkets. 

Happy Caching!

 

Kate
Kate is the mom to Jack (2006), Liz (2007), and Alice (2011) and an avid Cubs fan through marriage. She's an assistant professor of mathematics and STEM education at St. Ambrose University and also moonlights as a mathematics teacher at South East Junior High in Iowa City. Between soccer, running club, tumbling, and piano lessons she likes to cook, run, and do yoga. She's also a sucker for 5Ks with cool swag and awesome medals.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Did you know you can check out bags and GPS devices from the North Liberty Rec Center? I believe there is no cost, or a minimal deposit.

  2. I did not know that! Thanks for the heads up. (Any chance you’d be willing to share the same comment on the FB post too?)

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