Family Scavenger Hunt with GPS Geocaching

September 22, 2011, By Ryan Tetzlaff 0 comments

If you're looking for a fun new adventure for the family, consider geocaching. It gets everyone involved and can be a blast, a departure from the usual family activities. In the most basic of terms, geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt. The goal of geocaching is to use GPS coordinates to find a hidden cache—typically hidden in a small waterproof box—and to sign a log book letting others know you were there. It's a great way to get yourself out of the house and bonds the whole family through a shared goal. 

Here are a few ways to turn geocaching from a simple treasure hunt into a fun and educational activity for your family.

• When searching for cache sites to visit, you will notice many are located in state parks or other locations that have historical significance. Learn about the area you will be going to and use your treasure hunt as an educational trip.
• Many cache sites contain “trackable” items like unique coins or tags. You can track these items online (they're called geocoins and travel bugs) to see the path they’ve taken to get to the cache location where you found them. Take this opportunity to teach your family about geography as some trackable items may have traveled to or from different countries.
• The very nature of searching for a cache site gives you the chance to teach your family about mapping, navigation and working with GPS coordinates.

Getting Started with Geocaching

The only piece of equipment you’ll need to get started is a basic GPS receiver. With the hundreds of choices available, do some online searches to find available options. You should be able to find a decent “beginner” GPS receiver for about $100.

Another popular option is to use a smart phone, such as the Apple iPhone. Groundspeak—which operates one of the largest geocaching sites in the US—has an iPhone app that lets you use your iPhone to find, rate and track geocaches while nicely integrating with the Groundspeak cache database. The "Geocaching" application is available in the iTunes App Stores for $9.99. A more budget-friendly geocaching app for the iPhone is "Geopher"—available for 99 cents. Geopher allows you to connect to the Geocaching.com site to look up nearby caches, but does require more manual input of data over that of the costlier Geocaching app.

Once you’ve got your GPS receiver, you’ll want to hop on one of the many Geocaching websites (such as http://www.geocaching.com/). Sign up for a free account, and you’ll be able to search for nearby caches in your area.

After searching for nearby caches, pick one that sounds interesting to you. See how others rate the cache, how difficult the terrain is and how difficult it is to find the cache. After you’ve decided on a cache, enter the coordinates into your GPS receiver and set off to find the treasure.

Keep in mind while searching for the cache that you’re on a treasure hunt—the cache probably will be hidden in an unlikely location. Refer to the cache notes before you set out to see if there are any special instructions or hints. Once you find the cache, sign the log book and return the cache to its original location. If you do take something from the cache after you find it, leave something of equal or greater value. That way you won't ruin the experience of other geocachers.

Be sure to take notes or pictures of your experience so you can remember them for years to come. There are also some online sites available that allow you to track the caches you’ve visited—a great next step if you decide to get more serious about geocaching.