Beginner’s Guide to Geocaching with Kids

Sara

8 years ago

Raise your hand if your kids are into nature AND treasure hunting! If so, I have the ultimate hobby (addiction) for you – geocaching! Our family gave geocaching a try for the first time last year on a rainy spring day and quickly fell in love with it. Going for long nature walks with kids can sometimes lead to boredom or frustration, but geocaching will keep them focused, entertained, and begging to get back outside. It’s a really neat way to get out to explore local parks and nature trails while giving your kids a mission to focus on (finding treasure). And it’s totally FREE! So, get ready for some fun because this post is your beginner’s guide to geocaching with kids and will give you everything you need to know to get started.

Geocaching is easier than it sounds

When I first looked into geocaching, I was underwhelmed by the information out there on exactly how to get started and whether it was doable with little kids. The GPS and waypoints language frightened me. I was confused about whether I needed a separate GPS device or if my phone would work. However, we decided to give it a go and turns out it’s so much easier (and more fun) than we ever imagined.

(Update: since we initially started geocaching there have been a lot of new GPS-games for kids to come out (letterboxing, Pokemon Go, etc.). We’ve tried a few of them, but geocaching is still our favorite.)

Geocaching with kids

This Beginner’s Guide to Geocaching with Kids is for anyone wanting a fun new outdoor activity for the family to get them outside and active. Geocaching is great for kids of any age. It’s a fun combination of outdoor exploration and technology. It’s perfect for parents that want to be more outdoorsy and adventurous. My kids and I love it and had I known how easy and fun geocaching was, we would have started doing this ages ago!

So, if you’re interested in geocaching with your kids, but don’t know where to begin, let me walk you through the process.

What is geocaching?

According to the www.geocaching.com website, geocaching (pronounced GEE-o-cash-ing) is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunt using a GPS-enabled device (e.g. smart phone). Participants navigate to a specific set of coordinates and then attempt to find a geocache (container) hidden at that location.

Geocaches can be found all over the world and almost anywhere you can imagine. Geocachers usually hide caches in locations that are important to them, reflecting a special interest, memory or skill of the cache owner. These locations can be quite diverse. They may be at your local park, at the end of a long hike, along a bike trail, underwater or on the side of a city street.

What does a cache look like?

There are currently over a dozen “cache types” in geocaching, with each cache type being a different variation of the game. Geocaches vary greatly in size and appearance – everything from large, clear plastic containers to film canisters to a fake rock with a secret compartment. They can be large (traditional) or small (micro). The bigger they are, the easier (usually) for kids to find.

What’s in a geocache?

In its simplest form, a cache always contains a logbook for you to log your name and date of discovery. Larger caches may also contain any number of items, trinkets, souvenirs, etc. According to geocaching etiquette, you can take an item from the cache if you like, so long as you leave something of equal or greater value in its place. When you are finished, put the cache back exactly as you found it, even if you think you see a better spot for it.

What do you need for geocaching?

All your need to get started geocaching is a smartphone, a geocaching account (free), and a sense of adventure! Geocaches are everywhere and it’s a great budget-friendly low-entry activity that’s great for everyone in the family!

Step 1: Create an account and download the free app

Go to www.geocaching.com and create an account. It only takes a minute and is totally free. While you’re there, you can check out all the great information, videos and tutorials they have on how to play this GPS treasuring hunting game. Once you have an account, download the app to your phone. It’s also totally free and will give you “Basic” access to all geocaches with a difficulty rating of 1.5 and below (on a scale of 1-5).

If you’re geocaching with little kids, the free version will be perfect because it’ll ensure that you only get geocaches that are relatively easy to find, solve, and access. If you’re geocaching on your own as an adult or with older kids and want more of a challenge, you can upgrade your account to Premium plan, which gives you instant phone access to a lot more caches that are more difficult to find.

Step 2: Choose a cache to find

Open the app and use the map to find a nearby geocache. You might be initially surprised by just how many local geocaches are nearby in your area. They’re hidden, but everywhere! You can start looking in your neighborhood or drive somewhere with a variety of caches. I couldn’t believe how many geocaches there were close to me.

We picked a park in our area that has tons of local geocaches hidden within. We drove to the park, parked the car, jumped out, and picked the one closest to us. Your current location on the map shows up as a blue dot and all the “basic level” caches in your area will show as green dots, with the rest of them (the more difficult Premium ones) in grey.

The first time you use the app, it’ll ask you to point the phone in the direction of the cache you’re looking for, but you shouldn’t have to do that again. If you want more information on the cache, just click on the dot and it will give you information on the difficulty, terrain, and size of the cache (see middle photo above). Most of them also include a description of or story behind the cache. Some have clues/hints, if you want them.

Step 3: Click START and begin walking

Once you’ve picked a nearby geocache, click that green START arrow. The compass will guide you straight to your treasure! All you have to do is keep the red line of the compass directly in front of you. Adjust your bearings as the compass moves. Red arrows will appear telling you which direction to move if you’re too far off course. Your screen will tell you which direction you’re moving, how far from the cache you are (in feet) and a line showing the shortest route.

In the park we were exploring, most of the geocaches we found were just a little bit off the beaten path, which was really fun because it led us down hidden trails and into the woods. The kids (and adults) loved this and they thought the caches back in the woods that took some effort to get to were much more fun than the ones right along the road.

Step 4: Find the cache

As you get closer to the cache, make sure to zoom in/expand the map so you stay on track. Once you get within 30 feet of the cache you’ll get a warning on your phone that you’re almost there. The website and app both warn you that the location isn’t exact within 30 feet sometimes, so when your warning goes off, start to look around for good hiding places. This is when you let the kids know it’s time for treasure – first person to find it wins!

Remember that geocaches can be anything from a large Tupperware container to a tiny camouflaged film canister (or even smaller), depending on the level of difficulty (the app will tell you the size). Start with easy “traditional” geocaches. Initially, I was worried the kids wouldn’t be able to find them or would get discouraged/bored after searching for a few minutes. Not so! My 3.5 years old is amazing at finding the caches and gets super pumped every time he spots one.

The ones we found this day were hidden inside hollowed-out tree trunks, at the base of giant trees, inside stumps/logs, and in between rocks. They ranged in size from a plastic take-out container to a small barrel. Some were protected in Ziploc bags and some were hidden where rain wouldn’t bother them.

As the difficulty of the geocache increases, they get harder and harder to find. We had no issues finding five in one day ranging from 1.5 – 2.5 difficulty! Make sure you really celebrate every find, so your kids get really excited about finding more treasure!

Step 5: Check out the contents & sign the logbook

Even the most basic geocache should have some form of a logbook or sheet of paper. This is for anyone that finds it to record their name and date. All the geocaches we found this day had an available logbook with a pencil provided. However, I’d suggest bringing along your own pen and maybe a couple of sheets of blank paper in case the current logbook is full.

In addition, all the geocaches also had quite a few fun trinkets inside that the kids loved to look at and talk about. The rule is that you’re welcome to take a trinket, so long as you leave something of equal or greater value in its place. We brought along a handful of plastic gold coins, glow in the dark stars, and little army men. When we took a trinket, we left these in it’s place for the next finder. The trinkets are usually little toys, marbles or stickers. The kids thought this was the coolest thing ever and it made it feel like a real treasure to them!

Step 6: Log your find and post a message

Once you find the geocache, click on the big green button at the bottom of your screen that says “Log Geocache” and record your find. You can also leave a comment about the geocache. You can say you loved it, comment on how long it took you to find it, leave a hint for a future geocacher, post a photo, or note that the geocache needs maintenance or couldn’t be located. These posts are accessible to anyone, so try not to give away any secrets or take away the element of surprise.

Beginner’s guide to geocaching with kids

That’s it! So easy. The great thing about geocaching is that it’s basically free (as long as you have a smartphone) and you can do it anywhere! I can’t get over how many geocaches are out there close to me… and everywhere! Even the teeny tiny town I grew up in has at least a dozen! And since we started geocaching, we go treasure hunting everywhere we go, including when we go on vacation. We’ve found caches in four states so far!

Every cache is different and the kids are getting quicker at finding them. We’ve found a small pillbox container in the pilings outside our local fire station, a camouflaged container hidden inside a planter, under a trashcan, up a tree, under the beach boardwalk, and a geocache in a padlocked birdhouse where we had to crack the code!

If you’ve never tried geocaching, I highly recommend you make plans to get out this weekend and try it! There’s treasure out there waiting for you!

Have you ever been geocaching?