Geocaching

May 26

Photos by Eaden Imaging LLC, 2024,

As promised, here is a blog explaining Geocaching. Note that I am a beginner, so this is a very simple explanation from a beginner!

So, let’s hit the basics.

What is Geocaching?

Geocaching is a hobby, a sort of game. Someone hides the geocache or “cache”. What the cache looks like varies, it can be as small as a screw, or as large as a tupperware container. It’s size and hint about what it looks like is included in it’s listing. Inside of the cache is a list to sign your name, and sometimes little trinkets to trade with others. In the listing description, there is usually a little bit of history about the location or a story!

How do you start?

To find the listing, you utilize the app Geocaching, or geocaching.com. This will provide a map, and will show you all the locations of geocaches. You can then select one, and “navigate” to it if you are using the app. You will need the app in order to log caches, as it detects if you are at it’s coordinates. A premium membership runs $7/month and includes premium spots, navigation, etc. I like to pull up an area on the map I feel like visiting, and then zoom in to see if there are any Geocaches there. Or, if I am in a new area, I pull up the app to see if there are any nearby.

Are there a lot of Geocaches out there?

There are thousands, if not millions of Geocaches out there. Hundreds in our area alone. Geocaching is very active, you can tell by the logs the last finds and they are all recent. Many folks visiting for the Eclipse traveled to the most rural areas of Southern Illinois (including cemeteries!) in search of these caches.

How hard are they to find?

The listing will let you know the difficulty of the find, how difficult the terrain is to navigate, how large the cache is. You can view hints and other logs to get more of an idea of where to look and what the cache looks like. Some are disguised as their surroundings, some are more obvious. If I have my toddler, I look for listings that say Park and Grab somewhere in the description, as these are easy to find. Some can be really difficult, requiring you to walk or hike off of a path and look closely for a small object. Some require puzzles to be solved in order to reach the cache, and some containers are neat in themselves. Follow Geocaching on social media for a better understanding of the different types of geocaches!

Why should I or my family do this?

It’s a fun Easter Egg Hunt but all around you, all the time! It’s really something you need to try once and to get the thrill of, and then it becomes interesting. If in Southern Illinois, some local geocaches I recommend that are for beginners are at these locations: