Have you ever participated in an Easter Egg hunt? Looked for hidden treasure? Well, Geocaching is the modern day equivalent to those tried and true childhood pastimes. Geocaching is a wholesome activity for the whole family. In addition, Geocaching is a great way to pry them away from the [TV, video games, picking on siblings, fill in the blank] and get them out into the wilderness doing something healthy.

What is Geocaching? Someone creates a "cache" of goodies and a log book and places it all in a weather proof container and hides it “somewhere”. Once hidden, the coordinates are recorded and published on a website (along with some clues) for all to see. With the coordinates loaded into your trusty hand held GPS device, you set off on a trek of adventure looking for the cache. Sounds easy, right? Well... GPS devices are not pin-point precise, but will usually guide you to within a 20+ foot radius of the cache location. This is where the clues come in... With some luck (and sharp eyes) you might find the hidden treasure! As a rule, geocaches are hidden from public view - you need to know about it in order to have a chance of finding it.

There are some rules to proper geocaching. While it's not required to do anything once you find a geocache, it's good etiquette to leave a trinket for each one you take from the cache (one per person). It's also good etiquette to record an entry in the log book as evidence of your visit. While there, feel free to read through the previous logs - some are quite entertaining, and from folks that traveled a long distance to find the cache.

Another important rule for Whiting Ranch (and other public parks) is - in order to create a geocache in Whiting Ranch you need to have it approved by the park rangers. Part of the approval process is to ensure that the geocache is located near a path to prevent unauthorized trails from popping up as folks go off the beaten path in search of a cache.

If you would like more information on geocaching, or to locate geocaches near your home, visit www.geocaching.com.

Whiting Ranch Geocaches: