Simple Outdoor Adventures for Boys {Day 2}: Geocaching
How To Go on a Geocaching Adventure…
Supplies:
- GPS Device (such as a Geomate Jr.) or Smartphone
- A FREE Account with Geocaching.com)
- Small Treasure (see list suggestions)
- Pen/Pencil
Never heard of geocaching? It was a new adventure to me as well not too long ago. Think of it as a real-life worldwide outdoor treasure hunt, that you “hunt” with a GPS device or smart phone app. The best part is, you don’t have to go far to find one of these treasures. There’s probably one in your own neighborhood or nearby!
Once you’ve downloaded the app, or searched the Geocaching website, and signed up for a free account, you can search for caches closest to you. Each location is rated by difficulty and terrain, and there are descriptions and clues to help you locate the container.
Inside the container is a log which you can add your name to, and a small (inexpensive) treasure. Simply take what’s been left and replace it with a new goodie.
Need Ideas of What to Put in a Cache Container?
- Baseball cards
- Coins
- Hard Candy/Gum
- Small Toy {Goodwill or Kid’s Meal}
- Silly Bands
- Polished Rock
- Coupon for a Free Kid’s Meal
Helpful Tips/Resources:
- Geocaching.com
- The Joy of Geocaching
- Geocaching App in iTunes
- Geocaching in Two Minutes Video:
* Remember to dress appropriately for the terrain. {My biggest mistake was wearing shorts and sandals in the middle of the woods. Hello stickers – YEOW!}
* Also, remember that geocaches are not limited to what’s around you. It’s a great way to explore an area on vacation, or take a stretch break from a road trip.
Have YOU ever tried Geocaching?
I LOVE this! I’ve never done it but always wondered about it and how it’s done. This would be a perfect adventure on our upcoming week long fall break STAYcation. 🙂 My 2 boys will love this! Thank you!
Your boys will love it (and honestly it’s pretty fun for grownups too)! It’s like real-life treasure hunting! We should meet up to do one!
Don’t forget letter boxing. It is the almost the same as geocaching, but you don’t need a gps. I take my boys letter boxing and they love it. You can learn all about it at Atlasquest.com
I’m new to letterboxing, but I’m looking forward to figuring this one out! Thanks for introducing me!
What fun!! I can’t wait to read the rest of the series…my boys are going to love me because of you 🙂
Oh Christine. Love ya. Hope they love them as much as my boys!
We love to go Geocashing! I first heard about this in Family Fun magazine, except they called it Letterboxing, not sure if there is a difference. I agree with Christine…you are going to make me look really good to my boys;)
Letterboxing involves following clues to find a hidden container and doesn’t use a GPS. Instead of finding treasures in the box, the box contains a rubber stamp and a logbook. You also carry a rubber stamp and a notebook (and an inkpad in case there isn’t one in the box). When you find it, you stamp your stamp image in the book you found hidden, and use their stamp in your book, then replace it as found. It is a lot of fun!
See http://www.letterboxing.org or Atlasquest.com (as someone else mentioned above) for more info and clues to get you started.
Thanks so much for sharing the details and resources, Heidi! It’s new to me, but sounds like something my boys would LOVE also!!!!
So sweet to hear, Amy. So so glad you’re joining us this month!
I’ve heard about this and wanted to try it. My husband would probably laugh at me if I asked him. I’m not very outdoorsy! But the adventure in it sounds fun!
You could totally rock it, Mary Beth! Lots of them are EASY to find and you don’t even have to get dirty! 😉 Let me know how it goes!
How did you know I wouldn’t want to get dirty?! haha!
Cause I can tell we have a lot in common! LOL!
SOOO cool! I am totally going to do this with my kids! They will LOVE it!
Becky B.
http://www.organizingmadefun.com
Organizing Made Fun
Can someone tell me if this would be age appropriate for my 3.5yr old?
I’m sure it depends on the child, but I’m pretty sure my boys could have enjoyed this at that age..with help of course. It makes a walk a little more entertaining/rewarding. =) I would pick ones that are easy to get to and close to home to try out first.
I am so excited to try this!! Too bad it is dark and raining or I would go out and do it now!!!
I know, right? Our outdoor boys have been stuck inside today too! Hopefully tomorrow will bring us some sunshine!
This is so interesting!!!
What I love about geocaching is that everyone in the family can partcipate. We have been doing this for a while and we have been to some amazing places in our community that we would of never discovered without geocaching. We are getting close to our 500 find.
500! That’s amazing! I do love how it gets everyone involved!
I have got to put this into my “schedule” for some treasures I know who love to hunt. : )
Took my son on out very first geocache today, thanks to your blog :), and it was so exciting when we found it! I wanted to try all the adventures but we had so much fun geocaching my son wants to do this everyday.
This was such an encouragement to hear! Thanks so much for passing it along. You know about the KidVentures ebook, right? http://www.50kidventures.com