It’s been a busy few months for the folks over at Groundspeak. Yesterday was the launch of a brand new souvenir celebrating 17 years of Geocaching, and last week the company announced that it was working on updates to the cache logging pages.

According to the blog post outlining the changes, the site code hasn’t really been changed much since it was created 17 years ago and the old code is preventing the team from adding much-requested features such as adding a favorite point and photo to drafts. read more

On multiple levels, geocaching is one of the most fun outdoor activities for adults. Not only is it sort of like a treasure hunt, but it’s also great exercise and often involves going to new locations and discovering beautiful natural scenery that you probably wouldn’t have otherwise found. For this reason, geocaching tends to be tied with earth-friendly practices, such as Cache In Trash Out, or CITO events where geocachers clean up natural sites.

So, since the first day of spring was last week, I though today we’d look at some tips for geocaching in an ecologically-friendly way. read more

Last year, we were excited to announce that one of the fabled missing APE caches, the Mission 9: Tunnel of Light, which was originally placed near Seattle, had been located. The original APE cache container, which had been archived after being reported missing and possibly muggled in 2011, was finally found in October 2016.

The discovery of Mission 9: Tunnel of Light sparked a debate in the community of what to do with the cache, and it was finally put up to a vote. According to Groundspeak, around 9,000 votes were tallied, and now the final fate of the APE cache has been narrowed down to four options, which users can vote now through March 5, 2017.

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The folks over at Groundspeak recently announced that the popular Geocaching app has been updated with some features that geocachers have been requesting for a long time now: offline maps. Although it’s only available for Premium Geocaching members, this feature will be nice when you’re somewhere that has zero cell signal—as is common when you’re out geocaching in the wilderness.

Other updates added with the most recent patch include a My Lists beta and trail maps, and pending logs. It’s unclear whether all of these features are available for free members as well as Premium members, unfortunately (so if you’re a free member, please chime in below and let me know). We’ll take a closer look at each of the new updates below: read more

While hunting down wild geocaches is fun, at some point you may want to create and hide your own geocache. It’s a whole different ballgame, with lots of things to consider, including making sure you have accurate coordinates, most people don’t want to just hide a cache—they want to create a memorable cache that will be enjoyed for years to come. But it isn’t as hard as you think. Here are six tips for making your geocache really shine:

1. Be original

Anyone can hide a piece of Tupperware or an ammo case in the woods. If you really want your cache to be memorable, then making it something original is key. Use an unusual (but waterproof) container, make it themed, or add a puzzle element. There are tons of options; so be creative! read more

All around us, hiding sometimes almost in plain sight, are troves of treasure and an entire community that is dedicated to finding (and rehiding) them. The game is geocaching, and it is becoming more and more popular not only in the United States, but across the globe. To get started, all you need is a cell phone, a Groundspeak account, and some motivation.

Here are some reasons to geocaching more this year:

1. It’s great exercise

Whether you’re hiking through the woods or searching discreetly downtown, geocaching is fantastic exercise that involves lots of movement. In fact, if you look, there are plenty of stories of people who lost tons of weight by geocaching regularly!

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There are many different facets to geocaching, and whether you’re in it for the bragging rites, the glory, the travel bugs, or the exercise, it’s a great game. One of the most overlooked parts, and in my opinion one of the most fun, of geocaching is the souvenirs that you can earn to display. You can read a full explanation of souvenirs here, but basically they are digital badges that you can earn by finding a geocache in a specific location or attending an event.

Recently, Groundspeak, the minds behind Geocaching.com, recently announced that they were adding five new geocaching country souvenirs to its massive list of souvenir locations. All of these can be accessed immediately, and can be earned by logging a cache or attending an event in any of these countries. Without further ado, here’s the list:
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Geocaching is a surprisingly multi-faceted game. Designed as an adult treasure hunt, finding a geocache and logging it can be a thrill. Inside, you might find any kind of fun trinket to commemorate the event, but many times geocachers will neither take nor leave anything. The thrill is in the hunt and the prestige in being able to log a new geocache. For these intrepid geocachers, souvenirs and the bragging rights are almost better than swag.

What are souvenirs?

Souvenirs are a sort of digital badge that is displayed on your Geocaching.com profile to show off your accomplishments. There are some which are only available for a specific location, event, or only for accomplishing specific tasks or things. As a result, many people are proud of their souvenirs and work to try and collect as many rare souvenirs as possible. read more

Geocachers simply love their acronyms. It’s not uncommon to open a logbook or read the notes on a cache only to find a string of what looks like alphabet soup. And, while some of them are standard, many geocachers make up their own acronyms which makes things extremely complicated. However, there are a handful that everyone should know.

1. FTF – First To Find

This acronym is often written in logbooks or online when a geocacher is the first one to a newly created cache. Getting an FTF is pretty exciting and something that many geocachers strive towards. read more