Geocaching: What Is It and Where Can Your Kids Do It?

Geocaching is a kid-friendly game that gets kids outdoors, interacting with the world around them. Like a worldwide scavenger hunt, it involves using the GPS on your mobile device (a cell phone is perfect) to find and leave hidden containers.

Kids love playing games, and they love finding hidden treasure, making this a perfect way for the family to work together and keep little ones entertained during family travel. Geocaching is done around the world, and you never know when you might be near a hidden prize, so it adds an element of mystery and surprise to any vacation.

The beauty of geocaching is you can do it just about anywhere, as long as you have signal on your mobile device and there is an item hidden nearby. Begin by downloading the Geocaching app, and you will have access to all kinds of information like location, recent activity and hints for finding the hidden containers. Each container will have a place for you to sign your name once you find it, then you’ll want to log your find in your app and leave the container for the next player.

Geocache containers come in many sizes and can be hidden in a variety of ways, like a magnetic container attached to a metal fence or a container hanging from a tree. Anything can be hidden within, depending on the person who makes it and hides it.

Certain places are especially friendly toward geocaching, like Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. The park has crafted geocaches specifically for visitors of the park to find, ranging from traditional caches to virtual caches to even earth caches, which give you an informative geology lesson about the place you are visiting.

Whether at Petrified Forest National Park where the caches are created specifically for the location by park services staff or discovering a new city with the family, geocaching is a great way to get the kids excited about exploring the world.