What is geocaching you ask? It's a participant-enabled, worldwide network of treasure hunts. All it takes is an app on your phone, following some coordinates and then finding the cache - which can even mean finding real-life treasure.
Geocaching is at the intersection of family travel and adventure travel.
Kids are motivated by the promise of untold treasure at the end, parents are thrilled to get out and explore some of the world's best natural and historic places. There are geocaches everywhere - in fact, there are more than 2 million caches around the world. There's even one in Siberia, not that we are suggesting you take the family there, but if you happen to be in the neighborhood...
Since geocaches are located in almost every country in the world, it's the perfect activity for adding a little extra excitement to a family vacation. Visiting Paris for a few days? Why not check out the Eiffel Tower Tour geocache. Stopping in Prague, there are 10 caches throughout the airport - bet you never thought you'd be praying for a layover.
You can find geocache locations on the Geocaching.com website, as well as instructions for proper geocaching etiquette and more. For families who want to take part in this worldwide treasure hunt, we put together some of the most exotic, family-friendly locations to discover that elusive "X" marking the spot.
Minnesota's Paul Bunyan GeoTour
The Paul Bunyan Trail is known as a "power trail" by geocachers because of the sheer volume of caches to be found along the way. There are more than 100 on the official tour but more than 1,000 actually exist.
Visitors can begin in either Bemidii or Brainerd, Minn., as each city anchors one end of the trail. The northern trailhead is located at Lake Bemidji State Park, the southern trail head is currently at the Northland Arboretum in Brainerd/Baxter. Trail towns pave the way, making this an ideal spot for the experienced or novice geocacher.
The Cateran Trail GeoTour
Feared thieves once raided the Scottish Highlands in the Middle Ages. They were known as caterans and they would swoop in on the rich farmlands of Strathardle, Glenshee and Glen Isla, stealing cattle in the dead of night and into the misty mornings.
Today, the Cateran Trail, located near Perth, Scotland, is an easily navigable circular route that is accomplished in five stages and is 15 miles long, with stops in villages along the way. The route follows old drove roads and ancient tracks across a varied terrain of farmland, forests and moors. It boasts breathtaking scenery in a corner of Perthshire relatively unknown to walkers. There are 20 geocaches to be found on the route and numerous places to eat and sleep.
GeoTour in the Andes
Venture far off the tourist path in the Yanamarca Valley of the Peruvian Andes. The valley combines the past and present as visitors view potato farmers cultivating their crop with mules and students in a technical school studying the scientific attributes of the food.
The GeoTour was created by the members of the Yanamarca Valley Watershed Committee, a group working to fight environmental problems throughout the watershed of the Yanamarca River. This GeoTour will take you to reforestation projects, to a lovely wetland the committee is currently working to protect, and to springs, streams and rivers where you can observe the interaction between the population and the water system.
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History GeoTour
Ready for a road trip? Take the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History GeoTour. It consists of nine caches in nine different locations and the caches aren't just going to let you log in and take a prize. There's work to be done.
The caches on the tour are Puzzles or EarthCaches and will require that questions be answered to find the coordinates to the final destination or to satisfy the requirements of the EarthCache. These caches are complex and may include web searches, museum visits and field puzzles. When you have completed the tour of caches you will have learned about some natural history topics and about the wide scope of activities that take place behind the exhibits at the National Museum of Natural History.
Volcanic Legacy Byway
Discover Klammath, Ore., through geocaching along the Volcanic Legacy Byway. Geocachers are invited to collect the codes to receive a trackable geocoin as a prize when they log all 16 caches. Explore majestic lakes, lava beds and historic trails in Oregon state parks along the way. Don't forget to download the geocaching passport to track your progress.
For more information on geocaching, visit Geocaching.com where you can read about the rules of the game, what geocaches look like, different types of geocaches, how to get started and more.
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