September Outdoor Activity of the Month: Geocaching
Go on a treasure hunt the whole family can enjoy – Geocaching! Geocaching takes your children’s interest in playing with digital devices and combines it with the fun (and healthy benefits) of being in nature.
|
It’s a fun way to find hidden "caches" (prize-filled containers) that are placed all over the world by fellow geocachers. Using a free, easy-to-use app on your Smartphone, you’ll receive satellite signals that show the latitude and longitude of where a cache is hidden and easy-to-follow directions of how to get there — to within a distance of 12 feet! You can also use a Global Positioning System (GPS) Device, but it is not necessary.
Back to Top
Geocaching is a wildly popular activity in Texas. Currently, there are 1,074 hidden geocaches in 90 Texas State Parks for you to find. But finding the cache is just half of the fun. When you get home, you can join the free online geocaching community and swap trail stories, pictures, location hints, etc. online at several sites including www.Geocaching.com.
Back to Top
Want to join the fun but not sure where to start? The best way is to take a free workshop at a nearby state park. You can attend free geocaching workshops at these state parks/natural areas in September:
AUSTIN area geocaching workshops:
- Government Canyon State Natural Area
- Lockhart State Park
- Inks Lake State Park
- Enchanted Rock State Natural Area
- McKinney Falls State Park
DALLAS / FT. WORTH area geocaching workshops:
- Purtis Creek State Park
- Cedar Hill State Park
- Cooper Lake State Park – South Sulphur Unit
- Lake Mineral Wells State Park
HOUSTON area geocaching workshops:
- Brazos Bend State Park
- Stephen F. Austin State Park
SAN ANTONIO area geocaching workshops:
- South Llano River State Park
- Lake Corpus Christi State Park
- Government Canyon State Natural Area
- Lockhart State Park
- Inks Lake State Park
- Enchanted Rock State Natural Area
- McKinney Falls State Park
- Goliad State Park and Historic Site
WEST TEXAS area geocaching workshops:
- Davis Mountains State Park
- Big Bend Ranch – Fort Leaton State Park
- Hueco Tanks State Park/State Historic Site
- Franklin Mountains State Park
Back to Top
Share this Geocaching page on your Facebook page and Twitter!
Kids will especially enjoy the “Texas State Parks Geocache Challenge.” Last year nearly 11,000 geocache “finds” occurred in state parks alone, and hundreds of children learned interesting facts and stories about Texas State Parks and earned prizes/promotional discounts for finding these “special” caches.
Back to Top
Prize-filled caches in Texas State Parks are waiting your discovery! Visit texasstateparks.org/geocache for more information and to find coordinates. Or, watch these featured videos on geocaching:
|
Back to Top
-
Smartphone / GPS device
-
Water
- Sunscreen
- Small, inexpensive prizes to put back into the cache
Back to Top
Back to Top
|
