Spring is finally here allowing us to be outdoors. If you’re looking for a new fun and free outside activity geocaching could be your new thing.

Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity that utilizes an app for the global posting of geocaching. Geocaches are hidden containers that have a paper log on which players write their names after finding and opening the geocache. Players are then expected to place the geocache back exactly where it was hidden for the next player to find. Geocaches also range in size from a small bolt to a Tupperware container. Most of the larger geocaches usually have trinkets. The rule is if you take something you need to replace it.  So, if you take a bouncy ball leave something similar like a keychain, a coin, beads, or more. There are also “travel bugs” which are little trinket trackers you move to different geocaches that can travel from one cache to another.  These bugs have a footprint, and you can see where they have traveled from because every player who finds a travel bug must log it when they place it in a different geocache. This activity you can take with you as you travel domestically or abroad because it is a global activity with over 3 million geocaches around the world in 191 countries.

With one geocache on campus and 16 in the town of Eureka, there are plenty to make into a weekend activity. Since there is a geocache on a historical piece of the Eureka College campus everyone should easily be able to try out this activity. Brenden, a current Eureka College student, has gone geocaching around his hometown of Lincoln with his friends before. While talking about his experience with this activity he said, “…they are fun to search for.” There are some super small ones that you can miss unless you have a trained eye. Ben said geocaching “…was a ton of fun because once you find it there is a slip of paper to sign and date, and you could see names that would sometimes date back many years.” Ben remembers seeing a log signed and dated from 2007, which is neat.

Chances are you have walked past a handful of geocaches in your life and never knew it. To start your geocaching adventures today create a free account on the geocaching website. Happy geocaching!