How do I find caches on maps?

[+Tsegi Mike and Desert Viking]

Now that the state map is gone, how do I look for caches in distant places around my state? For instance, if I want to look at the caches along any road between cities, what is the best way to look for them? With the old state maps, I would just click on that portion of the map. As far as I can tell, now I have to figure out a zip code, or figure out some basic coordinates in order to run a search in that area. There must be an easier way Im not seeing atm.

[+Escapades]

I like using the geocaching google maps. You can pan along any road it it loads all the caches as you go.

Mike

[Phatfish16]

Just hit "View Map" on a cache page and it'll bring up google maps. From there you can click and drag around the map itself, following roads and highways as you go. Little icons, varied by cache type, are displayed on the map itself. The map should cross state lines as well. You can zoom in and out as far as you like, too.

 

Does that even help answer the question? I hope so, if not, sorry...just trying to help.

Edited October 20, 2007 by Phatfish16

[+TrailGators]

Just hit "View Map" on a cache page and it'll bring up google maps. From there you can click and drag around the map itself, following roads and highways as you go. Little icons, varied by cache type, are displayed on the map itself. The map should cross state lines as well. You can zoom in and out as far as you like, too.

 

Does that even help answer the question? I hope so, if not, sorry...just trying to help.

I think that is the easiest way to do it. I just wish it would return 500 caches from the centerpoint no matter what hand then give Premium members an option to send that view as a PQ.

[+Tsegi Mike and Desert Viking]

Thanks all. I was hoping there was a better way. I live in Arizona, a rather large state to have to drag maps around.

[Phatfish16]

Thanks all. I was hoping there was a better way. I live in Arizona, a rather large state to have to drag maps around.

 

True, Arizona is one of those larger states, but you could always zoom out and then drag. It'll probably be too cumbersome and tedious, though. Especially since when zoomed out to a certain point, not all of the cache icons are displayed on the page.

 

Is there a way to search by route or street? I'm not a premium member yet and don't know if they have that option...but I think that might be a nice, helpful feature. I'd like to key in "Garden State Parkway" or "Route 9" and get hits along the highway or road. Even if it showed caches within 1-5 miles of the road. Would be especially helpful to those people who venture out on road trips to states that they're not familiar with. I imagine that I've driven by hundreds of caches during roadtrips, where if I only knew that the caches were only a pitstop away I could find them.

[+TrailGators]

Thanks all. I was hoping there was a better way. I live in Arizona, a rather large state to have to drag maps around.

You could also run several PQs to get all the caches in your state. If you specify date ranges you can get them all. Start from a centerpoint and get the first 500 placed. Then the second 500 and so on. You can preview the results to verify that you get 500 in each group. You will need a mapping program to view the downlaoded results. Edited October 21, 2007 by TrailGators

[+Trucker Lee]

 

Is there a way to search by route or street? I'm not a premium member yet and don't know if they have that option...but I think that might be a nice, helpful feature. I'd like to key in "Garden State Parkway" or "Route 9" and get hits along the highway or road. Even if it showed caches within 1-5 miles of the road. Would be especially helpful to those people who venture out on road trips to states that they're not familiar with. I imagine that I've driven by hundreds of caches during roadtrips, where if I only knew that the caches were only a pitstop away I could find them.

 

Caches on a Route is available to premium members. It requires the route be uploaded to Groundspeak then the search run. I use this constantly on my runs.

 

There are many routes already uploaded and made public by users. In the event you need to make your own, Google Earth and Mapsource appear to be the easiest, using S&T requires additional massaging to work. I'm not sure about others. They are not listed by highway though, but by start and end points, ie, Dallas to Shreveport.

[+otis89]

Also, it's not that hard to figure out zip codes. Just go to usps.com and click on find a zip code.

[steedaq155]

If you ever become a premium member, pocket queries are the way to go. I haven't used the "Find A Cache Along A Route" option because I barely travel, but you could always take the gpx file you plan to use and import it into Google Earth. This is as easy as dropping the file from the folder into the GE interface.

 

I think it offers a lot more functionality than the Google Maps do, plus if you have it on a laptop, you can bring it with you. You can see all of the cache icons (I have 500 displayed on mine as of now), and zoom in and out relatively easily.

 

Just my two cents. Good Luck!

[seta spell]

On the Hide and Seek a Cache page, somewhere in the middle of the left column, is a small box that says "search by Google maps". Click on that, then go to the upper right corner of the map that shows up and type in the address you want to find caches near. You can even type in just a city and state and it will show you the center of that city. Use the zoom slider on the left to adjust in or out as needed.

 

This automatically puts up all types of caches. If you want to filter out certain types, eg multis, just click on the checkbox by that type, located under the address box.

 

Edited to add: OK, I tried this out just using "Interstate 17" in the search box and it worked. Put me right around Orme Road, halfway between Phoenix and Flagstaff, so I'm guessing the computer just picks the midpoint of whatever location you ask for. From there, I would just zoom out a bit and drag the map to follow the road.

 

Good luck.

Edited October 21, 2007 by seta spell