Parking cache

[+LECTRAGLIDE]

I think there should be a pin a coin or something special if you can figure out where to park on some of the caches I have tried to find . Tried is the key word here .

Since I have less than 25 finds under my belt , I guess I shouldn't make harsh judgements about things .

 

But from what I have done so far chasing down where to park is far more frustrating than not finding a difficculty 1 cache . I dont care how hard the cache is I just want to know where to park .

 

One of the caches I recently did not find , one of the loggers said he didnt understand why more have vistited this cache. I know why they are still driving arround looking for where to start from !

 

Perhaps a encrypted parking hint would make all parties happy . Want to waste gas and time dont look at the parking hint .

 

Thanks for letting vent on another "dnfparking."

Sorry I get cranky on dnfp's

[+Vinny & Sue Team]

I think there should be a pin a coin or something special if you can figure out where to park on some of the caches I have tried to find . Tried is the key word here .

Since I have less than 25 finds under my belt , I guess I shouldn't make harsh judgements about things .

 

But from what I have done so far chasing down where to park is far more frustrating than not finding a difficculty 1 cache . I dont care how hard the cache is I just want to know where to park .

 

One of the caches I recently did not find , one of the loggers said he didnt understand why more have vistited this cache. I know why they are still driving arround looking for where to start from !

 

Perhaps a encrypted parking hint would make all parties happy . Want to waste gas and time dont look at the parking hint .

 

Thanks for letting vent on another "dnfparking."

Sorry I get cranky on dnfp's

Whenever there is ANY doubt about where to park for any of our 30+ caches, we always list one or more suggested parking areas on the cache listing pages. I have had a few problems hunting caches over the years due to a lack of information, particularly when hunting caches while traveling in in distant regions. I recall that while spending a 4-day weekend in Houston over a year ago, I decided to go after two high-Terrain rating caches located about a half hour from the city in a wilderness area. Well, despite the fact that I read the cache listing page carefully and used all the available maps and Google Earth as well, I could not figure out where to park legally and safely to go after the cache. Even after driving to the area and circling the area five times in my car, I could not find a legal and safe place to park. Long after returning back to the East Coast and logging DNFs due to lack of parking I heard from the cache owner, telling me that there was a little road marked "PRIVATE ROAD" that I should have entered, traveled down it about two hundred yards to a tiny municipal park which was not shown on any maps (nor on any signage), and then should have parked in the park's parking lot and then hiked the remaining 0.3 miles to the cache. He even added "...all the local cachers in my town know that, so there was no need to mention where to park on the cache listing page!" sigh! ...talk about clueless and careless!

[+StarBrand]

I think parking part of the challenge of Geocaching. Some will disagree.

 

If I am ever forced to give parking coordinates, I will list my driveway. Geocaching is what you make it, nothing wrong with parking a mile from a park and grab.

[+LECTRAGLIDE]

I think parking part of the challenge of Geocaching. Some will disagree.

 

If I am ever forced to give parking coordinates, I will list my driveway. Geocaching is what you make it, nothing wrong with parking a mile from a park and grab.

 

Dont mind the walk, dont mind the hunt . Just tell me where a safe parking spot is .

It will be my choice if parking is too far for my grandson who is 6 to walk .

I shall not ever force you to divulge parking co-ords . Anything forced is rarely fun .

 

I will gladly skip your caches for more family friendly . My loss .

[+Miragee]

I'm with you on this one. Maybe in the early days of caching, when gas was a lot less-expensive, it was accepted, and part of the "game," to just give the coordinates of the cache and then let people figure it out, but I am not amused when the only access to a hidden neighborhood canyon is a narrow lane between two houses along a suburban street, or the only trail access is actually far from the road that looks like the logical approach according to maps.

 

My idea of caching is to park the car and start walking to the cache, not drive around and around looking for access . . . In one small town in Colorado, on two separate trips, I never did find two different caches placed by the same cache owner, because I couldn't find the access, not by driving around and around, or by walking up and down streets near the river looking for a way to get to the cache.

 

To help people find elusive parking spots or hidden trailheads, I have placed caches in those locations to help guide people.

[+PhxChem]

I think there should be a pin a coin or something special if you can figure out where to park on some of the caches I have tried to find . Tried is the key word here .

Since I have less than 25 finds under my belt , I guess I shouldn't make harsh judgements about things .

 

I always figured part of the game was figuring out where to park.

 

In my opinion, things lose their fun of they have to be spelled out for you every step of the way.

 

Some caches do give additional waypoints such as parking and trailheads. In many cases, this is because parking in the wrong spot could get you towed etc.

 

On most of the kid friendly caches I have found (the ones I do with my family), it was pretty obvious where the parking was.

[+briansnat]

I think finding parking is all part of the hunt. I've been stymied on many a cache where I couldn't find parking. I just had to re-think my approach the next time, or forget about it and move on to another cache.

[+sunburykids]

Half the hunt is getting there and it all starts with parking. If you have a problem with finding a parking spot, try green caching and leave the vehicle at home!

[+bugsmasher69]

Along with the parking coordinates maybe you could list directions from every geocachers house to the cache?

 

Finding your way there and finding the best parking spot is all part of the hunt. If you can't find your way there then go find a another game that is easier and has someone holding your hand every step of the way.

[+Team Crime Scene]

I usually make my own parking spot.

[+briansnat]

Along with the parking coordinates maybe you could list directions from every geocachers house to the cache?

 

Finding your way there and finding the best parking spot is all part of the hunt. If you can't find your way there then go find a another game that is easier and has someone holding your hand every step of the way.

 

Was that really necessary?

[+Clarkbowman]

Well the way I see it is- I pay taxes, I'll park where I want too.

 

-

-

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Just kidding

This sometimes this can be an issue,

but it is also part of the hunt.

Edited January 7, 2008 by Clarkbowman

[+Tahoein' Bunch]

The parking sometimes for out of towners can be an issue. It would be nice to have a safe spot to pull off at.

[+scorpio_dark]

I agree in most cases that it is all part of the hunt. But I think that the hider should note if parking is particularly difficult or intended to be "part of the hide". I'm not saying tell us where to park, but just note that it's difficult for those who would just rather not deal . . .

 

Also there are other exceptions that should be noted: 1)Special parking rules such as "Obvious parking closed from 'this time' to 'that time' and no available parking on street" (I encountered that issue late last night) 2)"Be careful of parking at the obvious choice, LEO is watching" etc.

 

<EDIT for clarity>

Edited January 7, 2008 by scorpio_dark

[+DudleyGrunt]

I don't necessarily think of parking as part of the hunt. But if it is, maybe we need to add a new rating...

 

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Parking:

 

Seriously, though, for many caches it is not an issue, but sometimes it is definitely useful to have parking coords. Personally, I'll list them for my caches if there is any doubt OR if I want folks to take a certain route or discourage another.

 

For my Only a Lad cache, I posted the following...

 

Park near the trailhead for the "Savage Mill Trail" on Foundry Street near the Bollman Bridge. If you look at the location on the the maps, it might appear that you can park along Weathered Stone Way. However, since that street is part of a gated community, it is not an option. And while it may be physically possible to park at the school on Gorman Road, I have no idea what the terrain is like and don't want to recommend parking on school grounds anyway.

 

...along with posting a photo to the gallery with a caption of "Park Here".

 

 

Maybe I'm holding people's hands, but some folks have chosen to cross the river after doing caches on the other side. They can take my advise or not.

[+sbell111]

I think parking part of the challenge of Geocaching. Some will disagree.

 

If I am ever forced to give parking coordinates, I will list my driveway. Geocaching is what you make it, nothing wrong with parking a mile from a park and grab.

Our favorite parking coodinates are N28° 24.195 W81° 34.735. Anyone is free to use these as your cache's parking coordinates, but please leave the actual parking space for us.

[Dinoprophet]

Many people argue they don't geocache to sit at a computer and solve puzzles. By the same token, I don't geocache to drive around.

 

That's not to say I require parking directions for every cache. But if the park entrance is in the back of some subdivision with dozens of curving streets, it'd be nice if you'd help get me into the woods a little quicker by telling me how to get there.

[Tahosa and Sons]

Depending on the location of the cache sometimes it is prudent to give a hint or coordinates as to where to park. As Vinny said the acess to a cache he looked for was by way of a Private Road, and some kind of clue or coordinates should of been given to help the finder. When it comes to caches in the hiking areas, well just find the trail head and read the map.

I have just hid a new cache and there is only one access road to the cache, but there are enough road signs to help them so I won't give coordinates for that cache's acess point. It all depends on the difficulty and conditions that go with a cache along with the common courtesy of the hider.

[+DonB]

I don't care if I get coordinates for parking if the cache is out in the boondocks, but when the cache is in a larger city parking could become a safety issue. Last summer I did a cache in a large city I was unfamiliar with and the entrance to the park where the cache was, was the size of a private driveway between two other private driveways, off a road with six lanes of traffic doing 55 miles an hour. The sign for the park was a little bitty thing hide behind some bushes. I didn't want to poke along doing 20 miles an hour and take a chance getting hit in the rear end so I did end up going by the entrance and had to turn around in one of the other driveways. To get back out into traffic took a few minutes and included burning a little rubber to do it.

 

In this case I can't see where it would have gave away much as far as the cache was concerned by listing the coordinates for the driveway.

[+DonB]

double post

Edited January 7, 2008 by DWBur

[+Trucker Lee]

Many people argue they don't geocache to sit at a computer and solve puzzles. By the same token, I don't geocache to drive around.

 

That's not to say I require parking directions for every cache. But if the park entrance is in the back of some subdivision with dozens of curving streets, it'd be nice if you'd help get me into the woods a little quicker by telling me how to get there.

 

Although it is true that parking is not a problem for most caches, I have come across a couple where there was none readily seen. This caused me to use extra fuel and be a hazard to others while poking along looking for a safe place. Additionally, I have found a couple caches where the only parking was on or along the side of a busy road, putting cachers and others in danger. And then there is the cache where I drove 2 miles in, to find that the cache was not accessable even though I was within 1000 ft. I should have come in on another road, and the cache was really about 5 miles away now. Had to blow that off due to time constraints.

 

If a cache owner has any idea that someone not familiar with the area could have problems finding a safe place to park, why not point cachers to such a place? If two roads come from different locations, and one would cause wasted fuel and time, why not just a hint "not accessable from that road"? And when placing a cache, keep in mind that we have far more lawyers in our society than we have folks with good common sense, and avoid putting a cache out that would encourage folks to make unsafe manuveurs or parking. I'm not saying give the cache away by no means, but look out for your fellow cachers.

[+Confucius' Cat]

I know why they are still driving arround looking for where to start from !

Can't get there from here!

 

Seriously, sometimes you just have to walk.

[+simpjkee]

Perhaps a encrypted parking hint would make all parties happy

 

LOL! a frustrated cacher decrypting a hint while driving around looking for somewhere to park. LOL

 

or are you suggesting that you'd (dare I say) decrypt the hint before leaving the house

[+The Jester]

Perhaps a encrypted parking hint would make all parties happy

 

LOL! a frustrated cacher decrypting a hint while driving around looking for somewhere to park. LOL

 

or are you suggesting that you'd (dare I say) decrypt the hint before leaving the house

Not much is as frustrating as looking at a hint at GZ and find instructions to find parking. If you are going to do something like that label it with [Parking] so it's obvious what that hint is applied to.