Are there other cities that support GPS

[+dew cache]

The city of Flower Mound, Texas has a GPS program set up in their parks which can be found here link

 

They even have a game setup to use GPS and a loaner GPS to lend out. I just think it is neat for a city to set this up. Granted it will not give me a smiley but who cares, I am sure I can set some up caches close by and they do mention www.geocaching.com at the end of the page. From their web page which is much better looking than this text version

 

Discover Flower Mound Parks and enjoy the outdoors with the Flower Mound GPS Adventure!

 

Using your GPS receiver and the Flower Mound GPS Adventure Score Card available here, challenge yourself, your family or your friends to find all 15 GPS Adventure control markers hidden in parks throughout the Town.

 

If you own a GPS receiver and are familiar with finding locations using latitude and longitude coordinates, simply follow these easy steps. If you’re new to using a GPS receiver, find answers to your questions below.

 

Download and print the Flower Mound GPS Adventure Score Card.

 

Select parks to explore and markers to find – or try to find them all!

 

Use the coordinates on the score card to find each marker and record the marker letter on the score card.

 

Use the Start Time and Stop Time sections of the score card to record your time, or just enjoy the day as it unfolds.

 

View the GPS Adventure Map

 

View the GPS Adventure Scorecard

 

What is GPS (Global Positioning System)?Made available to the public in 1997 by the United States Department of Defense, the Global Positioning System (GPS) is a worldwide, space-based navigation system operated by the U.S. Air Force. The system is a constellation of 24 satellites that provides accurate information about position and speed of travel anywhere in the world to individuals with a GPS receiver.

 

What is a GPS receiver?A GPS receiver is a small, handheld device (about the size of a cordless home phone) that utilizes the location of four or more of the 24 satellites to chart the distance to each and calculate its own position on Earth. Location is displayed on the GPS receiver screen as coordinates of latitude and longitude. You can learn more about how the GPS system and GPS receivers work at http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gps1.htm.

 

Where can I buy a GPS receiver and how much do they cost?GPS receivers are sold in most sporting goods stores and online through outdoor outfitters. The cost of an entry-level GPS receiver is approximately $100.

 

Does the Flower Mound Parks Department have a GPS receiver I can use?The GPS receiver may be checked out for three days at the Parks and Recreation office, 3925 Churchill Drive.

 

How do I use a GPS receiver?GPS receivers vary, but for use on the GPS Adventure Map, entering a single set of coordinates from the Flower Mound GPS Adventure Scorecard and saving them as a waypoint or navigating directly to them works best. A new GPS receiver, as well as the loaned unit, come with complete instructions. Make sure to view the GPS Adventure Map to get an idea of where the markers are and how you’ll plan your approach.

 

What other fun things are there to do with a GPS receiver?There are many sports and outdoor activities that use GPS receivers. One sport that is growing rapidly among outdoor enthusiasts and suburban families looking for low-impact, outdoor adventure is geocaching. Visit www.geocaching.com to learn more.

 

What are the Flower Mound GPS Adventure control markers and what do they look like?The control markers are plastic 4 x 4-inch orange and white squares.

[+meralgia]

The Amana Colonies in Iowa has a similar thing:

 

"Take the Amana GPS Adventure. Stop by the Amana Heritage Museum in the village of Amana and receive your first coordinates. You can use your car's GPS system or borrow a hand-held unit from the Museum. Then follow as the coordinates lead you on a chase around the Colonies. A great teaching tool for kids, the GPS Adventure concludes when you discover your token treasure. Contact the Amana Heritage Museum at 319-622-3567 or www.amanaheritage.org for additional information."

 

(above excerpt found here: http://www.amanacolonies.org/leisure.htm)

Edited April 9, 2008 by meralgia

[+paleolith]

The Tallahassee (Florida) Parks and Recreation Department is placing caches in every city park. Some larger parks have more than one, and they plan to have one in every single piece of property they manage, including one so small that the cache name is "Is this really a park". AFAIK they have not run into saturation conflicts, though there's a park near me where they would come close -- they haven't placed one there yet.

 

They do not have any other GPS activities, nor do they offer loaner GPSrs. The series has obviously been welcomed by local cachers.

 

When time permits, I plan to do the entire series by bicycle, starting from my front door. (No, not in one day.) That way I can claim, albeit unofficially, a higher terrain rating than is normally possible on dry land in Florida.

 

Edward

[+Chuy!]

That's great news paleolith. In San Diego (actually, Santee), we have a park ranger that places caches in a moderate sized city park. Who better to place and maintain caches than the rangers?!

[Dinoprophet]

A few years ago, Stony Creek Metropark, which has always been very involved in geocaching (including some of the best multis around) published a brochure with a GPS-based tour of several historical sites in the park. I don't know whether they still make it available.

[+Totem Clan]

Are you kidding. The local Parks and Recreation Department Superindent had never even heard of a GPS when I approached when last year about placing caches in all the parks to encourage visitation and tourism. He looked at my GPSr like it was from some other planet. He even asked how much it would cost to launch a satellite for the city. (They never came to a decision on the caches.)

Now the joint ND-MN Greenway Project which runs along both sides of the Red River and is not manged by the city PRD is very cache friendly. They are always looking for things like this to boost their visitation. Thanks for the info. I'll pass it on.

[+blackoakred]

Arkansas state parks have embraced geocaching. They have a web page describing caching in the parks. Obviously not related to cities, but park related.

Edited April 10, 2008 by blackoakred

[+dew cache]

Man I think it is really neat that so many government agencies are taking an intrest. I know when I approached my city (Highland Village) about putting some caches on a new hike/bike trail they were excited. I might approach them and show them what their neighbor is doing and see if they want to do something like it.

[+GRANPA ALEX]

Burlington NC is building a new park and the park manager was trying to get it named Burlington Geocaching Park (many-many acres). They love the game and invite the resident local cacher who worked hard to set up this successful relationship to place all the caches that he can.

[+J-Way]

Arkansas state parks have embraced geocaching. They have a web page describing caching in the parks. Obviously not related to cities, but park related.

Out of curiosity, I read their "geocaching policy". It sounds all cacher-friendly and loverly until you get to section III, "CACHE LOCATIONS":

A. Physical Caches are prohibited inside any state park / museum facility or structure.

Either I'm mis-reading this, or they have a typo, or no physical caches are allowed "inside any state park". I'm leaning toward typo (the "/" should not be there), but I could be wrong.

D. Caches may not be buried, nor may vegetation or stones be disturbed to place a cache.

A literal interpretation of this rule means you can't cover a container with a layer of fallen leaves. Nor can you place a cache in a crack in a rock then put a cover rock over the crack. Basically, no UFO's (Unnatural Formation of Objects).

[+blackoakred]

I have only found this Arkansas state park cache. They do have guidelines for hiding caches, but there are many caches hidden in their parks. I think it is really great that they advertise geocaching in their state parks. I agree that the "/" is probably a typo and the meaning is that no caches may be hidden in buildings or structures.

Edited April 10, 2008 by blackoakred

[+gulo]

The new Cheyenne Mountain State Park in Colorado has GPS waypoint signs posted along all trails. There is over 100 of them I believe.

[+paleolith]

A. Physical Caches are prohibited inside any state park / museum facility or structure.

Either I'm mis-reading this, or they have a typo, or no physical caches are allowed "inside any state park".

You are parsing it wrong. What they are saying is

Physical Caches are prohibited inside any (state park / museum) (facility or structure).

In other words, no caches in buildings. Which is reasonable.

 

Note that I don't have any inside knowledge of the meaning, I just read the document and, after catching for a second on that passage, figured out that the only reasonable parsing in the context is the one above. It's slightly sloppy wriiting rather than a typo. Fine distinction I know.

 

Edward