SC geocaching guidelines for State Parks

[+huntfor]

The below reference describes SOUTH CAROLINA permits required for leaving a geocache and info on cache containers and contents, cache searches, compliance and LOTS OF RULES AND REGULATIONS!

 

This link is a pdf file which is the only format they give it in:

 

http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/files/St..._guidelines.pdf

 

As a brand new geocacher, this is my contribution, until I can get a stronger "foothold" on it all.

[+gpsfun]

Thank you for posting this information, huntfor.

 

South Carolina's guidelines for geocaching in state parks are pretty reasonable, and the park rangers I have dealt with have been very cooperative. I was speaking with one of them last Saturday (April 3) and he told me that the SC State Parks and Recreation Areas are seeing an upturn in activity as people are traveling less and enjoying locations closer to home.

 

I do want to mention that the mention of a $25 fee on their permit form does not apply to geocache placements.

 

Happy caching!

 

-Brad

Groundspeak volunteer reviewer for South Carolina

[+huntfor]

South Carolina's guidelines for geocaching in state parks are pretty reasonable, and the park rangers I have dealt with have been very cooperative. I was speaking with one of them last Saturday (April 3) and he told me that the SC State Parks and Recreation Areas are seeing an upturn in activity as people are traveling less and enjoying locations closer to home.

 

I do want to mention that the mention of a $25 fee on their permit form does not apply to geocache placements.

 

Happy caching!

 

-Brad

Groundspeak volunteer reviewer for South Carolina

Hi, Brad,

 

I'm glad you were able to speak in person to one of the park rangers.

 

Are there any restrictions on bringing dogs? Mine is a service dog, however, I don't want to be confronted by a playful St. Bernard, for example, who can possibly accidentally injure my dog. I have firsthand experience with this from a previous dog I had. (Rusty, sweetheart, rest in peace in dog heaven. I love you and miss you so much.) BTW, Rusty's leg was injured when a big dog (the aforementioned) jumped on him.

 

What $25.00 fee? I don't think the pdf I found mentioned that. Does that mean I have to pay to seek a geocache?

 

Any helpful hints on locations of geocaches with flat, easy to walk trails, etc, away from snakes and the like? lol. I'm trying very hard NOT to talk myself out of geocaching. A semi-planned trip was in the works until I watched the video and saw snakes at Poinsett. (yikes!)

 

Lastly, is there a list of geocache-friendly locations such as parks, lakes, rivers that are pet-friendly?

 

Thank you!

[+huntfor]

Thank you for posting this information, huntfor.

 

-Brad

Groundspeak volunteer reviewer for South Carolina

Your geocaching experiences are amazing!

 

Brad's Geocaching Profile

[+gpsfun]

South Carolina's guidelines for geocaching in state parks are pretty reasonable, and the park rangers I have dealt with have been very cooperative. I was speaking with one of them last Saturday (April 3) and he told me that the SC State Parks and Recreation Areas are seeing an upturn in activity as people are traveling less and enjoying locations closer to home.

 

I do want to mention that the mention of a $25 fee on their permit form does not apply to geocache placements.

 

Happy caching!

 

-Brad

Groundspeak volunteer reviewer for South Carolina

Hi, Brad,

 

I'm glad you were able to speak in person to one of the park rangers.

 

Are there any restrictions on bringing dogs? Mine is a service dog, however, I don't want to be confronted by a playful St. Bernard, for example, who can possibly accidentally injure my dog. I have firsthand experience with this from a previous dog I had. (Rusty, sweetheart, rest in peace in dog heaven. I love you and miss you so much.) BTW, Rusty's leg was injured when a big dog (the aforementioned) jumped on him.

 

What $25.00 fee? I don't think the pdf I found mentioned that. Does that mean I have to pay to seek a geocache?

 

Any helpful hints on locations of geocaches with flat, easy to walk trails, etc, away from snakes and the like? lol. I'm trying very hard NOT to talk myself out of geocaching. A semi-planned trip was in the works until I watched the video and saw snakes at Poinsett. (yikes!)

 

Lastly, is there a list of geocache-friendly locations such as parks, lakes, rivers that are pet-friendly?

 

Thank you!

In the .pdf there is mention of a permit form that must be completed; the $25 fee is mentioned on the permit form. The form is for multiple uses and the fee applies to a number of things but not to geocache placements.

 

Regarding dogs in State Parks - I do not know the answer to your question and suggest you start with the SC State Parks web site here and check the web page for the specific parks in which you have interest. If you don't see a clear answer, you can call the park office for details.

 

Regarding snakes, they see animals as either something they can eat or as something that can eat them. Since we are far too big for them to eat us, they want to stay away from us.

 

The main times we need to worry about snakes is when they don't have a chance to get away from us. Also, never put part of your body in a place that you have not first checked for snakes. If a snake is trying to hide from you under a log, and you stick your hand under the log looking for a cache, you might get a bite. Speaking of logs, do not step over them - step on the log and then step beyond it. If you just step over the log, you are placing your foot and ankle in a place that you have not checked out yet.

 

I have only encountered one snake while geocaching and that was last year. An Eastern King Snake was apparently planning to cross the trail that I was using, and we both stopped. After a few seconds, the snake decided he didn't really want to cross that path after all.

[+c&s 143]

Susan and I have only come across 2 snakes while we were out caching. One was a fairly large black snake. We were doing the Landsford Canal series of caches. While the snake by itself would not have kept us from continuing, we did have our dachshund with us. He hasn't been around snakes before so we don't know how he will react to them. Based on other small moving critters he has found, my guess is he would try to play with them. We decided to wait on the rest of that series.

 

The other snake was just in the general area near a cache.

 

Aside from that, snakes haven't been an issue. However, I do tend to use a hiking pole on walks in the woods. They help with balance and also checking those dark holes and crevasses for critters before you put your hand in there.

 

Craig

C&S 143