Review of where we can place caches

[+Sol seaker]

Okay, we all know that private property is out (and save the debate of exactly what private property means for another thread)

 

National parks have been out, but Hydensek and others are currently working with Olympic National park, where it first became a problem. I guess they're doing a trial cache, but the outcome waits to be seen.

 

In some states it's illegal to cache in state parks, some allow it. Some allow it with permission, some allow it with fees.

 

City parks are fine at this point.

 

County parks are fine (unless they have specific rules against it).

 

Then there's DNR lands (dept of natural resources)

 

and Forest Service lands.

 

I believe we are not allowed to cache on Forest service lands but DNR lands are okay. Someone with knowledge on this please confirm it.

 

What am I missing???

[+WRASTRO]

There really is no way to post a comprehensive list of where we can and can not place caches. The answer varies by location. My best suggestion is for potential hiders to become as familiar as they can with the laws, rules and regulations as they exist in the area where the potential hider is considering. The rules can change with little notice.

 

The reviewers are perhaps our best resource in that they, by necessity, need to be familiar with many local land use policies.

 

In Washington we have been extremely fortunate to have Moun10Bike as a resource since the very early days of the game. You can check out the substantial information he provides on his profile regarding cache placements in Washington. The WSGA has also been very proactive in working with city, county, state and federal land managers to promote geocaching.

 

There is no way we can make blanket statements that "city parks are fine" as there are indeed cities that have banned geocaches from being placed in their parks. In Seattle we enjoy a general policy that caches are ok but Discovery Park banned them for several years. They are now allowed in a controlled manner after substantial efforts spearheaded by the WSGA. Similar situations exist in surrounding communities and in King County parks.

[+hydnsek]

I'm not entirely sure what the point of this list is, as there is no blanket statement for parks at any level - it varies from system to system, by city/state/region. But I'd like to correct a few comments.

 

National parks have been out, but Hydensek and others are currently working with Olympic National park, where it first became a problem. I guess they're doing a trial cache, but the outcome waits to be seen.

Thanks for the shout-out, but you got your facts a bit confused.

 

Caching in national parks didn't "first become a problem" in Olympic National Park. NPS has historically banned caches in national parks (although they've modified their stance a little in recent years), but last year Olympic NP became one of the first western NPs to permit physical caches, approving the placement of two caches (not trials, no probation period). Olympic NP is one of the good guys!

 

In some states it's illegal to cache in state parks, some allow it. Some allow it with permission, some allow it with fees.

 

City parks are fine at this point.

 

County parks are fine (unless they have specific rules against it).

 

There are city parks in some areas that do not allow caching, or allow it only with permission. Example: Discovery Park in Seattle.

 

There are county parks that ban or have moratoriums on caching, or allow it only with permission. Example: Lord Hill and Paradise Valley in Snohomish County Parks, WA, both currently have moratoriums on cache placements.

 

(Sorry that all my examples are in WA state, but that's where I live and oversee the WSGA Park Liaison Program. I know others in this forum will have even better examples.)

 

Then there's DNR lands (dept of natural resources)

and Forest Service lands.

 

I believe we are not allowed to cache on Forest service lands but DNR lands are okay. Someone with knowledge on this please confirm it.

 

What am I missing???

 

Many Forest Service lands allow cache placement without approval, I believe it depends on the local forest management. The FS lands here in Washington appear to allow it, based on all the caches we've placed (myself included).

 

As for what managed park lands you might be missing, there are huge tracts of forest lands owned by other entities, such as lumber companies, land developers, universities, research institutions, and corporations. Here in Washington state, we recreate on millions of acres owned by Weyerhaeuser and other timber firms. Pack Forest down near Enumclaw is managed by UW (Univ of Washington). Both of these examples currently allow geocaching on their lands. I have a cache on undeveloped land owned by a private developer that currently allows day-use recreation.

 

Edit: Thanks to Wrastro for the nice comments about WSGA! And total agreement that Moun10Bike has a great section on WA land-use guidelines on his profile page - good resource. WSGA also has an ongoing thread in our forums on park policies in WA.

Edited February 2, 2011 by hydnsek

[+keehotee]

Okay, we all know that private property is out (and save the debate of exactly what private property means for another thread)

 

 

That's a very sweeping statement - and means caching's essentially illegal in the UK, where there is no property that isn't owned by somebody (and over here, state owned doesn't = public).

 

I thought private property was fine to hide and seek caches on - as long as you have adequate permission?

[+niraD]

I thought private property was fine to hide and seek caches on - as long as you have adequate permission?

That is correct. Private property is fine as long as you have adequate permission. I have two caches on private property, both with explicit permission.

[+Happy Humphrey]

National Parks are very much IN; there are thousands of caches in them already.

 

As Keehotee said, virtually all land is private property. That doesn't mean that you can't access it freely; a lot of it is Access Land and in Scotland you don't even need to worry about that classification.

 

SSSIs though, have special rules. National Trust land has special agreements.

 

Of course, it's all quite different in Europe!

[+Isonzo Karst]

This might be more useful in a regional forum, and with a state attached. As a broad statement about geocaching, it's of no purpose. There's no way to make any sort of blanket remarks about "city parks" or "county parks" or even National forests.

 

National forests in Florida have a "place caches freely" policy. In Arkansas (I think) it's a fee permit. And in another state they have a 1 mile saturation limit.

 

Anyway, you can PM a moderator, and ask that this be moved to a regional forum, and maybe edit the title to add "name of state".

[+StarBrand]

The only USA absolute no-no that I am aware of is designated wilderness areas within National forests. National Parks have taken a case-by-case stance as have National Wildlife areas. Some National forests have banned it, some allow it with no rules, some have strict guidelines. Some state wildlife areas are ok - some states forbid caches in them. Same with Rest Areas.

 

Only knowledgeable locals can put together a local list.

[+Team GPSaxophone]

The only USA absolute no-no that I am aware of is designated wilderness areas within National forests.

Not true. There are some places where caches in wilderness areas don't bother the rangers. There were numerous social trails before caching came along, so adding caches didn't really change anything.

 

In other areas just the thought of having a man-made object there, no matter what size or how well hidden, will get the enviro-nazis after you.

[+StarBrand]

The only USA absolute no-no that I am aware of is designated wilderness areas within National forests.

Not true. There are some places where caches in wilderness areas don't bother the rangers. There were numerous social trails before caching came along, so adding caches didn't really change anything.

 

In other areas just the thought of having a man-made object there, no matter what size or how well hidden, will get the enviro-nazis after you.

Ok - the local forest ranger told me it was absolute - I should have guessed there would be some exceptions!!!

[+Ike 13]

Each state, county, and city is different. My best suggestion is checking with your state geocaching organization (if you have one) they probably have a list. The local reviewer will definitely have a list.

 

SC Banned: graveyards, DNR lands (owned and managed), DOT property and rightaway

SC State Parks and Forests (not controlled by the DNR) allow Geocaching but there is a form you have to fill out.

[knowschad]

To demonstrate the complexity of the issue, here are the hiding guidelines that a Minnesota cacher (and/or reviewer) has to be aware of:

 

http://mngca.org/guidelines

 

(Opencacher.commers please take note.)

[+TerraViators]

Wow, now I have tired head. My sister-in-law, has even opened up her 600 acres to other cachers. Nobody has hidden one on the land, yet.

[+hydnsek]

To demonstrate the complexity of the issue, here are the hiding guidelines that a Minnesota cacher (and/or reviewer) has to be aware of:

 

http://mngca.org/guidelines

 

(Opencacher.commers please take note.)

Thanks for that link. I have been planning to revise the WSGA site to provide organization of the park guidelines in our state, and this is a nice example.