River island geocache

[river_dog]

Is it ok to hide a geocache on a river island that is only accessible by Kayak or Canoe? My neighbor and I each own about half the island and we both would like to place a cache but only want to allow water access. We have developed the small island as a rest stop for paddlers so it's used a lot in the summer.  

[+Max and 99]

4 minutes ago, river_dog said:

Is it ok to hide a geocache on a river island that is only accessible by Kayak or Canoe? My neighbor and I each own about half the island and we both would like to place a cache but only want to allow water access. We have developed the small island as a rest stop for paddlers so it's used a lot in the summer.  

If you own it you can hide something there as long as it's 528 ft from other geocaches. But you can't dictate how other people access it. Sounds fun!

[+NYPaddleCacher]

2 minutes ago, river_dog said:

Is it ok to hide a geocache on a river island that is only accessible by Kayak or Canoe? My neighbor and I each own about half the island and we both would like to place a cache but only want to allow water access. We have developed the small island as a rest stop for paddlers so it's used a lot in the summer.  

 

Yes, it is absolutely okay.  If it really is only accessible by kayak or canoe it should get a 5 for terrain (requires special equipment).   Give it a D rating based on the difficultly once one is on the island.

 

I've considered placing a cache on a river island myself.  I own a house on a major river and there is an island in the middle of the river across from our property.  As long as the river isn't high it's accessible by wading.   I cross over from my property to fish the river as it wraps around the island. It would be accessible by canoe or kayak and drift boats are commonly used on the river (it's a premier flyfishing destination).  I don't know who exactly owns the island and it will completely flood when  water is really high.  It would make an interesting (and beautiful) spot for a cache and I could watch people find it from my living room.

[+Viajero Perdido]

In NYPC's case, I'd expect the island to be public land given it floods occasionally.  Depends on local laws, of course.  I had a cache like that once, Below High Tide.  It took a lot of maintenance.

 

To the OP, if you've got mature trees on the island, the spot is likely safe against flooding (you would know), in which case I think it's a great idea.  Caches like this are the kind you remember.  And on behalf of paddlers everywhere, thank you for providing a nice place to stop. 

[+colleda]

I have caches on islands where I live. Sadly weather (climate change?) has played havoc with one of them to the point where I may have to archive and forget about a replacement as the island is slowly disappearing.

I hope OP's doesn't have the same fate.

Here's a couple of photos - eight years between them.

 

[+NYPaddleCacher]

On 5/4/2021 at 6:53 PM, colleda said:

I have caches on islands where I live. Sadly weather (climate change?) has played havoc with one of them to the point where I may have to archive and forget about a replacement as the island is slowly disappearing.

I hope OP's doesn't have the same fate.

Here's a couple of photos - eight years between them.

 

 

 

 

The island that I'm thinking of is bigger and has actually gotten a lot bigger.

 

[+Korichnovui]

I have several caches on islands, terrain rating 5. I like them! I made sure to get the proper permissions, but that doesn't sound like a problem for your island!

 

They don't get a lot of traffic though. Not that I was expecting a lot. But don't be surprised if your cache is only rarely found (not sure how many avid canoers/etc are in your area). 

[+Joe_L]

You may want to consider ice on the river in winter and how safe it may be to walk on it (real or perceived). People without small craft may chose to wait for freezing conditions to make the find. But if the ice is poor, there could be a bad result.  
 

(There is a local park with a lake and small island.  I don’t kayak, so I wait for the lake to freeze. I judge the ice by the presence of ice fishermen.  But that option may not be available on your river.)

[+NYPaddleCacher]

On 5/8/2021 at 8:57 AM, Joe_L said:

You may want to consider ice on the river in winter and how safe it may be to walk on it (real or perceived). People without small craft may chose to wait for freezing conditions to make the find. But if the ice is poor, there could be a bad result.  
 

(There is a local park with a lake and small island.  I don’t kayak, so I wait for the lake to freeze. I judge the ice by the presence of ice fishermen.  But that option may not be available on your river.)

 

Personally, I would disable a cache that required a kayak/canoe during the winter and even early Spring as it might discourage someone from going on on a nice day when the water is still could enough to kill. 

[+Oxford Stone]

https://coord.info/GC65Z0B

 

https://coord.info/GC7RM80

 

A couple on islands in the Thames in Oxfordshire

[+cerberus1]

On 5/4/2021 at 1:08 PM, river_dog said:

Is it ok to hide a geocache on a river island that is only accessible by Kayak or Canoe? 

My neighbor and I each own about half the island and we both would like to place a cache but only want to allow water access.

We have developed the small island as a rest stop for paddlers so it's used a lot in the summer.  

 

Sounds like fun.     Curious though... is there another means of access ?  Is there a fee ?

Telling someone they can't access any other way is an Addition Logging Requirement, and not allowed.  I'd like to drop in by helicopter...

It'd be like having a "rope climb" tree cache and someone shows with a ladder.  The log's signed, it's good.

I've waded and float tubed many rivers to get to caches, but when with the other 2/3rds we'd use kayaks or her little jon boat.  All work.

I have a lengthy paddle-to multi that's visited maybe once a year.

 

[+Oxford Stone]

I think you're over-analysing the OP? The two caches I mentioned yesterday can be accessed by swimming or motor-boat too...

[+Mn-treker]

I have had river island hides. Sometimes the river freezes thick enough to walk on to get to the island. But I have had to put warnings out for thin ice.

Always make sure that the island is public. I have one  lake island hide, which is private property. A very small island with no cabin on it. I found the owner and got permission to hide.

A string of hides on a river make for a good caching trip. Sometimes you may need the long pole TOTT though. 

If you hide on a river island stop and think about flooding. I know of one hide 12 feet to the top of the island, the cache got submerged a few times. 

Edited May 23, 2021 by Mn-treker
Added some info.

[+CheekyBrit]

DO IT!!!!!! River island caches are awesome. I've found 5 or so and loved them all. I used white water rafts, hard shell sit in kayaks, and inflatable kayaks on different occasions, depending what was to hand.
There is one in town near me that is an island for part of the year and you can walk to during low flow seasons. The cache owner had it as T2 but switched it to T5 because people were kayaking there or swimming there a fair bit.