Placing A Cache In Front Of Your Own House

[+sTeamTraen]

I live in the country, and from my living room window I can see two or three great spots on public land in which to hide a cache.

 

Would this be frowned upon ? Especially if it was a high-difficulty micro cache, I can sort of imagine me (and my kids) watching hapless GCers wandering about the field, while we go "warmer... colder... icy..."

 

Has anyone else done this ?

[+beejay&esskay]

Sounds fine to me.

 

I went to a cache once that I knew was near the hider's house. We went in the middle of a torrential rainstorm. We imagined the hider was sitting in his easy chair, sipping his coffee, watching us through the picture window.

 

(However, later checking showed that he couldn't see the cache from his house.)

[+Johnnie Stalkers]

I always suspect the cache owner can see me, and is laughing at me, when we hunt in the little suburban parks. Paranoid I guess. Good thing I keep my foil hat on.

[+briansnat]

Its been done. I've even heard of caches on people's front lawns. Some geocachers find it uncomfortable knowing that someone may be watching, but that's no reason not to do it.

[GrandpaCannon]

There is a really great area for a cache out my office window. I have been thinking of placing a cache out there and then keeping my eyes open for those lucky people that get to cache while I am inside working.

[+CrimsonWrath]

I heard of one in my area that has some kind of radio in it that will call the owner, a short distance away, when the cache is opened. Now that's sneaky!

 

(I tried to find a link for this cache, but it appears to have been archived.)

[RandMan]

There are several cachers here in the Phoenix area who have placed caches in their front yard. Some have made a game of, "see if you can get the cache without us busting you" out of it.

 

Last week I used some stealth and pulled off "the grab" without being caught on this cache.

 

Here is my log entry: March 23 by RandMan (439 found)

 

After finding the nearby REACH FOR THE SKY!!!! and From the Kids....It's All About the Numbers caches earlier this morning, I decided to park near this cache and wait until sunrise to try to sneak in for the grab.

 

I arrived around 5:30 after filling up my coffee mug at a nearby convenience store. Talk radio was interesting - so the wait wasn't bad. I did manage to get a nap for about fifteen minutes though - and upon waking it was light enough to go for the cache. As I was about to get out of the van, I saw a car back out of the residence where the cache was located and drive past me ... it was around 6:25 A.M. I then walked the 200 ft to the cache and made the find easily. I signed the log at 6:30. After going back to my vehicle - and as I was about to leave, the same car that had just left a few minutes earlier came back and pulled in the driveway. Now, is that "stealth"? ... or what!?

 

Thanks, "team RED DOG," for the challenge and fun this morning.

[mortonfox]

Not a problem with that.

 

If I hear laughter coming from inside the house, I know where to ask for a hint.

[MustangPhreak&Phate]

We've been to one that was placed in someones front yard on their lawn furniture. Felt a tad strange searching for it since we weren't getting good readings that day and the GPS had us going all over the yard and up on to the front porch..

Of course we did choose to hunt it during the middle of a workday when we were hoping no one was home...

 

Another one was a devious one at the hiders work place. That one there was NO being sneaky about, the owner drove up as we had just begun our search a told us to let him know if we needed a hint. Having the owner there was an extra bit of pressure but didn't stop us from hunting. (oh, and yes..we ended up taking the hint. although I wish we hadn't..we were SO close!)

 

Anyway, both caches have been well-recieved so I say go for it! As much as going to the movies cost these days, who couldn't use some free entertainment??

[adampierson]

Where this micro cache you have on your property? I'll be over with my bulldozer to look for it!

 

Seriously, I see no problem with it if you don't. I know someone who has done something like this, only it isn't on his property... it's about .15 miles from his home, but he has a clear unobstucted view of the cache area.

[+wildearth2001]

my grandpa lives in a nursing home, there is a nice spot near the sidewalk right out his window for a cache. I am still working out the details with the nursing home staff but I am looking into putting a really tough micro there, telling my grandpa what it is and where it is, that way he can get a nice laught everytime someone looks for it, it would probably be the only interesting thing he would see all day, the biggest issue with this cache is getting the window set up so that my grandpa and the others in his room still have their privacy, but can still see out (we are looking at window screening)

 

to answer your question, sure there is no problem with it at all, do it, I wish I lived in a place where I could, and if I could I would

[+GPSKitty]

I went to a cache once that I knew was near the hider's house.  We went in the middle of a torrential rainstorm.  We imagined the hider was sitting in his easy chair, sipping his coffee, watching us through the picture window.

 

I think it's a cool idea. It would beat watching TV for the hider.

 

Even though I'd feel funny thinking that I was being observed, stumbling around, wandering in circles while someone watched.

 

It'd be REALLY funny if you put it in your NEIGHBOR'S yard and sat back and watched.

 

GPSKitty

[+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

I call cool idea.

 

I did a couple of caches in Eugene that had front yard caches and they were fine. I got to wave to one home owner. I have since placed one in my driveway.

[+JohnnyVegas]

This is a true story

 

I had a cache that I could see from my window at work, it is a very hard to find micro, one day a lemo pulls up and a kid around 13 gets out with a GPS and spent around 20 minutes looking in all the wrong places. When he posted a DNF I e-mailed him to let him know I saw him looking in the wrong spot. He asked me to prove I saw him, I e-mail the color of the Lemo and the time. It was him. he said he was required to have the chauffer take him geocahing

[+Bull Moose]

I heard of one in my area that has some kind of radio in it that will call the owner, a short distance away, when the cache is opened.  Now that's sneaky!

 

(I tried to find a link for this cache, but it appears to have been archived.)

That's actually the cache being discussed in this thread.

 

Here is the cache page.

 

EDIT: SPELLING

Edited March 29, 2004 by Bull Moose

[+cache_us_if_you_can]

I have no problem with people hidding caches near their homes. In fact, we've hidden one .18 mile from our front door.

[+GPSKitty]

he said he was required to have the chauffer take him geocahing

That just goes to show you that geocaching is enjoyed by people of all socio-economic levels. It's an "everyman's sport".

 

GSPKitty

[+Team Lyons]

Supercalicacheilisticexpialidocious is in our front yard. People seem to really like it. I did warn the neighbors that if they see any people in my front yard not to give them a hard time and I also showed them the cache. I also wrote in the description that there is no need to step off the sidewalk to find the cache.

 

EDIT: Fixed the link.

Edited March 29, 2004 by Team Lyons

[+Johnnie Stalkers]

he said he was required to have the chauffer take him geocahing

That just goes to show you that geocaching is enjoyed by people of all socio-economic levels. It's an "everyman's sport".

 

GSPKitty

I'd expect some trade ups.

 

Took: Rolodex Left: Rolex.

[+wimseyguy]

If it is a fun to seek cache that will provide viewing entertainment for you as well then go for it.

I really liked the post on creating a good cache for grandpa's entertainment too.

I have several hidden near work and detour on the way home to see if I can catch any seekers.

If you create a lame cache, people will still come to log it but you run the risk of reviving this thread in which a simple question from me to the cache owner was taken out of context. It provided me with some entertainment, but upset some other forum posters. But hey isn't that part of playing in the sandbox?

[+fly46]

Personally, I think it's a cool idea... I've been thinking of hiding a cache in my dad's front yard.

[+travisl]

I've yet to find a front yard cache that I thought "Wow! Cool! Thanks for bringing me to this neat spot!"

 

Without exception, my thoughts have turned more to "What's so special about this place?"

 

Unless you've got a cool view from your yard, I'd hide a cache somewhere else.

[+Team Lyons]

I've yet to find a front yard cache that I thought "Wow! Cool! Thanks for bringing me to this neat spot!"

 

Without exception, my thoughts have turned more to "What's so special about this place?"

 

Unless you've got a cool view from your yard, I'd hide a cache somewhere else.

We did ours to be different. We know a few cachers that have been trying to think of a way to place a cache in their yard but couldn't think of a way to do it . The hunt is unique and so is the container that will hold plenty of stuff. Thats what gets people to say "wow" not the view of my neighbors house. I say if your gonna hide a cache in your yard think outside the box and be creative.

[+Imajika]

I have a cache hidden in front of my office at a memorial. During work hours I can look out the window and see people looking for it. I don't see them all though. Sometimes I get to busy to look outside. I wish I could go say hi to everyone that comes by though.

 

If you decide to find this one of mine, I might be watching you! And my office mates know the cache is there so they always tell me if they saw people out there on my days off.

[+tandem]

I'm working on a multi cache on a lake, that the final cache will be next to our dock. I think it be cool to be sitting around and a cacher in a kayak paddles up.

[Tahosa and Sons]

I've got one in my yard, the clue really tell them where it is. But its for kids and is well liked.

[+GEO*Trailblazer 1]

I got 1 and the wife has 1.

Meet alot of new geocachers that way.

Plus easy maintenance.

[+CbusRog]

My first (and so far only) cache is in a park adjacent to my property. I can look out my back door and see the location. But I don't do that (too busy with other things). It does make it easy to maintain the cache though.

[+DavidMac]

I have one placed here on campus that I can see out the window while sitting at my desk. I actually placed it when living in a different apartment away from the cache. When room selection came up, I had my choice of two sides of the building, and chose the room on the side that faces the cache, of course.

 

Only one time have I actually seen someone hunting for it. By the time I made it outside, though, they had left, and never logged a DNF so I never figured out who it was.

[+New England n00b]

As a finder, this kind of cache makes me a bit uncomfortable to do. Something about being spied on creeps me out.

 

However, it is not a bad idea, and clearly some people enjoy them, so why not hide it? You can even bend some rules since you are the property owner and can create a unique hide.

 

When I get my own land, though, I'm gonna get me some No Trespassing signs and maybe a few Beware of Dog signs too.

 

/Grrr... KEEP OF MY LAWN YOU MEDDLING YOUNGSTERS! Sic 'em Fido!

[+blaneyphoto]

I haven't hidden a cache in my line of sight from my home, but I've released several bookcrossing books at the bus stop which is in front of my house. Watching the curious reactions of those finding the books is great... I imagine it would be fun to watch someone find a cache in my yard as well...

[+sept1c_tank]

Anxiously searching for a brand new cache (I would have been FTF), I arrived at the coordinates exactly at the front door of a house in a crowded subdivision. I couldn't believe it (it was a new cacher; it was his first hide) but I looked around on the front porch anyway and even talked to the neighbor.

 

The description said something about "what a view." I wondered if the cache might be on the roof. Eventually, I called the hider (at work). He was more surprised than was I. The coordinates he had posted were for his front door, but they were miles from the actual location of the cache.

 

Must have been a hard lesson for a newbie!

[+Divine]

Voyeurism or cool

I'd say cool voyeurism!

 

I have thought about a cache near my house too. There are some nice rocks to climb right where I can see from my balcony where I could sit and watch drinking beer. Maybe I could make it a hard task to get your hands on the container so I could be snapping photos of the desperate hunters too.

[WH]

I live in a ground floor apartment. I was toying with the idea of putting a cache on my patio and setting up a webcam looking directly at it. It would be kind of cool to catch a peek at cachers in the wild.

[+CYBret]

Apparently This One which was released yesterday is like that. Unfortunately, the hint isn't really detailed enough to know which house is the correct house, it's one of those neighborhoods where everyone has a little, thin yard, so it's difficult for the GPS to get you to the correct one, and the neighborhood doesn't seem to be all that good (as you see from the hider's comment as well as those of the first two no-finders).

 

I've hunted some "front yard caches" in urban environments as well as very rural environments. Some have been good experiences, some haven't. I'm not sure if I'll be trying for this cache or not.

 

Bret

[+The Cheeseheads]

I found one this winter on an island in the middle of a frozen lake. I was having trouble figuring out which snowdrift the cache was hiding under when I heard a voice calling out "Look down! It's at your feet!" Turns out the hider had a house on the lake and had been sitting out on his patio watching me hunt.

[+Team GPSaxophone]

Placing A Cache In Front Of Your Own House

Voyeurism or cool ?

If I put a wading pool filled with Jell-o in my front yard and watched, that would be voyeurism.

 

Actually, that would be pretty cool now that I think about it...

 

CO

[+The Gowen Family]

OK! I am that people will have diffrent answers. We placed our first cache in front of our house for the following reasons. Look up http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...4a-93fab9532b2e

 

1) It is close enough that you can do easy up keep.

2) We were fairly new to the game(we lurked around this site for a while) and wasn't sure how to go about things when hiding your own. So it was easy to go get it if it did not get approved.

3) We wanted the chance to meet some of the people of the geocaching community.

[mpm]

My first cache was in the front yard of my mom's house. Granted, the front yard there is about 15 acres large, so you can't see the actual cache location, but the trailhead starts just below the house, and cachers are welcome to park in the driveway. It's here: Cache of the Buckongehanon

 

Nearer my home is Backyard Cache, which is right in someone's backyard. The comments are interesting.

[Micqn]

My experience.

 

See my March 29th post.

 

Edited March 31, 2004 by Micqn