Finding A Place To Hide A Cache

[+ChaseOnTheGo]

Hey,

 

I have made a lot of neat caches but I recently said to myself.....where do I put these caches..........practically every park or woods there are caches!!! How do you find a place to hide a cache?

 

-ChaseOnTheGo

Edited March 26, 2005 by ChaseOnTheGo

[+Miragee]

If things are really that crowded, you could turn a cache into a multi where the final coords are not known until the person finds the first one or two locations.

 

I found the final stage of a multi yesterday and it is very close to another traditional cache. I didn't mind revisiting the area since the other stages were so interesting.

[+larsl]

If I have an idea for a mystery cache (for example) I usually start a map program, load some maps and GPX files with the caches in that area, and try to find a spot that is reasonably far away from the nearest cache and also has the terrain that I want to hide the cache in. I prefer to hide caches at least a couple of hundred meters from the nearest buildings (a few kilometers is even better). On a good topographical map you can also see hilltops and ridges that might have a nice view, or places where you maybe can hide a cache somewhere in a steep slope so the finders will have to climb a bit to get it.

[+DaveA]

well, for the caches I am planning on placing this year once it warms up and the snow/ice/mud/flood waters leave I discovered them by simply doing other things I enjoy like hiking, canoing and visitting parks.

 

I think the most densely populated cache areas are common areas that most everyone knows about. Better choices, in my personal opinion, are those areas that not so many know about.

 

You really only discover these areas by taking day trips to outdoor spots and spend time walking around them. I wouldn't ever do this for the sole purpose of finding a cache spot, rather I do it because I enjoy it and every now and then I see a spot where I think, "this would make a great cache spot".

 

You can also place a cache that defies the typical in your area. I think pretty much every neighborhood park has some sort of cache nowdays and from what I hear most parkinglots in some areas do too

 

In such a case why not take a canoe ride down the local river and find a nice island to put a cache on or hike a trail a few miles from the nearest road? Place a cache there.

 

Lots of cachers will thank you for deviating from the park the car, walk into park, look under bush, log cache routine.

 

On a completely seperate note you can not worry about hiding a physical cache anywhere special, but instead teach people something about history of the local area. Lots of people appreciate caching while getting an educational lesson. You might research and explore the history of some local person or company. You can place a multi leg cache with each waypoint being something that educates the seeker on a topic and the final physical cache then need not be hidden in a creative manner or unique location instead make it contain inexpensive items in keeping with the cache theme. As an example around my neck of the woods we have a new park purchased from a mining company. There is a building on the property with all sorts of info on the old mining operation and several sites of interest on the property. One could have folks walk around the 50 acres or so seeing the sites and the final could contain key chains with the mining company's name on it.

 

Just look beyond the typical city park micro under a bush or on a lamp post and you will find there really aren't that many.

[Dr123d]

I usually find a location were I would like to place a cache . Walk around for a while. Put my hand up to my face and make a Jeremy pose and then it comes to me. Then I go home and make the container.

 

Easy

[+briansnat]

Hey,

 

I have made a lot of neat caches but I recently said to myself.....where do I put these caches..........practically every park or woods there are caches!!! How do you find a place to hide a cache?

 

-ChaseOnTheGo

I live in the most densely cached state in the US and I'm amazed how many times I, or one of my fellow geocachers come up with a new place to put a cache.

 

I study road maps and topo maps, looking for un-cached swaths of public land. I read guide books and hiking books, which often point out cool areas and I scan the newspaper for mention of public land acquisitions (some people go for FTFs, I go for FTCs - to be the first person to place a cache in a new park) or just articles about interesting places.

 

I also hike a lot and do volunteer trail work and I discover many great new spots for caches through these activities.

[+tirediron]

I just tend to keep my eye open while I'm out and about... make a note of likely spots and then come back to them later

[+carleenp]

I tend to own rural caches for a reason. I enjoy looking at the Delorme topo map for odd little public areas that I have never visited or that don't have caches. Most of these are small wildlife management areas that few people visit. Then I go hike around the areas to check them out. Sometimes I decide that they aren't the best for a cache and other times I am pleasently surprised and hide a cache there. I have had some great hikes too that way whether I hid a cache in the area or not.

 

I also make note of places when out searching for caches. For example, I have a great location in a local park that I plan to hide a cache in. The park, which is quite large, already has several caches, but only the end of a 5 star puzzle cache is in that general area. I found the spot when going completely the wrong way looking for the end of the puzzle cache. I suspect that few people hike up into that particular part of the park often, so it will show many people a new place.

[+Greymane]

New York has some very dense cache areas, but two of my new caches are not within 3 miles of another cache. I just happen to be in a good spot.

[+ChaseOnTheGo]

Thanks everyone for posting!

 

Thanks,

ChaseOnTheGo

[+Renegade Knight]

I see places while looking for other caches. Sometimes someone beats me to placing a cache there, most often they don't. I've got a list of 9 or so places that I'd like to place a cache at.

 

One trick is to use the topo map and look at named features. Everyone knows the area but not everone knows everthing the topo map knows. Besides it's a good way to plan out a day's adventure.

[Radman Forever]

When it is in central Michigan (less woods more parks), I just look at maps and find out where parks are, or I hide them in parks I have known for a long time. In northern Michigan (less parks more woods) I drive around looking for awesome spots to hide a cache. Back in February I was driving a poor dirt road that had just been plowed and I noticed a large hill while I was driving by it. I got up to a part of the hill that had been deforested and had a great view of the hills and valleys, so I saved a waypoint and came back out in a month and hid a cache. I don't plan out how, where I am going to hide a cache in a park or a forested area. I just drive to the place and find the best hiding spot. The most times I have ever visited a place/park before hiding a cache is two times.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

All of my (few) hides so far have been "light-bulb" moments - where I would see a great location while doing something else.

 

I met a friend to geocache this afternoon. While sitting at the meeting site talking about what caches we wanted to chase we both happened to look across the street at this amazing rock wall, looked at each other and said "Gotta do it!" Cache GCNF7A should be approved by morning!

 

My as-yet-unimplemented plan; get a AAA tour book of your area and place caches at or near the interesting sites in it!

[+jimmyreno]

Not sure, but I think about 20% of the caches are archived each year.

When you see a place YOU LIKE VISITING open up, take it.

[+Gambrinus & Crew]

I study road maps and topo maps, looking for un-cached swaths of public land.

Brian, aside from the obvious, being parks, how do you find out what land is public? I've often wondered this. There are tons of wooded areas around here that aren't parks, but I don't know how to find out if they're public land or privately owned.

 

Thanks.

[+Team Wampus]

I study road maps and topo maps, looking for un-cached swaths of public land.

Brian, aside from the obvious, being parks, how do you find out what land is public? I've often wondered this. There are tons of wooded areas around here that aren't parks, but I don't know how to find out if they're public land or privately owned.

 

Thanks.

In my area, the city and county and utility companies have developed a state-of-the-art GIS system for the entire county. You can go online and zoom/pan a map of the county. It has so much detail, I can zoom in on my house and bring up a satellite background image that I can even see my garden shed in the backyard. You can get info on any piece of property in the county..stuff like owner name and address.

 

The one thing that I have learned about my area by using this is that the city and county governments own vastly more parcels of land than I ever imagined. Many of these are along the banks of the Tennessee River/Fort Loudon Lake. There are many more chunks of public land than those that have been developed as parks...they're just "raw land" with no facilities of any kind. Some are cut off from roads by private properties, but are accessible from the river. I've spotted a bunch of places I think are going to be good for placing caches, it's just a matter of getting around to exploring them.

 

Even if your area doesn't have a GIS system like this, you can probably find a map at the local public library that will help identify publicly owned lands. You could also check with your county's parks/recreation department.

[+WARedBear]

Drive around and look. I have found two unnamed unused "parks" close to school grounds (on the other side of their fenced ball field). They are grassed, treed and even have picnic tables. They are off the beaten path so nobody knows they exist. I look at them as my private cache stash.

[+Miragee]

All of my (few) hides so far have been "light-bulb" moments - where I would see a great location while doing something else.

 

I met a friend to geocache this afternoon. While sitting at the meeting site talking about what caches we wanted to chase we both happened to look across the street at this amazing rock wall, looked at each other and said "Gotta do it!" Cache GCNF7A should be approved by morning!

 

. . .

Your rock wall sounds like the first part of my "Hobbits Gone Wild" cache.

 

I discovered this amazing brick wall a few years ago when I went there for a Garage Sale. When I started Geocaching, I wanted to share the wall since it wasn't something someone was likely to see otherwise. I used a picture of part of the wall for the page background.

 

(The end stage has experienced difficulties lately, but the wall isn't going away)

[bogleman]

I have not hidden that many caches but the ones that I have hidden all have a special meaning to me. I dream up an idea and I work it from there. It can go from a name or a special location. I prefer to use State Game Lands, very few caches in them compared to the urban micros or urban wood lot caches, less chance of the cache being stolen/destroyed. I like to place some of my caches in very uncomfortable or hard to get to areas (one way in - one way out). I want the seeker to challenge themselves, check the area before going in rather than just simply driving up to is or it is 2 feet off of the trail; thats just me. I would rather have the challenge/adventure/history than just simply racking up numbers.

Ian

[+briansnat]

I study road maps and topo maps, looking for un-cached swaths of public land.

Brian, aside from the obvious, being parks, how do you find out what land is public? I've often wondered this. There are tons of wooded areas around here that aren't parks, but I don't know how to find out if they're public land or privately owned.

 

Thanks.

Around here at least, if its privately owned you can bet your sweet bippy that its posted.

 

Maps will often show public land. I look for the larger county level maps, which provide more detail. Also, trail maps will often show public lands.