I recently discovered an outdoor activity that is wonderful to share with a child, called “geocaching.” All it takes is a GPS receiver and a sense of adventure. It’s basically a world-wide treasure-hunting game where participants hide, or try to find, “caches” of small toys and knickknacks which have been posted to a website with their coordinates, a description, and maybe a hint or two.

When I first found out about it, it sounded neat, “but surely there aren’t any hidden caches anywhere near this little South Louisiana town.” Au contraire, I quickly learned. The sport’s website has a cache search feature which quickly turned up a dozen or so within ten miles of our house!

The sport also encourages environmental responsibility and awareness.  Geocachers should practice CITO, or “Cache In Trash Out,” and clean up any trash they see on their outing.  Also, I have seen many caches that exist primarily to teach people about environmental features and nice, scenic areas that are “off the beaten path.”  I’ve learned a lot about my own town just by playing the game.

Of course, with my five-year-old, we don’t call it “geocaching.” With him, it’s simply “treasure hunting,” and he loves it. He’s learning some map-reading and other outdoor skills as we go. Because the caches are usually hidden in some outdoor wooded area, it’s a great way to get a little outdoor time together without it being a huge production.

For more information, visit the official site and read the FAQ.