As the world looks to do more and more in wide-open spaces, geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity that continues to grow more popular.
This modern-day treasure hunting is a worldwide family-friendly game in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device to find ‘geocaches’ hidden at specific locations around the world.
These locations are marked by coordinates, and caches typically include a small container housing a logbook, pencil, and sometimes even toys or items to be traded amongst those that find the cache.
Geocaching.com, the official Geocaching website, is a great spot to get started – simply open a free account and see what caches are around you. With all the amazing outdoor space, trails, riverbanks, parks and sites – Grand Forks is the perfect spot for hiding (and seeking!) caches.
The Boundary Region is already home to several hundred caches, and there will soon be even more in Grand Forks itself.
This year will mark the 125th anniversary of the City of Grand Forks and to help celebrate, a local Geocaching team will be creating new caches around the city to lead visitors and locals on their own adventure.
Mother-daughter duo, Katie and Camilla have done this before. In 2018 they created a Discover the Boundary Country Geocoin Challenge with geocache locations between Christina Lake and Rock Creek, and brought visitors in from across western Canada as well as the United States.
This year the adventure will lead teams around Grand Forks to find caches that mark significant places in the city’s history. Once the teams have found all the caches, they’ll be rewarded with a commemorative Grand Forks 125th Anniversary coin. Only 125 coins are being made and the race to find the caches will begin this spring. Follow along for updates on the local Geocaching Facebook page @discoverboundarycountry.
This year we can’t wait to welcome Geocaching teams from novice to expert to explore the City and participate in the 125th anniversary event. Be sure to check out discovergrandforks.ca for help with your trip planning and we will see you soon!
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