Ranger Rick, the National Wildlife Federation's ambassador to kids who want to learn about wildlife and nature, is the host of a new adventure -- geocaching! Ranger Rick Geocache Trails is a fun way to get families outside, learning about the outdoors and exploring the world!Geocaching has become a popular outdoor activity. Using a GPS device or app, people find caches that others have hidden by using the latitude and longitude coordinates and special clues. Some caches are small (like a pill bottle or film canister), but others are watertight boxes filled with fun treasures that you can collect or swap! It's like being a modern-day treasure hunter. Some caches contain trackable items called travel bugs that people pass along from cache to cache -- some going around the world! When you find a cache, sign your name in the log book inside, then put the cache box back where it was to keep it hidden for the next geocacher. You can also log your visit at the Geocaching site (an account is free). If you really love geocaching, you can even hide your own caches for others to find.
That's what I have done with my sons. We have hidden eight Ranger Rick Geocache Trails caches around the area where we live in South Florida. All of the caches include fun Ranger Rick activities for kids. Some of the caches also contain fun surprises! The parks where the caches are hiding are kid-friendly -- most with playgrounds. And we've tried to make the caches easy to find.
To get started finding a Ranger Rick Geocache Trails cache, start by downloading your special passport. This makes finding the caches more fun, as you can take the stamp inside each cache to mark your passport (and learn about wildlife in the process!). Find all the caches in the trail to fill up your passport with wildlife stamps. It's fun!There are Ranger Rick Geocache Trails in several states, so if you don't live in South Florida, check for others near you. If you don't find one, maybe you'll want to become a trail host like me so kids in your area will have fun outdoors with their families.
Geocaching is a fun outdoors activity that is now more fun for kids with the Ranger Rick Geocache Trails. You and your kids just might get hooked.
