Geocaching in the SDRP

Join Ranger David Hekel on an easy 2.5-mile mountain bike ride Sunday, November 7 from 12:30 -2:30 p.m. He'll tell you the techniques of burying (and finding) treasure! Meet at the Sunset Drive trail staging area (Exit I-15 at Via Rancho Parkway, go east. Take first right at signal, park along road or in parking area
at cul de sac).

By Ranger David Hekel

Geocaching is new to the SDRP but it has been around for a number of years now. There are probably many trails in your area with geocaches on them; you have probably passed them while out hiking or biking.

What is a geocaching and how does it affect the park? I am glad you asked.

Geocaching is an adventure game for people who use hand held global positioning satellite devices (GPS).

This device along with a set of coordinates enables the user to locate hidden caches around the world. The cache itself can come in many forms depending on the person who hides it. The one thing you will find in all caches is a logbook to write down the adventure you had getting there and to see what others had to say before you.

When geocaching first came to the SDRP we did not know about the game and were concerned because of all the social trails being formed by placements of caches that were off trail.  Because social trails aren’t planned and designed using appropriate trail design methods, once they have been formed they are very hard to repair and can cause additional erosion because the ground has been denuded of vegetation from foot travel. Once the River Park’s Rangers found out what was happening we endeavored to make our own policy about the placement of caches within the SDRP to minimize impact on the habitat. One of the ways we do this is to limit cache placement to those sites that are near the trail or in an already disturbed area.  People interested in placing caches in the River Park need to read the River Park’s Geocaching Policy and submit a Geocaching Registration Form.   Today there are seven caches in the park that are fun, unique and have been placed in an environmentally sensitive manner.

For more information regarding geocaching please visit www.geocaching.com and let the adventure begin. For questions on caches in the SDRP please contact me at david@sdrp.org.