Park Authority Geocaching Guidelines Available Online

If you can find a geocache in a park, the Fairfax County Park Authority would like you to find its guidelines for geocaching, too. The codes of conduct for geocaching in the parks are online now.

The Park Authority, in cooperation with the Northern Virginia Geocaching Organization, has developed a set of guidelines to meet the growing interest in the widely popular activities of geocaching, letterboxing and related activities. The guidelines, and a list of 90 local parks where these activities are permitted, are on the web site.

Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which participants use a Global Positioning System receiver to hide and seek containers which typically contain a logbook and "treasure."

Another activity similar to geocaching is letterboxing. Letterboxing is an outdoor hobby that combines elements of orienteering, art and puzzle solving. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in public places and distribute clues to finding the boxes via the web and in catalogues as well as by word of mouth.

The Park Authority grants blanket permission for the placement of geocaches within the Fairfax County Parks on the published list. If a specific park is not listed, geocache placement is prohibited. A park may not be on the list because of a lack of established trails, lack of legal and safe parking, the presence of cultural and natural resources, proximity to a school or public facility, proximity to surrounding residential properties, or park topography that makes it potentially unsafe for geocachers.

Geocachers must abide by all Park Authority rules, regulations and other restrictions. Caches that violate the guidelines will be removed. For more information, please see the Park Authority Geocaching web page, and the Northern Virginia Geocaching Organization website.