Pickle Planet’s Guide to Geocaching for Riverview’s SUNFEST
Disclaimer: This post is part of a paid & in-kind partnership agreement between Pickle Planet Moncton & the Town of Riverview. Our goal is to provide relevant information to our readers and to promote SUNFEST events that we think appeal to local families. All opinions are our own.
I’ve thought about taking our family geocaching many times, but never made the leap. I’m guessing if you’re reading this, you might be the same way. It sounds fun … but how do you DO it?! Here’s my Beginner’s Guide; learn along with me!
What IS Geocaching, anyway?
First, if the term is completely new to you, geocaching is kind of like a scavenger hunt/treasure hunt outdoors. It’s not necessarily what you think of as an organized event, though there is a definite geocaching community vibe & we’re doing this in partnership with the Town of Riverview who do an annual geocaching challenge as part of SUNFEST.
Geocaching is taking a set of GPS coordinates, finding that spot, and searching for a little hidden cache (a container, basically) that usually contains some type of trinket and a logbook. When you find a cache, you sign the logbook. If there’s a trinket for you to take, you leave one in its place.
Sounds fun, right? Here’s how to start your treasure hunting adventure!
Start by creating a free account at www.geocaching.com. There’s a great little ‘What is Geocaching’ video on the site (shared above) – and a message telling us there are nearly 2,500 geocaches in the Greater Moncton Area, meaning this could fuel your whole summer of exploring! This site has lots of great info for beginners, as does Cache NB. We basically relied on both to find our way into all this!
It honestly took less than a minute to create an account & get into the system. The site lists local geocache locations with notations about their difficulty, when it was created, when someone last visited, and more. It’s a treasure trove of information!
To join in the fun, you’ll need something to help you with GPS coordinates; you can download the free Geocaching App on your smartphone & use that. You should bring along something to write with (in case there isn’t a pencil/pen with the logbook) and something to add to the cache, if you plan to take anything. You’ll also need the usual outdoor essentials, like sunscreen, bug spray, etc.
Riverview SUNFEST Geocacheport
The SUNFEST team & Cache NB collaborate each year on a series of geocaches, creating a small passport type form (the SUNFEST geocacheport) you can fill out to claim one of the special SUNFEST geocoins.
There are five caches to find, inspired by the Mill Creek Nature Park’s amazing Fundy Biosphere Lookout. Your challenge is to find all five in order; each cache holds a clue that leads you to the next one! Fill out your official SUNFEST geocacheport with the clues & turn it in to claim one of 100 coins available!
DOWNLOAD THE GEOCACHEPORT HERE: www.townofriverview.ca/sunfestgeocaching
FIND MORE DETAILS HERE: CacheNB on Geocaching.com
For 2021, the caches are expected to be hidden & published by June 30.
There will be an event at the Town’s Visitor Information Centre (at the Chocolate River Station) on Friday, July 2, from 5-7pm for anyone who has completed the five caches to claim their coin & chat with other geocachers. If you do complete the passport but can’t make the event, the remaining coins will be available at the Visitor’s Information Centre, open daily from 10am till 7pm.
DID YOU KNOW: Mill Creek Nature Park is more than 330 acres of amazing trails, waterways, and incredible vistas? All accessible from right in the heart of Riverview!
Since the caches aren’t public just yet as I’m writing this, I can’t give you any insider info on making it through the five spots this year, but looking at past events and now having the basic knowledge of how to use www.geocaching.com, I feel confident any family can tackle this adventure!
Don’t stop with one!
There are geocaches all over the world; the SUNFEST team tells us they get messages all the time about their cache coins popping up around the planet! You can also find all kinds of great spots to explore locally and throughout New Brunswick this summer.
FOR ALL THE SUNFEST ACTIVITIES & FABULOUS EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER, FOLLOW ACTIVE RIVERVIEW ON SOCIAL MEDIA & CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE!
https://www.townofriverview.ca/events/sunfest
