Geocaching Outdoor Treasure Hunt

A smartphone with the free Geocaching app (geocaching.com)

Comfortable walking shoes

A pen for signing log books

Small trade items — a toy car, some stickers, a pretty rock, a coin

A water bottle for the adventure

Download the free Geocaching app and create a family account. The app shows thousands of hidden containers (geocaches) near your location.

Browse nearby caches together. Start with ones rated 1 or 1.5 for terrain and difficulty. These are accessible and findable without much frustration.

Navigate to the cache location. The app shows a compass arrow and distance. Walk together following the direction. "It says 200 meters this way!"

When the app says you're close (within 30 feet), switch from navigation to searching. Look in clever hiding spots — under rocks, inside fallen logs, behind park signs, stuck to the underside of benches with magnets.

Found it! Open the container. Inside you'll find a log book — sign it with your family team name and today's date. Your child just found real hidden treasure.

Many caches contain small trade items. The rule: if you take something, leave something of equal or greater value. Let your child choose their trade.

There are millions of geocaches worldwide. You probably have dozens within a mile of your home and don't know it.

After finding two or three easy ones, try a harder difficulty rating. Some require solving puzzles or climbing to elevated spots.

Let your child lead the navigation. Reading the compass and estimating distance builds spatial reasoning.

Make a family goal: find 10 geocaches in a month. It motivates regular outdoor adventures and gives every park visit a purpose.