Geocaching game launched on region’s forests

GEOCACHING — The Colville National Forest and partners in the Upper Columbia region are setting up a summer geocaching game geared to families.

From Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day,  a number of easy to access geocaches will be located throughout the Colville National Forest and other participating adjacent lands designated as part of the Upper Columbia Children’s Forest.  .

Geocaching is like a treasure hunt using a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit.  You input the coordinates and the GPS unit leads you to the geocache.

While the activities are geared to youths ages 8-12, all of the geocaches require driving to the recreation site followed by a short walk.  Navigating to and from the sites, helping out with reading maps and working the GPS is a great opportunity for everyone in the family.  There are opportunities to learn about how to read maps, how GPS works, and learning about wildlife, trees, plants and cultural history you will encounter along the way.

The geocaches are 6” x 6” plastic boxes that contain a card with information and a short activity specific to the recreation site.  Any child who can collect all of the cards and present them at the Kettle Falls Information Center will be able to claim a small prize.

The Colville National Forest encourages visitors to practice the Leave No Trace Principals while exploring the Forest.

Some GPS units are available to borrow at the Kettle Falls Information Center,  255 West 3 ^rd , Kettle Falls, WA.  99141.  To ensure a unit is available, call (509) 738-2300.

If you want to play - go to www.geocaching.com and search “Upper Columbia Children’s Forest geocaches” and get the coordinates to input into your GPS Unit.

For more Information on geocaching on the Colville National Forest,  visit www.fs.usda.gov/colville/ and look for geocaching under Quick Links, or call (509) 684-7000.