Geocaching
Geocaching is a fun way to explore new areas. Basically, it’s an outdoor treasure hunt…and all you need for the hunt is your smartphone!
The “treasures” can vary from a large container with toys and trinkets to trade to a small container designed to blend in with the surrounding environment. There are more than 3 million geocaches hidden worldwide in a variety of locations and difficulty levels.
To showcase different aspects of our agency and the properties we own or manage, we have placed a series of geocaches at various offices, state forests, and arboretums around Texas. Find a list of these geocaches on our profile through the geocaching website.
A geocache hunt is a great way to discover new places, whether in your own community or somewhere you’ve never visited before. All you need to do is download the geocaching app on your smartphone and head outdoors to begin your search!
Geocoins
One unique aspect of geocaching is the ability to create and release trackable items that can be moved from one geocache to another. We have developed several different geocoin campaigns to spread awareness about wildfire prevention and to promote tools like prescribed fire.
Smokey’s 70th Birthday
To help celebrate Smokey Bear’s 70th birthday in 2014, we created a wildfire prevention campaign using geocoins. Seventy of these trackable geocoins were originally placed in various geocaches across the state. Since their release, Smokey’s 70th Birthday geocoins have:
- Visited all 50 states (plus the District of Columbia)
- Been found in 41 different countries on five continents, and
- Traveled over 720,000 miles…greater than the distance to the moon and back!
Prescribed Fire
Prescribed fire is a useful management tool and provides numerous benefits to our ecosystem. To spread awareness about the benefits of prescribed fire, we created another trackable geocoin in 2015 and began by placing 100 of these coins in geocaches across the state. Since their release the coins have:
- Visited 49 states (plus the District of Columbia),
- Been found in 38 different countries, and
- Traveled over 578,000 miles…more than the ISS travels in 1 day!
Smokey’s 75th Birthday
When Smokey Bear turned 75 in 2019, we joined in the nationwide celebration by creating another geocoin campaign. We released 75 of these new coins in geocaches across Texas. Since their release these geocoins have:
- Been found in 3 different countries,
- Visited 47 states, and
- Traveled over 196,000 miles…more than 7 times around the earth!
Texas Two-Step Solar Eclipse
One solar eclipse is rare enough, but two eclipses in the same area within six months of one another is truly remarkable. That is what happened in Texas, with an annular eclipse crossing the state on Oct. 14, 2023, followed by a total eclipse crossing the state again on April 8, 2024. To commemorate this occasion, 100 Texas Two-Step Solar Eclipse geocoins were released in the state. Since their release the geocoins have:
- Visited 37 states (plus the District of Columbia),
- Been found in 14 different countries, and
- Traveled over 139,000 miles…more than five times around the earth!
For more information about Texas A&M Forest Service geocaching, see Guidelines for Geocaching on Texas State Forests.