A New Way to PlayGeocaching offers one of the most innovative ways to explore Citrus County. And because of the area’s great diversity of outdoor environments, charming towns and natural wonders, it has become a favored location for cache seekers and hiders alike. Approximately 150 caches lie hidden within about 20 miles of the Citrus County Visitors Bureau alone.
For those unfamiliar with the new sport, geocaching combines the timeless fun of treasure hunting with today’s technology, to play the game, geocachers use latitude and longitude coordinates obtained online to track down treasure-holding containers cleverly hidden by fellow geocaching enthusiasts. Most players use a handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) unit to guide them to their find, but a careful search is often required to locate the cache once the coordinates are reached. A cache’s name or online description may offer additional clues to its whereabouts.
Caches can contain anything from small toys, trinkets and figurines to books, CDs and more. Most also contain a logbook for successful geocachers to note their discovery. With a typical cache, players will sign the logbook, take the treasure, leave a new prize of their own, and then post their find online. Popular variations include “micro caches”—too tiny for anything but a logbook—and specially tagged items that are tracked online as they pass from player to player and cache to cache.
Getting Started
A good place to begin geocaching your way through our truly great outdoors is with the Citrus County Visitors Bureau’s very own “Dog Gone Fun in Citrus” cache at N 28° 47.990 W 082° 35.245. The cache contains a logbook and special Citrus goodies. Nearby, you will be able to get plenty of information on all there is to see and do in The Water Lover’s Florida.
To find further cache locations in Citrus County, visit
Geocaching.com (free registration is required) and enter a ZIP code for Crystal River (34423, 34428 or 34429), Homosassa (34446, 34448, 34487) or Inverness (34450, 34451, 34452 or 34453). You will be able to see caches within 50 miles of whichever ZIP code you enter. The site also includes much other information about this increasingly popular pastime.
You can also search for cache locations on
Navicache.com, and
Wikipedia has a useful introduction to the sport. And you may enjoy this unique activity so much that you decide to join the
Florida Geocaching Association.
So give geocaching in Citrus County a try on your next vacation. We bet you’ll love this high-tech hobby almost as much as the area itself!
