Geocaching Around Door County

Do you want to explore Door County in a way you’ve never experienced before? Geocaching may be what you’re looking for! A popular outdoor activity, geocaching is an app-guided, choose-your-own-adventure treasure hunt using geographical coordinates. Don’t worry, it’s not as complicated as it sounds—in fact, it’s simple enough for the whole family to enjoy! Dive deeper into the world of geocaching and discover parts of Door County that you’ve never seen before.

What is Geocaching?

Geocaching is like a small treasure hunt, just like the kind you’d read about in your childhood stories, except the map is a GPS on your phone and the treasure is some small items hidden outside. Participants will hide small, waterproof “caches,” such as plastic storage containers like Tupperware or mason jars, filled with small trinkets, toys, and other interesting objects for people to find. Often included with these caches is a logbook for people to sign, as a way to say, “I was here.”

How does geocaching work? Download an app on your smartphone that has lists of caches for you to find. The cache’s coordinates are logged into the app for others to navigate to via their GPS. Most are simple to find if you’re willing to go on an adventure; others are a bit more complex, sometimes involving multiple steps or solving a puzzle—just like a real-life treasure hunt! Some participants get extremely clever and creative with their hiding spots, so you might have to do some thorough hunting to find it!

Once you unearth a cache, collect your treasure! Take some of the items the previous explorer left behind and replace them with your own fun little trinkets for the next person to discover. This creates an ongoing loop of outdoor adventurers connecting with nature and their community.

It’s extremely important that when you find a geocache, you place it back exactly where you found it. This guarantees that the next person searching for the cache will be able to find it and collect what you’ve left for them!

What to Bring Geocaching

Part of the fun of geocaching is that you don’t need to bring very much with you once you start. All you need is the geocaching app and GPS on your smartphone, some reliable hiking shoes to traverse the terrain, a pen for signing logbooks, some small items or objects to leave behind, and your Leave No Trace knowledge.

While you technically are leaving a trace when you go geocaching, it’s important to remember some ground rules that all participants in the geocaching community follow. Respect the environment you’re exploring, and never trespass onto private property (unless the person who owns the property has given explicit permission for a geocache to be placed there). When it comes to your treasures, avoid food that could attract wild animals, as well as anything that could harm the local ecosystem. Stones, keychains, trading cards, action figures, jewelry, and other similar items are great examples of objects that will sustain the elements, won’t harm the environment, and will be great fun for the next person to find.

There are geocaches all over Door County, so wear some shoes or boots with great traction. You never know if you’ll be hiking through the woods, on the sandy beaches, or along the slick rocks of the bluff. Always bring your GPS and coordinates—that’s your map, after all! The coordinates might not lead you to the exact location of the cache but to its general area; the rest is up to you to uncover its hiding spot!

Where to Find Geocaches in Door County

There are hundreds of unique geocaches in Door County scattered across the peninsula, including the surrounding islands! Geocaching is guaranteed to take you to a place that you’ve never seen before in Door County, so you’ll gain an intimate knowledge of the area.

Where should you start? If you’re just beginning to get into geocaching, the five state parks is a great jumping off point. Whitefish Dunes, Peninsula, Newport, Potawatomi, and Rock Island State Parks all have caches hidden in the woods, along the hiking trails, or on the beach. There are 31 caches alone on the Ice Age Trail in Potawatomi State Park! These caches are designed to teach you about the history of the parks and their geographical beauty, and they won’t be too difficult to find on the well-worn paths.

If you’re looking to make your childhood dreams of treasure hunting come true, dedicate your day to island hopping looking for caches! Washington, Rock, and Chambers Islands each offer their own caches just waiting to be discovered. Embark on a ferry ride—sorry, climb aboard a majestic ship—and hunt for little treasures across the three islands to experience Door County like you never have before.

Strap on your hiking shoes, pull up your GPS and coordinates, and start geocaching with your friends and family! These outdoor adventures will help you spend more time outside and learn more about the natural environment, connect with the geocaching community, and take you to the hidden nooks and crannies all over Door County.