Geocaching and Letterboxing Permitted April 30, 2009
A digital-age scavenger hunt played by global positioning system (GPS) users
who also appreciate nature, geocaching and its cousin, letterboxing, are
booming in popularity. Beginning April 30, 2009, MDC will permit geocachers and
letterboxers who acquire a Special Use Permit to place caches and letterboxes on many conservation areas. To get a Special Use Permit, search our online Conservation
Atlas
to find the area you wish to use, and call the phone number listed for
that
area. You do not need to have a Special Use Permit to search for caches on conservation areas, only to place them. Thanks for using and enjoying your Missouri
Department of Conservation areas!
What are geocaching and letterboxing?
Geocaching combines GPS navigational skills with outdoor exercise and appreciation of nature. In this activity, a player establishes a cache at a location and then shares location information and clues via the official GPS cache hunt Web site. Participants then search for the cache and log their success on the site. Most caches contain trinkets that finders may exchange for those of their own. Some caches contain a "travel bug," which is an item finders can take and document its travels on the hunt Web site. A virtual cache is the location itself and might be a structure, landmark, area feature or scenic view. The St. Louis Area Geocachers Club members include trash pick-up in their hunts.
Letterboxing is similar to geocaching, but does not involve a GPS unit or trinkets. Participants follow published clues to the location of a hidden container holding a stamp and a logbook. Once they've found the container, players use the stamp inside to mark their personal logbooks, and use their personal stamps to mark the container logbook, proving their find to subsequent players.
