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[joshblakebran]

My family and I have just taken up geocaching...I've noticed there are quite a few geocache locations in the Branson area...Are any of you experienced geocachers? Have you found any in the Branson area that you would recommed? How important is it to have a GPS? Thanks for any light you can shed on the subject...

[rubedugans]

I have gone for about 8-9 chaches in Branson, and most of them were great! I was using a handheld $100 GPS that worked very well. Now I am sure that many phones could double as a GPS unit. It is a great hobby that feels a lot like a treasure hunt. I have followed several around StLouis and the Branson caches were just as good as any others I have found. The Table Rock caches are good, as well as the ones in Henning State Park. A few are in downtown Branson, but are not too challenging.

[joshblakebran]

Thanks for the info of this...I'm going to purchase a gps in the next few weeks and think I'll add a little geocaching to the agenda for June when we go to Branson...

[rubedugans]

We found that after a big lunch, or an early dinner, that it was a great way to get some walking in. We are a very active family, and this was a way to get out to places we might not get to. We took turns picking caches and brought plenty of trinkets, and small items to swap in some of the large caches. Great memories! Bring bug spray...you just might need it if they have you in the woods or near the lake!
Here is the list of Branson chaches
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.aspx?lat=36.6436731&lng=-93.2185144&dist=25
map showing caches in Branson
http://www.geocaching.com/map/default.aspx?lat=36.64367&lng=-93.21851

There is one in SDC, but it is vary simple for anyone who regularly goes to the park. There is no log book or anything, you simply get a date from an item in the park, and email the originator of the cache, and thats about it. Still a treasure hunt for the little ones!

[sdcDave]

We've been big time geocachers for a few years now.  Well, at least I enjoy it and drag the family along.  I'm a little more careful now as last summer I got into some bad poison ivy and paid for it for over a month.  We'll definitely try to hit some between Wichita & Branson when we come to SDC in a couple weeks.

[rubedugans]

I had a bad experience my last trip out @ Big Cedar Lodge. I thought I knew the trail well...took the trail pretty close to sundown, and later deduced that I took the wrong fork in the woods which led to another wrong fork in the woods..which led to sundown, and me off a mile or two into the woods. I began to panic, being down in a valley with no light. I knew I could not make it out the same way, and on my GPS I found a power cut. I made my way through thick woods to a powercut that I saw led UP to a road. The cut was the steepest incline managable of neck level-5ft' high brush/ weeds. I went up hill through it for about 1/2 mile to where I could have some sunlight again and made my way to the road. From there it was about 1.5 miles back to my start point. I made it our with NO ticks, NO poison Ivy, and NO cache! I will not leave the trail again, and will not go that close to sundown AGAIN!

[joshblakebran]

That sounds scary...glad you were able to make it back safe and sound...To this point I don't have a GPS but plan to get one...

[adairmd]

I've been caching in Branson many times.  I have to get at least one everytime I go.  It is a good way to see some of the trails in Branson.

[joshblakebran]

I can't wait to go caching in Branson. I found a cache in a frisbee golf course. I did not know that Branson even had a frisbee golf course. This is another game I love. We've gone to Branson for five years straight and I'm just finding more and more "stuff" to do. We also like hiking so we will do some of the hiking trails as well.

[haytater]

I want to try this when I go to Branson this summer. Rube, do you know the names of the ones you did for downtown Branson and Table Rock Lake? Are they on that list? As a warning, I'm not too familiar with what goes into geocaching, but it sounds like a great way to see places I might not normally come across.

[rubedugans]

With over 300 in the area, I couldn't begin to remember which I have and have not been to. It has been a year or two (we got into metal detecting last summer instead but that is a whole nother thread!)

It is simple haytater, you get the coordinates, enter them in a GPS/ phone etc, and follow until you reach it. There are clues that can help you once you decode them, and sometimes the caches are multi step searches. It is very inexpensive, and gets us out and walking around one of our favorite places on earth.

Try to find one near you (enter your zip into http://www.geocaching.com/) and see how it goes!

[Ozark Outlaw]

I have been geocaching since 2005, and I have never known there were so many geocachers around here!

Geocaching is always on the top of my list when it comes to a fun, and practically free way to explore Branson.

[sanddunerider]

i have been watching this thread, wondering about i..  then i posted my zip in the lin you provided and there are several caches within 5- 10 miles of my place.!!

[joshblakebran]

I also was amazed by the number of caches in the area where I live. With all the flooding in Branson, I was wondering if maybe some of the caches are floating somewhere. Were there any that close to the water to have that happen?

[Ozark Outlaw]

Well, the recent floods would definitely increase the dificulty level! Especially if the geocache is floating three miles down stream.