Geotour: Taking Flight     
Location: Manatee County, Florida
Total Favorite Points: 290

Why Manatee County is a great place to visit:

Manatee County’s beaches, including Anna Maria Island and Holmes Beach, are award-winning sites and are considered some of the best beaches in the world. After a long day of geocaching, relax on the shores of the beautiful Gulf of Mexico – there are even caches nearby!

Best time of year to visit:

Year-round! From the beaches to the interior pine forests, Manatee County is beautiful throughout the entire year. Fall tends to be a favorite time for many northerners visiting. The Florida summer is hot, but many of the caches in this series are easy to access and do not require a great deal of time outside in the heat.

Must-see attractions:

Check out the Southwest Florida Museum and meet Snooty the Manatee, or stop by De Soto National Memorial to see the possible site of the Spanish explorers landing.

Hidden gems only locals know about:

Duette Preserve is the County’s largest preserve at over 20,000 acres of land. Explore this beautiful area, and you may even catch a glimpse of the rare Western Scrub-Jay, white-tailed deer, or a burrowing owl. This geocache will take you into the heart of Duette where the Scrub-Jays can be found.

Prizes:

Individuals who complete the tour will receive a Taking Flight GeoTour trackable tag. This prize is available to those who find 12 of the 15 caches. Make sure to download the PDF passport for the GeoTour before you go.

 

What Geocachers are saying about Taking Flight GeoTour:

“And the mission has been completed! So many thanks to Manatee County NRD for this series and reward for completing the mission. We had a great two days doing this, and found many spots that we will be coming back for in the future. Keep up the good work with the preserves and we hope to find more open in the future.” – Moseycat

“TFTH. very cool of Manatee County to put this GeoTour together. Had great time adventuring about all the different preserves. I’ll be back to camp or hike some of these”. – SunWarrior

“Thank you for taking the time to do this GeoTour the right way. I’ll be recommending it to all my caching friends who visit the area.” – bitbrain

Additional Information:

This GeoTour was the first in the state of Florida and has served as a model for the State Park Service’s tour as well as tours all over the world. In addition to finding geocaches, each site has a fun activity associated with the cache. Activities include discovering your wingspan, watching for nesting shorebirds, or observing sea level changes. The geocaches on this tour are all different types, so you have the opportunity to find Multi-Caches, Letterboxes, and Mystery as well as Traditionals.

Note: All the above information was provided by the GeoTour host. Copy has been edited by Geocaching HQ.