When I’m not working as HQ’s senior public relations manager, it is very likely you will find me geocaching somewhere. My caching experience is sure to be enhanced by HQ’s recent addition of county lines to the Geocaching map on Geocaching.com and the Trails map (Premium member feature) in the Geocaching® app. The county lines are based on OpenStreetMap data. With this functionality, it’s much more convenient to determine in which county a cache is located.

When I first started geocaching, I met people with goals that sounded absolutely bonkers. The most bonkers goal of all was finding a cache in every one of our state’s counties. I lived in Kansas, which has 105 counties. I had never met anyone who had even visited all of the counties, so it was hard to believe there were people who found caches in all of them.

Fast forward to the present day, and county goals don’t seem so bonkers anymore. I did eventually find a cache in every Kansas county. As well as Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Utah, and Delaware! I finished California, but then Project-GC adjusted the county lines on their maps a few years ago, and now I’m one county short. New Mexico and Texas are next on my bucket list.

I have come to love county caching because I’m introduced to a much wider range of people and places in various states. It’s fun to find at least one cache in a state, but finding a cache in all of a state’s counties leads to a wonderfully deep understanding of what makes the state special.

Previously, I relied almost exclusively on Project-GC for planning county caching, and it remains an invaluable tool. With Project-GC’s script installed on a web browser, county information can be visible on cache pages. That’s great when you’re at a computer. But if you’re out on the roads or trails, it’s very helpful to now be able to view the Trails map in the Geocaching® app and see where geocaches are located in relation to county lines. The county lines are also available on the Geocaching.com search map (map style: Geocaching) and browse map (map style: Geocaching).

There are also tools available from other Geocaching Authorized Developers that are very helpful for planning county caching.

Are you an aspiring county cacher (or the equivalent in your country)? Please share your goals and planning tactics in the comments. You may inspire me and other cachers to even more adventure!