In addition to hosting 1,500 geocaches in a 10-mile radius, West Bend is nestled in the beautiful Kettle Moraine State Forest. Here, you will find outstanding trails, picturesque parks, a historic downtown area, and three fascinating museums, including the new Museum of Wisconsin Art.
WBGT 16: The Ice Age Trail will take you through breathtaking Kettle Moraine State Forest.
Best time of year to visit:
Summer is the best time to visit West Bend! Shop the historic downtown, stroll through the Sculpture Park, hop on a trail, or even plan an August visit during our annual geocaching mega event, the West Bend $1,000 Cache Ba$h!
You remember the first time you took your kids geocaching like it was yesterday. Their excitement at finding the cache and rifling through the goodies it contained was likely what kept your family looking for more geocaches. But now your babies are off to college or university. As they spread their wings and take flight, they will be putting to use the skills and lessons you taught them over the years.
We often hear geocachers say they love the game because they get to experience new places like a local. We love this about geocaching too.
We are excited to announce that GeoTours — custom collections of geocaches designed to introduce you to new locations — are now in the Geocaching® app! It’s easier than ever to explore the 60+ GeoTours currently available around the world.
The mailman recently delivered a nice surprise to me: a beautiful trackable geocoin from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) GeoTour. I completed the GeoTour last year, and in the process earned a digital badge for my Geocaching.com profile. Little did I know that the NMNH was working on a geocoin that would eventually take a place of honor in my collection.
National Museum of Natural History Geocoin
The National Museum of Natural History is a truly spectacular place. Located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., it’s the most visited natural history museum in the world. The NMNH GeoTour debuted in 2013 with several Mystery caches, a Traditional cache and three EarthCaches.
Inside the National Museum of Natural History
All but one of the caches’ posted coordinates are at the museum, with one outlier located about a two-hour drive north, in Pennsylvania’s Michaux State Forest. (The NMNH also owns a Letterbox Hybrid with posted coords on the museum grounds. It is not an official part of the GeoTour.)
Get up close with nature during the GeoTour
My wife and I started the GeoTour during a trip to D.C. in November 2013, when we were able to stamp our passport for all but two of the caches. I was back in that part of the country for the GeoWoodstock Mega-Event last year, and jumped at the opportunity to complete the tour and earn my digital badge. The NMNH GeoTour is a really fun way to enjoy the museum from a new perspective, and to continue exploring outside the Smithsonian walls. I had visited the NMNH a time or two in the past, but this GeoTour encouraged me to dig into subjects that had escaped my attention on previous trips. Plus, it led me to a few beautiful sites outside of D.C.
See colossal things while caching!
So how can you qualify for a digital badge and one of these super-cool geocoins? The requirements are listed on all of the NMNH’s GeoTour cache pages. If you’re looking for a way to enhance your next visit to the U.S. capital, I highly recommend making this GeoTour part of your trip!
….and the National Park Service (NPS) was born? That’s right. Since August 25, 2016, the NPS* has preserved America’s special places, “for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations”. To celebrate this impressive milestone, the NPS is sponsoring a Find Your Park GeoTour to engage communities and help people discover nature through geocaching.
The Find Your Park GeoTour launched with 61 geocaches, and now it’s up to 87. Will we get to 100 by the end of this year? We hope so! In the meantime, here are five fantastic geocaches from the GeoTour to peek your interest: Continue reading →
