The Find Your Chesapeake GeoTour
Patapsco Valley State Park
The Chesapeake Bay, the great rivers that feed it, and the vast landscapes surrounding them are at the center of our nation’s story. More than 2,600 miles of designated water trails, 55 units of the National Park System, and scores of state parks, local parks, and wildlife refuges are found within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Each takes part in conserving special places for visitors, residents, and future generations. The Chesapeake Bay region is filled with rich history and heritage, opportunities for education and science, and beautiful scenery suitable for explorers of all ages. Join us in discovering the Chesapeake region when you “Find Your Chesapeake” and take advantage of our beautiful treasure.
The Find Your Chesapeake (FYC) GeoTour launched June 9, 2018 with over 60 caches within Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania. and Delaware. A trackable geocoin will be awarded to the first 400 geocachers, while supplies last, for locating at least 20 FYC caches. To be eligible for the coin, geocachers must download a passport from the Find Your Chesapeake GeoTour website. Geocachers must find and log at least 20 finds, record the code word from each cache on their passport. After discovering the 20 required caches, geocachers may have their passports validated via mail at the National Park Service, Chesapeake Bay Office located at 410 Severn Ave, Suite 314, Annapolis, MD 21403. Please refer to the passport for complete validation instructions.
Participating in the FYC GeoTour is fun and we hope that many people join in. However, it is not a requirement for logging your find on this cache once you find the container.
Patapsco Valley State Park is one of Maryland’s oldest state parks, and one of its most visited. With Operation Campout!, park staff help military families become experienced campers and lend them equipment for using one of the 73 campsites. The park offers fishing, hiking, mountain biking, picnic pavilions and waterfalls. Four hundred years ago, Englishman Captain John Smith explored the Patapsco River, showing on his famous map that he placed a cross here at what is now Patapsco Valley State Park. The Chesapeake Conservancy worked with historians to place a granite marker in the approximate location. The marker coordinates are: 39.229541 x -76.739111.
The Geocache
This geocache is a two stage mystery-cache. At the posted coordinates, you will find 3 interpretive signs which you will need to gather information.
Stage 1 - N39 13.686 W76 43.298
- A = Number of types of animals the Susquehannock and Piscataway Indians hunt.
- B = Last digit in year the Patapsco Forest Reserve (now known as Patapsco Valley State Park) was established.
- C = 3rd digit in first year of the decade the home that now houses the visitor center was built. (Example: if the visitor center was built in the 1960's, then C would be 6.)
- D = # of miles long the Patapsco Heritage Trail rounded up to the nearest whole number.
- E = Number of rusted 19th Century nails pictured.
The checksum of ABCDE is 28.
Stage 2 - "Final" N39 13.FDB W76 43.CG0 where:
Thanks to lpaulriddle for helping with this hide.
Patapsco Valley State Park is open from 9am to sunset. Day use service charges are as follows: November-March $2/vehicle for in-state residents, $4 a vehicle for out-of-state resident. For April-October Weekdays: $2/vehicle in- state residents, $4 of vehicle for out-of-state residents. Weekends: $3 a person in-state residents, $5 a person out-of-state residents. Dog are allowed but must be kept on a leash.
NOTE: This area of Patapsco Valley State Park is recovering from major flooding which occurred on May 27, 2018, and many areas of the park are still closed off. Please obey all signage and do not cross any barriers or attempt to enter closed areas. The cache is located near the Avalon Visitor Center, which is currently undergoing renovations. Although the building is closed, the building grounds (including the parking lot and the area around the cache) are still open.