This is Hide #04 of a series of very family friendly caches known as "Little Green Treasures." The title to these refer to special little green spaces in and around Columbia that are easy for families to access and might have even been “hidden” just over in the neighborhood right near yours for years, but you somehow never noticed it was there. Places like this, often that I found when my kids were little, hold a special place in my heart. Hoping to share their existence now with young and old alike! Places to relax a bit, get some fresh air, bring your kids and dogs… little special places to reward your sense of discovery, and hopefully even succeed at finding a fun cache to leave your mark, and be able to stumble upon some kid and adult-friendly swag to put a smile on your face! :) So bring something small to trade, some decent shoes... little or no bushwhacking required on these gems, in general :)
Auburn Hills Park: This park can be found where Derby Ridge Road ends. You can park right there on the street by the park entrance. A newer park with a nice wide, gravel walking trail going around the park, edged by beautiful woods and many pine trees lining the path in places. Smells great after a rain, and many birds can be heard and seen here too. There are some swings, a pavilion with picnic tables, soccer goal and small field, basketball hoop, playground, and a small pond. It’s surrounded by undeveloped wooded area beyond the walking trail. This trail makes a great place to walk your dog around.
Getting to the cache itself will require just a little bit of exploring off the beaten path, but it’ll be worth it to find the special nature-filled area. I’ve done just enough of the invasive honeysuckle bushwhacking to ease the way for young and old to still get to it easily enough from the trail and enjoy a real bit of native Missouri woodland trees and forest floor plants. If it’s still spring, there is lots of long-leaved, white-flowered "cut-leaf toothwort" popping up all over the ground in the dappled sunlight. Found a few shedded locust casings around too, which is always fun if you’re like me when I was a kid at camp and liked to stick them to my shirt or put it on someones bunk pillow—and make some of the new, fresh young counselors scream when they saw it. Disclaimer: please try not to make anyone scream with the cicada husks— after all, they really are kinda cute with their big googgly eyes, and we want the park to be a pleasant and relaxing place for us all, especial so we can all come back to continue to enjoy it :)
P.S.- cache is a good regular sized one, might not be the first place you look, and has a good amount of starter swag, plus room for more--so bring your trades (and maybe a stick to poke around with).
Park is open 6am-11pm
This cache was placed according to the guidelines set out by the City of Columbia Parks and Recreation Department. https://www.como.gov/parksandrec/geocaching-letterboxing/