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Geocaching in Maricopa County Parks Posted 3/6/2003 on their website www.maricopa.gov/parks MARICOPA COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION NEWS
Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department
3/6/2003 - GEOCACHING
Geocaching is a new outdoor activity which involves the search for hidden caches by inputting a set of given coordinates into your GPS (Global Positioning System) unit and then following the directions given by your GPS to find the cache.
Geocaching is a great game; it gets folks out into open, natural Arizona and into beautiful areas around the state. It involves a sense of discovery, promotes exercise and can be a fun family adventure. Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department supports Geocaching and the fun, outdoor activity that it is. Unfortunately, those who have been hiding the caches are creating some real problems for the Maricopa County Park System.
Maricopa County parks is not opposed to Geocaching. It does ask that geocachers follow the rules posted on the national web site. Those rules include; not placing caches on archeological sites, contacting the land manager, in the case of Maricopa County Parks it means contacting the ParkSupervisor, before placing a cache on park property and placing caches which are within two miles of a trailhead within 3 feet of the trail. Beyond 2 miles of a trailhead the Park Supervisor are more liberal in where the caches may be placed.
By contacting the Park Supervisor before placing a cache they can let you know if your proposed site is on or near an archeological site. Not all archeological sites are obvious. Archeological sites and petroglyphs are always in danger of discovery and vandalism. Site Stewards report recent damage and several damaged sites had a common link, a cache had been placed on each site.
Readers who are Geocachers or are planning to begin Geocaching we ask for, and would appreciate, your cooperation!
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