Fast facts

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Geocaching by the numbers

  • There are more than 3 million active geocaches worldwide.

  • Geocaches are hidden in 191 different countries on all seven continents (even Antarctica)!

  • More than 642 million "Found it" and "Event Attended" logs have been recorded since the game started in 2000.

  • Currently, there are over 361,000 geocache owners throughout the world.

  • Geocachers gather at over 36,000 events annually to share stories and play the game.

  • There are more than 200 geocaching organizations around the world.

  • Geocaching.com is translated into 24 languages, Android and iOS apps are translated into over 20 languages.

Historic moments

May 3, 2000

The first geocache was hidden near Beaver Creek, Oregon.

September 2000

Jeremy Irish launched Geocaching.com, a listing site for geocaches. At the time of its launch, there were 75 known geocaches worldwide.

October/November 2000

Jeremy Irish, Elias Alvord, and Bryan Roth founded the company Groundspeak Inc. (dba Geocaching HQ) to support the game of geocaching. Initial revenue came from sales of 144 Geocaching t-shirts.

2002

Geocaching HQ launched Cache In Trash Out® (CITO), an environmental initiative that is supported by the worldwide geocaching community. Geocachers and community groups work together at organized events to help improve outdoor spaces and preserve the natural beauty of geocache-friendly spaces by picking up trash and by removing invasive species. Since its initial launch, more than 333,000 people have volunteered at 16,000 CITO events and over 8,000,000 liters of garbage have been collected.

2008

Video game developer Richard Garriott places a geocache and Travel Bug on the International Space Station. The cache was found for the first time in November 2013 by NASA astronaut Rick Mastraccio. The Travel Bug remained on the ISS for three years, accumulating more than 350 million miles as it orbited the Earth.

2020

NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover, containing a Geocaching trackable code, launches with an Atlas V-541 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rover arrives in Jezero Crater, Mars on February 18, 2021. Geocaching is now interplanetary!

2022

Geocaching HQ hosts the Geocaching 20th Anniversary Celebration at Seattle Center. The event was originally scheduled for 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Present Day

Geocaching HQ remains a strong, independent organization in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle with approximately 90 employees. Geocaching HQ maintains the global list of geocaches, the primary geocaching mobile applications, and the Geocaching.com website to support the global game.

Founders - Bryan Roth, Jeremy Irish, Elias Alvord

Founders - Bryan Roth, Jeremy Irish, Elias Alvord

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Geocaching basics

  1. A geocacher hides a geocache and lists the coordinates on Geocaching.com for others to find.

  2. Players will navigate to a geocache using the Geocaching® app or a GPS-enabled device.

  3. At minimum, geocaches contain a logbook for players to sign. After signing, they'll log their experience on the Geocaching® app or on Geocaching.com to earn a reward in the form of a point and digital smiley.

  4. Some geocaches contain small trinkets for trade. If a geocacher takes something from the geocache, they replace it with something of equal or greater value.

  5. Traveling game pieces called trackables can also be found in geocaches. These trackables have a unique tracking number engraved on them and move from geocache to geocache towards a goal.

  6. Geocaches are often well hidden but never buried.

  7. Geocaches are always put back at the location where they were found for the next geocacher to discover.

Additional resources

 

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