I’m gonna show you a great way to find metal detecting spots, using my “other” outdoor hobby – geocaching.

You’ve probably heard of geocaching.  The gist with “caching” is to use a GPS to find containers that other folks have hidden.  It’s a blast, and I’ve found close to 800 caches to date.  Even hid several.  More on that later.

You’re asking yourself  “Self, I don’t care nothing about finding no tupperware in the woods”.  First of all, I hope you’re using better grammer when refering to yourself in such a manner, and second, you don’t have to find anything but good detecting spots.  Unless you want to be a geocacher too.  Your call.

The thing about geocaching is that people hide caches in “interesting” spots.  Well, these interesting spots are often historic and not known by the poplulation at large.

I see you’re paying attention now.

So here’s how to find the good spots.

1.  Go to http://www.geocaching.com and follow the “Create a Membership” link at the top right of their page.  It’s free for a basic membership.  That’s all you need.  I have a Premium Membership, but then again, I’m Mr. Big-Time blog writer and you aren’t.  Yes, I’m overcompensating for other issues.  My therapist says I’m making progress.  Anyway…Get your account, verify the email, yada yada yada.

2.  Now the fun begins.  Sign into your account and then select the option on the left side of the page “Hide and Seek a Cache”.

3.  Then you get to search by several variables.  I like to search by zip code.  So enter your zip in the spot provided.  For giggles I decided to search Topeka, KS.  You can also select a distance from that zip.  The default is 100 miles but you can change it.  Hit “Go” and see what pops up.

4.  The zip I entered was 66616.  After hitting “Go” the results showed 3220 caches within 100 miles.  Scroll down and check out the names of the geocaches.   Near the bottom of the first page I struck detecting gold.  Now I’m not familiar with Topeka, so everyone in the area may know the history here.  But many might NOT!  Check out Old Prairie Town at Historic Ward-Meade Site.
So there’s one.

And here’s another one, probably better than the first: Retired Roadside Rest. The description says “Placed in an interesting area on US Route 40. I’m sure many families once stopped at this roadside curve to rest, picnic and stretch their legs. Alas, all that is left is an old concrete pad.

And the trees…”

How ’bout that?  I wish that was near me!

5. You can even change your search by term instead of by zip. See what happens when you search for “old house” or “homestead”. You can’t search by location this way, but wow, there’s some great spots.

6. Be sure to check out any photo galleries on each cache page as well.

7. Go find the area. You may or may not need a GPS for this. The included maps on each cache page will get you in the general area, but if the area is really rural you might need other means to navigate. Check ebay for cheap GPS units. Garmin etracs and geckos are a cheap way to get started.

8. Believe me, this works. The site from the “The old home, with a view…” post below was found this way.  I was the FTF (first to find) for this geocache.  I’ve also hidden a geocache at a favorite spot of mine.

So there ya go.  Give it a shot.  You’ll thank me.

w