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An adventure awaits you!  With your GPS to guide you, you will be able to visit a National Historic Trail that includes a rich history, a varied and stunning landscape, pristine natural and historic resources, and well-preserved historic sites.   You will walk in the paths of famous explorers, American Indians, trappers, traders, merchants, frontier military men and women, as well as the pioneers and settlers that came to occupy the region.  The Santa Fe Trail historically crossed international boundaries and was used by a wide variety of ethnic groups.

 

The Santa Fe Trail Association has placed over 70 geocaches along the distance of the Santa Fe National Historic Trail. We are awarding “First to Find” prizes, as well as prizes to geocachers who fulfill requirements for the “PASSPORT ACTIVITY”.   Learn more about our caches and prizes below! View our geocaches  or sign up for our Santa Fe Trail Association e-mail newsletter.

 

What is Geocaching?

Geocaching is a high tech, outdoor adventure game that uses handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers to find hidden treasures. These “treasures” are called geocaches and are placed at unique places for others to visit. Geocache containers come in all shapes and sizes and contain a logbook and sometimes special prizes for trading.  Our caches are generally located in military ammo canisters or brochure holder boxes, and have a variety of SWAG items to trade, as well as information about the Santa Fe Trail. 

Geocaching began in 2000 and has since gained widespread popularity with an estimated 5 million geocachers worldwide.  There are currently geocaches on all seven continents and even on the International Space Station. Getting started with geocaching is easy--simply go to  Geocaching.com and sign up for a free membership.  Then check out our Santa Fe National Historic Trail Geo Tour and start searching for nearby caches!

 

 

There are many short, helpful videos on You Tube -- just search for "geocaching". This is another example of what you will find: "The Guide to Geocaching Etiquette" at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXzIu7p82jg

 

About Our Geocaches

Our geocaches are placed along the length of the Santa Fe National Historic Trail, covering over 900 miles through the states of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado and New Mexico.  Many sites are located along state highways, or a short drive off the main road.  Metropolitan areas along the Trail include Kansas City and Santa Fe, as well as several smaller cities, towns, and villages—places that will surprise you. 

Each of the Santa Fe National Historic Trail Geo Tour geocache pages on geocaching.com contain a brief description of the historic site, natural resource, or scenic vista featured by the geocache. The geocaches are found in 7”H X 12”L X 6”W military ammunition canisters, or brochure holder boxes, that allow us to include maps and information about the Santa Fe Trail that will help you as you travel the Trail.  We’ve had to be creative and use special “camouflage” techniques to prevent theft.  Please be sure to return the caches to the exact hiding spot and make sure lids are secure to prevent damage of contents from weather.  Each cache also contains a logbook for you to sign, a code word to enter into your PASSPORT, and pencil. All of our geocaches contain some pretty cool SWAG that you can trade for other items. Our geocaches have been located at historic sites along the Santa Fe Trail and all are publicly accessible, however, there will be a variety of terrain levels and not all geocaches should be attempted by everyone. Please be respectful of all property located around our cache spots and be sure to familiarize yourself with these safety tips and essential gear so you can stay safe and have fun while geocaching!

 

 

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LET’S GET STARTED!

• Register your username at Geocaching.com
• Download, Print and Create the PASSPORT.
  Instructions to create PASSPORT.
• Locate, and visit, caches on the Santa Fe National Historic Trail Geo Tour
• At the Cache Site:  Sign the logbook; trade for some SWAG; take information on the Santa Fe Trail and be sure to COPY THE CODE WORD IN YOUR PASSPORT.  The code word is located on the inside of the cache container, on the lid, on a special label. 
• Continue to visit other Cache Sites on the Geo Tour.  Once you have completed the Passport, MAIL your original completed passport to the address below, or scan and e-mail to receive your prize (while supplies last). 
• Prizes are limited and will be distributed while supplies last. Only one prize per passport, or user name.  We will post on www.santafetrail.org/geocaching as soon as we are aware that prizes are no longer available, or that prizes have changed.

• The Santa Fe Trail Association reserves the right to end this program at any time.  Prizes may vary with availability.

 

 

Claiming your Prize and Terms and Conditions:

Prize List:

ALL Caches on the Geo Tour = COLLECTIBLE COIN, PLUS a special gift of our choice.

50 of the Caches on the Geo Tour = COLLECTIBLE COIN

25 of the Caches on the Geo Tour = Prize of our choice

 

 

 

• After you visit the caches, sign the log and fill out your PASSPORT with the code word, either SCAN your completed PASSPORT and e-mail to: trailassn@gbta.net with “Geo Tour” in the subject line OR fill out the form on the back of your passport and mail it to:      

Santa Fe Trail Association
1349 K-156 Highway
Larned, KS 67550

• Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery of prizes
• Prizes can only be requested with a completed GeoTour Passport.
• You must sign the physical cache log for each geocache you find to be eligible.
• Only fully completed Passports, with appropriate number of cache visits, are valid to receive prizes.
• Prizes are subject to change and are only available while supplies last.
• Keep a copy of your passport in case it gets lost in the mail.
• Your completed passport will be returned to you, along with your prize.
• Prizes are awarded in the order that they are received, while supplies last.
• The Santa Fe Trail Association is not responsible for passports lost in the mail.
• The Santa Fe Trail Association reserves the right to limit or revoke this offer at any time.

 

 

Acknowledgements

The Santa Fe Trail Association would like to thank the National Trails Intermountain Region – NPS, and the many sites & museums along the Santa Fe Trail for their support of this project. We would also like to thank the business owners that allowed us to place geocaches on their property.  Lastly, we would like to thank our volunteers that assisted in placing and maintaining our geocaches.

 

 

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The Geocaching Logo is a registered trademark of Groundspeak, Inc. Used with permission.

 

Log: 7/16/2014 by SmokieStover "TFTC -- this series is some of the most fun we've had geocaching! The history and information make it GREAT!" Log: 7/8/2014 by mamajhk "One of the 52 finds that were found while on a four day caching adventure through Oklahoma, New Mexico and Colorado. Without this series I doubt many of us would know about the role some of these places played in our country's history." Log: 8/2/2014 by dramaman59 ". . . This was my 73rd find of the SGFT and the very last one. I have thoroughly enjoyed this tour and would recommend it to anyone that is interested in geocaching and for the history that I learned about the Santa Fe Trail! Thank you to the association for the terrific tour! :)" Log: 8/2/2014 by crazyturtle ". . . What fun -- we have been to Colorado, new Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas. Logged more than 2000 miles and had a great time with happy hubby. Thanks for the adventures!" Log: 8/2/2014 by Smokie Stover ". . . This has been a remarkable journey. We have seen things and learned things that are beyond fantastic! We have had more ohhhs and ahaas than the 4th of July. Thank you for this experience!" Log: 7/13/2014 by Firefly24 "Wow.....Kansas kicks up geocaching a notch or two...I have seen some awesome caches in this state, and this is another one! . . . Thank you SO MUCH for placing this cache for us to find."