Looking for a fun and inexpensive activity to do with friends or family? I have the solution for you: geocaching!

Geocaching, what is that?

Geocaching is a gigantic treasure hunt played on a global scale, as well as in St. Boniface!

It’s about finding caches, hidden around the city and in nature. A cache can be anything and anywhere: a little box, a magnet, a bigger box, a fake stone, a little tube… The goal is to rediscover your environment and also to discover new spots!

Anyone can place caches but then they have to be maintained, which demands particular and continual attention. In order to attract people to St. Boniface and get them to discover interesting and sometimes historic sites, Tourisme Riel is managing a number of caches in the region. These caches also have a bilingual description of their location so that people can learn more about the site’s history.

Starting to geocache is very easy: you need a pencil and a phone with integrated GPS. That’s it! If you prefer to use a GPS apparatus, they are available at the Tourisme Riel office for a small fee.

After having created your own free account on the Geocaching.com website, you can jump right into the game. There are twenty caches hidden in St. Boniface with bilingual descriptions.

How to play?

Choose a cache, head in that direction and your GPS will tell you when you’re zero metres away. Next… start looking! The description or comments from previous geocachers who found it will serve as hints for the type of container, its size and attributes.

And once you’ve found the cache? You can open it, sign and date the log (the paper or notebook that registers all of the signatures) and depending on the size of the cache and if you wish to do so, trade one or more objects from inside. The rule is to leave something if you take something.

Then, you’ll go say on the app or website that you found it and a little smiley face will appear (in yellow). And if you didn’t find it, no problem, you can make note of it on the app by clicking “did not find” to try again later, and the little smiley face will be blue.

Precautions to take 

Geocaching takes some discretion and of course paying attention to one’s environment. Protect yourselves against ticks and nettles, and don’t forget your hand sanitizer to wash your hands frequently.

For more information on geocaching in St. Boniface, visit passionethistoire.ca or call Tourisme Riel at 204-233-8343.