Stop and Smell the Flowers - Geocaching 2012

Virginia State Parks are great places to enjoy nature, especially the native wildflowers. More than 40 native species of wildflowers call Virginia home, and many can be found in our beautiful state parks. Dust off your GPS and hit the trails for another exciting outdoor adventure, the Virginia State Parks Blooming Adventure. This year's geo-caching quest highlights the wildflowers of Virginia and gets you ready for spring.

How does it work?

If you're new to geo-caching, visit www.geocaching.com to learn all about it. Create a user account with a cool nickname so you can keep track of the caches you find. You'll need to register on the site to claim this adventure's prizes, which start with your fifth geo-caching wildlife adventure cache. Next, click here for a list of all the park caches. Select a park to visit, download the coordinates to your GPS unit, print out any relevant hints and instructions, and you're ready to go. After your geo-cache hunt, return to the website to log in your find.

If you don't have a GPS unit, no problem. All parks rent GPS units for a nominal fee. (Park offices and visitor centers are open on a limited basis so call ahead if you plan to rent a unit.)

You seasoned geo-cachers already know the drill. Click here for a full list of the caches and pick the parks you plan to visit. While you are on the park's game cache site, be sure to select the "nearby caches" option to pick up a few extra finds while you are there. Log your cache visits on geocaching.com just like any other cache, but once you've visited five parks, register on this free site for a special prize. Keep collecting prizes and, if you find all 34 caches, you just might get something special.