Fast facts

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Geocaching by the numbers

  • There are more than 3 million active geocaches worldwide.





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


Historic moments

May 3, 2000

The first geocache was hidden near Beaverton, Oregon.

September 2000

Jeremy Irish launched, 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.


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.

Present Day

Geocaching HQ remains a strong, independent organization in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle with approximately 80 employees. Geocaching HQ maintains the global list of geocaches, the primary geocaching mobile applications, and the website to support the global game.

Founders - Bryan Roth, Jeremy Irish, Elias Alvord

Founders - Bryan Roth, Jeremy Irish, Elias Alvord


Geocaching basics

  1. A geocacher hides a geocache and lists the coordinates on 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 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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