Geocaching: Find some treasure at Minnesota state park

The bird’s the word for the all-new statewide “Geocaching Avian Adventure” which will take flight Saturday at Gooseberry Falls State Park and at all parks in the state system.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has camouflaged “Bird Cache” containers and hidden them in state parks. A course on geocaching begins at 1:30 p.m. today at Gooseberry.

At least one cache will be at each of Minnesota’s state parks and recreation areas, plus one on the Root River State Trail.

The clues to their exact whereabouts will be posted at 8 a.m. Saturday on the DNR website, www.mndnr.gov.

National Get Outdoors Day is also Saturday, so admission to all Minnesota state parks and recreation areas will be free.

Nested in each of the bird caches are collectible cards featuring color photos of Minnesota birds by nature photographer and birding expert Don Martin.

GPS demonstration parks provide free tips and equipment for beginners. At 25 designated geocaching demo parks, GPS units can be checked out for free, and Geocaching 101 workshops like the one at Gooseberry will provide hands-on instruction for first-time geocachers.

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