Letterboxing, the activity that started out well before geocaching (or even GPS). The activity is still going strong, and today was featured in a Toronto Star Article. Check it out, and keep that in mind next time you forget your GPS but still want the thrill of a cache hunt

The newest version of the Ontario Trails Project is now available online at the project website This release brings a lot of new data in Dundas Valley, and numerous forest tracts around the GTA. We've also tweaked the linetype visibility a bit to show up better on Oregon units.

Here's what changed in this release:

Changed Trail Line to 2 pixels with 1 pixel border to improve visibility on Oregons

Added - More trails in Heber Down Conservation Area - Whitby - entogeek
Added - Trillium Trail - Perth - Avernar
Added - Portions of Uxbridge TCT - Uxbridge - entogeek
Added - Dumfries Conservation Area - Cambridge - Zeke_
Added - Little Tract - Guelph - Luke Mattar
Added - Puslinch Tract - Guelph - Luke Mattar
Added - Dundas Valley Trails - Hamilton - Luke Mattar
Added - Dundas Valley Trails - Hamilton - nozzletime
Added - Don Valley Trails - Toronto - Luke Mattar
Added - Palgrave Conservation Area - Palgrave - Luke Mattar
Added - Main Tract Trails - Mulmur - Luke Matter
Added - Unnamed Rail Trail - Crysler - UNDERCOVER007
Updated - Waterfront Trail, Martin Goodman Trail - Toronto - John Carriere
Updated - Terra Cotta Side Trail - Terra Cotta - northernpenguin
Updated - Dickson Area Trails - Dickson - Zeke_
Updated - Guelph Radial Line Trail - Luke Mattar
Updated - Speed River Trail - Guelph - Luke Mattar

Geowoodstock, that massive geocaching event cache is going to be within caching distance for most Toronto Area Geocachers next year! The event is being held in Warren, PA - right near Alleghany State Park. This is along the New York / Pennsylvania border and is about a 3 hour drive from Toronto. The event will be held on July 2, 2011 and should make for a great long weekend destination.

We'll keep you posted as more news gets released. There's a discussion topic on Geocaching.com as well.

Update: Here's the link to the cache page - GC2AZ7G

Canada Day is upon us, and it's going to be a beautiful day in the Toronto Area!
Make sure you get out and find a geocache - perhaps you are planning to visit the challenge
GC24RB8 - Ontario's Public Holidays Challenge Cache at some point. Well, you'll need a cache on July 1 to qualify for that challenge!

On Canada Day, there are events and fireworks at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition grounds. Go out and find a geocache, perhaps a Canada Day themed one, like this one in St. Catharines, or this one in Brampton. Get out and have some fun, party like it's Canada's 143rd birthday, "eh".

If you really want to make a day out of it - there's that Webcam cache in Ottawa that would be a great field trip. Remember to bring your great big Canadian Flag for the occasion!

Planning to head into Toronto during the G20 Summit for some geocaching? In a word: Don't.

In the best of times, geocachers can appear suspicious by the nature of the game. We use GPS devices to hunt for hidden boxes, that sometimes get mistaken for bombs. That's a bad combination to have outside a meeting of world leaders. If you own a cache near the security zone, you should disable the listing and remove the cache container until the summit concludes. The security people have been asked to remove geocaches by June 18th, so remove it if you want to keep it! This happened with the Vancouver Olympics as well. The other concern with geocaches is the potential for demonstrators to hurl them at Police if things get ugly ... which is why newspaper boxes and mailboxes and such are also being removed.

The Summit is in Toronto June 26-27, but there will be impacts on the community outside those dates especially June 24-28. Bear in mind Huntsville is hosting the G8 Summit June 25-26, and will have similar security impacts on the community/geocaching.

G20 Summit Information
Security Zone Map (PDF)

These are some examples of the caches in or near the security zone:

GCQ60P - I sat today, in the Park
GCR7AX - Great Balls of Fir! (well, sorta)
GC246YR - Jake's Toronto Railfanning Adventure
GC14XNJ - Let’s Go, Blue Jays!
GC1Z12B - CityPlace
GC1QBAJ - Muggle City
GC23BQ5 - Car On A Hill

You will also want to avoid the 401-427-Gardiner combination (PDF) as much as possible from June 24-June 27 as the highways will be closed often enough to create traffic chaos.

While many of the caches are outside the fence, it's not a good idea to go caching near the summit. Do yourself a favour, and choose another part of the GTA to go caching that weekend. Most of the outlying communities - Peel (except near the airport), York, Durham should be fine. This would be a great weekend to explore the Bruce Trail, or the Oak-Ridges Trail.

This topic is being discussed on the Groundspeak Forums as well.

Central Ontario Geocachers, "COG" are hosting their 6th annual "Spring Fling" get together at the Tiffen Centre, southwest of Barrie. It runs from Friday, June 11 to Sunday, June 13. The main event is on Saturday, June 12.
The event is Canada's only registered "Mega" event which means a LOT of people will be attending.

Whether you are a seasoned geocacher, or just starting out this event is a "must-attend" for any cachers in the Greater Toronto Area (and beyond). Seasoned cachers will find the usual creativity of the COG organizers which pushes the limits every year. New cachers are encouraged to attend, what better place to learn about geocaching than a park that's full of geocachers?

The event starts Friday night with the annual "Pre-Fling" bonfire.
The main event is on Saturday with numerous caches placed around the Tiffen Centre, a barbecue lunch and numerous pub type events in the evening. There is a night cache setup for the campers / night owls. During the day you can expect to see seminars covering a range of topics from trackables to reviewer tools.

On Sunday, there is a CITO event being held before the entire operation wraps up and planning starts for the 2011 version.

Enjoy the Falls (GC27JM5) by Keith Watson
Difficulty: 1.5
Terrain: 4

One of the questions that a lot of geocachers like to ask is "why have you brought me here?". This cache can answer that question very quickly. What you will find when you arrive here is a 12 foot perennial waterfall that is unknown to most people.... including the locals!

The cache is located in the Jack Smyth Field Center, along the Bruce Trail just north of Terra Cotta Conservation Area. The best approach is to park at Terra Cotta and follow the Vaughan Trail until you reach the Bruce Trail. You are starting to get close when you reach the stile that marks the property boundary between the conservation area and Jack Smyth. Keep watching for an unmarked trail on the valley side that will lead you into the ravine safely.

The cache is a well stocked ammo can, and will be tricky to access after it rains or during icy conditions. Bring a camera and a tripod, perhaps even a picnic lunch. Then remember to Enjoy the Falls.

Visit the listing for this cache on Geocaching.com (GC27JM5
The waterfall is also listed on Waymarking.com (WM4C7M)

This weekend is the Victoria Day holiday here in Ontario. While it's going to rain a bit on Saturday there's plenty of weekend left for some good geocaching fun.

There are 5 Geocaching events taking place in Ontario this weekend:

1) http://coord.info/GCZMHM Maple Mountain Picnic 2 by res2100 is a challenging excursion to one of Ontario's highest points. How you get there is up to you, but make sure you bring a camera. (Saturday - all day)

2) http://coord.info/GC27FYH C.R.E.W. Road Trip - Flash'n the Falls by Crew from Waterloo is a 'flash mob' type event in Niagara. Show up, pretend not to be there with anyone else until the sign is given to group up. (Saturday 11:00 - 11:15 AM)

3) http://coord.info/GC27MFD The Quicker Picker Upper by CREW from Waterloo is a Cache-In-Trash-Out (CITO) event on the east side of Cambridge. Help the CREW clean up the area, and get some good karma from the geocaching gods. (Saturday 8:30 AM -?)

4) http://coord.info/GC27HM4 Keeping our Forests Clean is a CITO event in Oshawa, hosted by all4familycaching and Luc & Sweety. This is a great way to help out the community, and give a little back.
(Sunday, 1-3pm).

5) http://coord.info/GC27JN0 Introduction to Geocaching is an event held at Ruthven Historic Site (near Cayuga) by teamvoyagr. The event is intended to introduce new people to the game, and experienced cachers are welcome to attend as well. Bring your GPS if you'd like some hands on instruction (Sunday, 1-4pm)

Did you know that letterbox hybrids were the first real geocaches? Letterboxing can be traced back to 1854 in Dartmoor, England. Letterboxing typically uses location instructions (follow the stone wall to the third tree) rather than GPS coordinates. A letterbox hybrid is a modern twist on letterboxing .

You wanna guess who the Queen of England (thus the Queen of Canada) in 1854? That's right --- Queen Victoria. Now get out there and find some letterbox geocaches!

TAG: Toronto Area Geocachers :: Welcome!

This site is home to a variety of resources that provide information and tools for geocaching in the Greater Toronto Area. We have a host of exciting changes coming to the TAG website and community over the next few months.

Plans include a Geocaching 101 information section, and we're going to start featuring specific caches on our front page. We'll also be relaunching the GTA Geofriends Pub Night series, as TAG Pub Events.

From here, you can visit the Ontario Trails Project. The Ontario Trails Project aims to map the recreational trails located in the Province of Ontario, and provide this information in a way that can be loaded onto handheld GPS units. The primary focus is a custom map for Garmin type units, but other brands are supported too.

You may also want to visit the Ontario Geocaching Association website for more information about geocaching in the Toronto Area. (External Site)

There is a group of geocachers that meet monthly. You can find more information about them at their website or their Facebook group.

To access our forums please visit http://forums.torontogeocaching.com

(admins)