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Premiere Event for Geocachers is largest of its kind in North America. To be held at the Washington County Agriculture Education Center, May 22-25, 2015
(Hagerstown, MD) - The Maryland Geocaching Society will be hosting the premiere geocaching event of the year in Washington County on May 22-25, 2015 at the Washington County Agriculture Education Center in Boonsboro. The Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau and the City of Hagerstown have been working with the Maryland Geocaching Society, the hosting club for the event, providing planning assistance for the approximately 5,000 geocache enthusiasts who are expected to attend.
GeoWoodstock provides a meet and greet opportunity for “cachers” who come from around the world. There will be a appearances by legends of the Geocaching community and it is the single largest assembly of Geocaching vendors. Each year, GeoWoodstock is held in a new geographic region and is hosted by the local clubs, giving geocachers the chance to explore and make new friends. Attendees can participate in many fun activities, seminars and learning sessions, visit with exhibitors/vendors, tour the area, and much more.
The Washington County GeoTrail was developed and launched in 2013, by local members of the Maryland Geocaching Society, in anticipation of this event. While here, cachers will have the opportunity to explore it and simultaneously visit many of our attractions and towns. Of special note is a new City Park Geo Trail will we be launched at a special kickoff event, scheduled to take place on Thursday, May 22, 2015, from 1:00 P.M. through 5:00 P.M. The City Park Trail was also developed by the same team that developed the County GeoTrail.
“Attendees will love caching in Hagerstown and Washington County,” said Dwight Wingert, Steering Committee Member of the GeoWoodstock XII Planning Team. He continued, “They will have the opportunity to visit many of the county’s beautiful historic sites, and to visit the quaint towns as they geocache along either of the two new trails.”
“We are thrilled to host this special event in Washington County. The number of attendees is impressive and the new geocaching opportunities are abundant. Also impressive is that geocaching enthusiasts will be able to return to complete and/or begin their exploration of the new trails. This is an attraction that will continue to bring visitors for years to come. The economic impact of this weekend alone is estimated to be approximately $1.68 million dollars,” said Dan Spedden, President of the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
More details and a complete schedule of events can be found on the event’s website: https://geowoodstock.us/
About the Convention & Visitors Bureau
The Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau is a 501(c)6 nonprofit organization whose mission is to help attract visitors to Hagerstown and Washington County. The CVB helps to create vibrant growth for the local economy by promoting, developing and expanding the local visitor industry. For more information about Hagerstown-Washington County see:www.marylandmemories.com.
About Geocaching
Geocaching, pronounced “geo-cashing,” is a worldwide phenomenon, in which participants use a hand-held GPS (Global Positioning System) to plot map coordinates in order to locate a hidden treasure or “cache.” Searching for a cache is akin to going on a treasure hunt and can involve clues, riddles and visits to multiple locations. Shovels are a forbidden tool – caches are never buried. Geocaching is a game that offers something for everyone!
To join the adventure, a geocacher must access the official geocache website at www.Geocaching.com to set up an account. A basic membership is free. Once an account is established, the geocacher can use the advance search function to locate geocaches, retrieve the map coordinates, and see the cache details for each geocache. Included with the information for each cache location is a description of the site and details on the type of hide. The next step is to head outside with a GPS or GPS enabled device (smart phone) to find geocaches.
About the Maryland Geocaching Society
Founded in the fall of 2002, the Maryland Geocaching Society (MGS) was among the first groups to organize around the adventure and passion of geocaching. The MGS has been a nationwide leader in geocaching by creating innovative geocaching activities including GeoTours and GeoTrails, partnering with educational and youth groups, local and Federal government agencies, and tourism offices, to educate and incorporate geocaching as a fun learning activity. Over the past thirteen years, the Society has welcomed nearly 5,300 members to its website and sponsored multiple state-wide activities, including “Cache in Trash Out” programs to assist in the maintenance of parks and trail systems. The MGS promotes geocaching as exciting, earth-friendly and adventurous outdoor recreation for the whole family. Visit www.mdgps.org.
About Washington County and the Agricultural Center
Washington County Maryland and the Washington County Agricultural Education Center in Boonsboro, cordially welcomes geocachers and all interested participants to attend this exciting event!
Washington County is full of rich history and the area is a gateway to many colonial and Civil War heritage sites. South Mountain State Battlefield, Antietam National Battlefield, Harper's Ferry National Historic Park, Washington Monument State Park, Fort Frederick and The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park are just a few of the many treasures to experience while in the area. The county is located in the Appalachian Mountains and the Appalachian Trail traverses the eastern boundary of the county. Nearby historic Boonsboro and Hagerstown are just a few minutes away, and both Baltimore and Washington D.C. are just an hour and a half drive. With one foot in the north, and one foot in the south, the story of the Civil War, its’ causes, battles, heroes, villains, essence and impact, can be told nowhere better than in this part of Maryland.
