• Geocache Guidelines for York County Parks          • York County Parks website

• Geocaching Guidelines for State Parks                  • Pennsylvania State Parks website

The following guidelines apply to all Geo Caches on County Park land:

Placement of Geo Caches on land administered by the York County Department of Parks and Recreation requires authorization of the Parks' Executive Director or his designee.

A Geo Cache contact person responsible for necessary upkeep of the site must be identified prior to approval by the Parks' Executive Director.

Before authorization can be given, a formal request must be made in writing. The formal request must include: date, name, address, phone number, email address, group responsible for Geo Cache, longitude, latitude of Geo Cache(s), directions to location, website(s) where Geo Cache will be advertised, wording used in all advertisements, type of canister used to hold Geo Cache and a list of materials located inside the Geo Cache. Accompanying the formal request must be a copy of a county park brochure map marking the location of the Geo Cache and a picture showing the exact location of the proposed Geo Cache.

There should be no earth disturbance or vegetative impact to any approved site. Nor should the cache be readily discernable by the general public.

Cache(s) shall not be placed in a plastic (PVC) pipe.

Cache name must be clearly visible on the exterior of all Geo Cache containers. A "official Geo Cache" sticker (park logo sticker) should be placed on the container. The cache name must be the same on the "official Geo Cache" sticker, identification form, and any web site postings.

The cache may not be placed within Natural Areas, stream banks, riparian communities, ecologically sensitive areas, unique geological features, dam structures, or unsafe areas.

A cache may remain at the approved site for no more than three (3) years at which time it must be removed, the site restored to its original condition, and the Park's Executive Director must be informed in writing of its removal within two weeks of the expiration date. This will control cache abandonment and assist in preventing renegade trail development within the county parks.

Unauthorized Geo Caches on County Park lands will be removed and treated as abandoned property, and the responsible person will be cited for littering.

Responsible party shall delete site location (s) from all publications and/or website(s) within seven days of removal.

Adopted by York County Advisory Board of Parks & Recreation: April 27, 2004

Geocaching Guidelines for State Parks

The Geocache Identification Form* is an application for registration and placement of a geocache on lands administred by the DCNR-Bureau of State Parks and Bureau of Forestry. Please supply all the information requested. You must present the form in person to the State Park or State Forest office where you'd like to place the geocache. The geocache site location is subject to review by the Park Manager/District Forester or designee. Completion of a Geocache Agreement Form is required following review of your information.

BACKGROUND

Geocaching has become a new endeavor on Pennsylvania’s State Park and State Forest lands. The idea is to have individuals set up caches all over the state and share the locations of these caches and the coordinates on the Internet. Global Positioning System (GPS) users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide a wide variety of cache items. The cache visitor is asked to leave an item in the cache for the one they remove. The Geocache community uses the Internet extensively for posting cache locations.

The following guidelines apply to all geocaches on State Park and State Forest lands:

• Placement of geocaches on lands administered by the DCNR - Bureau of State Parks / Bureau of Forestry requires authorization of the Park Manager / District Forester or designee. This authorization will be considered through a review process, including a Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory search (PNDI), which insures its location is compatible with other park and forest activities.
• A geocache contact person responsible for necessary upkeep of the site must be identified prior to approval by the Park Manager / District Forester or designee. 
• There should be no earth disturbance or vegetative impact to any approved site. Nor should the cache be readily discernable by the general public.
• Cache(s) shall not be placed in a plastic (PVC) pipe.
• Cache name must be clearly visible on the exterior of all geocache containers. A green and black "Official Geocache" sticker (available at the park office / district forest office) should be placed on the container. The cache name must be the same on the "Official Geocache" sticker, Identification Form, and any web site postings.
• The cache may not be placed within Natural Areas, Penn Nursery perimeter fence, seed orchards, or Wild Plant Sanctuaries, or on stream banks, riparian zones, wetlands, prehistoric and historic archaeological sites, exemplary natural communities, ecologically sensitive areas, unique geological features, dam structures, or unsafe areas. You must contact the Park Manager / District Forester for possible additional restrictions or questions concerning the proposed location.
• A cache may remain at the approved site for no more than three years at which time it must be removed, the site restored to its original condition, and the Park Manager / District Forester informed in writing of the removal. This will control cache abandonment and assist in preventing renegade trail development to the site.
• Unauthorized geocaches on State Park or State Forest lands will be removed and treated as abandoned property, and the responsible person may be cited for littering.
• Responsible party shall delete site location(s) from all publications and/or website(s) within seven days of removal.

Here is the link to the Identification Form

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/geocaching/geocacheid.pdf