Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Canada’s only Mega geocaching event will return for its 10th year on Aug. 20, all confined within the boundary of Lennox and Addington County.
Known as the Discover L&A Mega Geocaching Event, the festivities are back for the first time since 2019, this year with a stargazing theme. As many as 1,000 geocachers from far and wide are expected to travel to L&A, some even internationally, for the event which challenges players to locate hidden outdoor caches spread throughout the county using only GPS coordinates.
L&A County’s event has become a premier event on the geocaching calendar and has drawn participants from around the world with each event surpassing the previous year in terms of attendance. Early indications are this year will be the biggest yet.
“We’re ahead of out last event in 2019 (with the amount of people who have marked they plan to attend) which is nice to see,” said Joe Tisdale, a local avid geocaching who is once again assisting the county in putting together this year’s event.
The Discover L&A event’s popularity has led to Groundspeak, the parent company of geocaching, to recognize the event as a ‘mega’, meaning it draws over 500 participants. This will mark the eighth time in the event has enjoyed ‘mega’ status, earning the moniker in its third year of existence. L&A remains the longest running-and currently only-mega event in Canada. That has proven to be a boon for the local economy as its status draws visitors year round to search for caches. It also allows for the county to cross-promote its other attractions such as its many cycling routes, waterways and scenic drives.
Even without a formal event the last two Augusts, the game thrived during the pandemic.
“We noticed that during the pandemic there were still people out geocaching the entire time, expect when there was really high restrictions when the government asked people not to go out,” said Tisdale. “Geocaching kept going because it was a way for people to get outside, get the exercise, stay social distanced and keep themselves safe but still have some recreational activity. Although we didn’t have our Mega event, geocaching survived fairly well through the whole ordeal.”
Geocachers are constantly hiding new caches while also retiring old ones to keep the game fresh. Each year the county adds several of its own-though it halted the practice over the last two years so as not to encourage visitors from outside the region. All told there are over 1,400 caches hidden throughout L&A, all with a varying degree of difficulty to find. Some are only accessible by watercraft.
L&A County’s event has become so popular it has evolved into a four-day event, starting with a night sky tour at the Dark Sky Viewing Area on Aug. 18 at 8:30 p.m. The following day will be a water cache canoe cruise from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. where participants will explore the Napanee River and find caches hidden along the shore. Saturday is the main event, running from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Sunday is a Cache In, Trash Out event where participants give back to the community with a large clean up effort throughout the county.
As with every year a geocoin has been minted in recognition of the event, which can be pre-ordered at https://naturallyla.ca/explore/geocaching/mega-event-lennox-addington/.
Participants can also mark they plan to attend the event by following that link.