What Is a Geocaching Trail?

A geocaching trail is simply a series of geocaches tied together by a common theme. There is not necessarily an itinerary, as we would think of a traditional trail, but rather a series of points of interest in a sort of self-guided goal-oriented plan. The Allegheny GeoTrail is perhaps the largest of its kind, encompassing ten counties throughout northwestern and north-central Pennsylvania. Within each county are between 10 and 20 designated geocaches which make up the “trail”. The quest to find these caches will take participants throughout the rugged and scenic land of the Allegheny National Forest and its surrounding gateway counties.

Participants can pick and choose which participating caches they wish to seek, based on their choice of location, difficulty, and terrain levels. Typically, there is an incentive to finding a certain number of caches along the "trail". In the case of the Allegheny GeoTrail, find six or more caches in a county, and earn that county's unique geocoin. Find six caches in each of all ten counties, and earn a special geocoin that represents the entire trail. See the rules for how to go about finding the caches and claiming your coins!