Geocache Statistics: Is Geocaching Still Popular In 2025?

Geocaching has long inspired the adventurous spirit of millions of people worldwide.

It turned an average walk in the park into an exciting game of hide-and-seek. But it’s been over 20+ years since the first geocache was ever hidden.

So the question is…

How popular is geocaching today?

In this blog post, we will dive into the latest geocache statistics to find out if geocaching is still going strong!

From the number of active geocaches worldwide to who participates in the game – these are the latest geocache statistics you need to know.

What Is Geocaching?

Think of Geocaching like a real-world, outdoor treasure-hunting game.

Players use the official Geocache app and the GPS on their smartphones to find small and large containers called “geocaches” or “caches”. You get an approximate location of the cache and a clue to help you find it.

geocaching statistics

The rest is up to you!

Geocaches usually contain items such as a-

  • Logbook
  • Pen
  • Small trinket
  • Trackables
  • Other treasures

Once you find the geocache, you write your name in the logbook and mark it as found on the app. As you move around, you’ll have a complete record of your Geocache journey.

You can also see the latest activity of other Geocache players and even leave comments for individual caches, which adds a simple yet fun social aspect to the game.

Geocache Historial Timeline

Geocache has been operating for over 20+ years.

The game was founded by 3 people – Bryan Roth, Jeremy Irish, and Elias Alvord.

Geocache has had a pretty interesting history in the game’s development – both in the rules and technology!

geocaching timeline

Here’s the history of geocaching:

– 3 May 2000

The first ever Geocache was hidden near Beavercreek, Oregon, by GPS enthusiast Dave Ulmer. He published the coordinates online and waited to see what would happen.

At that time, Dave called it the “Great American GPS Stash Hunt.”

Within 3 days, two people found his cache and published their findings online.

Geocaching was officially born.

– September 2000

Jeremy Irish officially launched Geocaching.com, a brand-new website for geocaches. At the time of its launch, there were only 75 known geocaches worldwide. Because GPS was a reasonably new technology, only a few people played the game.

But that was about to change quickly…

– October to November 2000

Jeremy Irish, Elias Alvord, and Bryan Roth founded the company Groundspeak Inc. (known as Geocaching HQ) to support the game of geocaching. The Initial revenue to fund the company came from selling 144 Geocaching t-shirts.

From October to November 2000, magazines, newspapers, and media companies such as CNN started to talk about Geocaching, and this is where the game began to take off.

– 2002

Geocaching HQ launched Cache In Trash Out® (CITO). This was a worldwide environmental initiative supported by the fast-growing Geocaching community.

As of today, over 333,000 people have volunteered at more than 16,000 CITO events, and 8,000,000+ litres of rubbish have been collected.

– 31 December 2007

Geochache officially reaches over 500,000 caches hidden around the world.

– 8 March 2010

Geochache officially achieved a huge milestone of over 1 million caches hidden worldwide.

– 26 February 2013

Over 2 million geocaches are officially registered on Geocaching.com worldwide.

– 13 September 2013

American astronaut Rick Mastracchio found the first Geocache in space on the International Space Station. It had been hidden 5 years before, in 2008.

– 9 March 2016

The new official Geocaching app was launched, giving easier access to millions of geocache players worldwide.

– 18 April 2017

Geocaching reaches 3 million active caches hidden worldwide.

– Present Day

Geocaching HQ remains strong, and geocaching is still growing as a popular worldwide game. Geocaching HQ is based in Seattle and has approximately 80 employees.

Key Geocache Statistics

Geocaching has managed to hold onto its ever-growing user base.

The game is still played by millions of people worldwide today. These are the key geocache statistics you need to know:

  • There are now more than 3 million active geocaches worldwide
  • Geocaches are hidden in 191 different countries worldwide on all seven continents – even Antarctica and in space
  • The first Geocache to leave Earth was in 2008 when it was hidden on board the international space station and wasn’t found until 5 years later, in 2013
  • There have been more than 642 million “Found it” and “Event Attended” logs recorded since the Geocache game started back in September 2000
  • The average geocache player finds 48 geocaches every year
  • There are now over 361,000 geocache owners (people who hide the caches) throughout the world
  • Today, there are more than 200+ cache-finding organisations around the world, with Groundspeak Inc (owners of Geocaching HQ and geocaching.com) being the biggest by far
  • Geocaching.com has been translated into 24 languages, and the Android and iOS apps have been translated into 20 languages which is what makes the game so accessible globally

As you can see from these geocache statistics…

The geocache game is far from dying!

Millions of people worldwide still play Geocache today and even attend thousands of events every year.

Geocache Statistics That Prove The Game Is Still Alive

There were 83,720,498 found logs registered on the Geocache application in 2022. Impressive, right?

That was a significant increase of 16.26% from the 72,012,016 posted in 2021.

Here is a breakdown of the find logs posted by geocachers since 2015:

Year Find Logs Posted
2015 83,000,000
2016 Not recorded
2017 Not recorded
2018 71,399,308
2019 66,913,927
2020 80,457,658
2021 72,012,016
2022 83,720,498
2023 Not recorded
2024 Not recorded

These geocache statistics prove that the game is still going strong – and even growing. 2022 has the most logs posted on record since 2015.

What’s more?

The average geocacher found 48 geocaches throughout 2024, and a massive 1,846,540 geocache players found at least one Geocache throughout the year.

average geocache found in 2024

Date Average Geocaches Found
By Geocachers Per Year
Number Of Players That Found
At Least 1 Geocache
During The year
2019 41 Not Recorded
2020 38 1,622,397
2021 43 2,031,250
2022 43 1,940,875
2023 47 1,811,232
2024 48 1,846,540

That demonstrates the commitment and loyalty millions of people worldwide have to the game.

The date with the most finds throughout the year was February 29, 2024, with 618,976 total finds from the community.

Looking back at historical geocache statistics, there is no discernible trend with this data – but it’s interesting to see how many players there can be on any given day!

Date With The Most Finds Per Year Number Of Finds
July 7, 2018 514,782
August 4, 2019 477,562
February 29, 2020 606,220
April 25,2021 694,290
August 20,2022 640,264
April 30, 2023 595,801
February 29, 2024 618,976

What country is Geocache most popular?

These are the top 5 countries in order with the most cache find logs throughout the year 2024:

    • #1 – Germany
    • #2 – United States
    • #3 – Netherlands
    • #4 – France
    • #5 – Czechia

Germany and the United States take the top spots when it comes to players finding caches.

top 5 countries with the most find logs

What’s more?

A big 20,443 geocachers hid their first-ever cache on the Geocache platform. In total, 59,906 geocachers hid a geocache last year.

Date Number Of Geocachers That Hid Their 1st Geocache
2018 23,872
2019 22,522
2020 30,131
2021 26,049
2022 23,096
2023 21,104
2024 20,443

Wrapping It Up

Even after over 20+ years, Geocaching is still an incredibly popular game worldwide.

geocaching key statistics featured image

It continues to have a loyal fan base that plays regularly and manages to attract hundreds of thousands of new users every year.

And the truth is, it looks like it will continue for a while! Geocaching has continued to grow, especially throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

What’s next in the evolution of Geocaching?

Geocache has created a new app called Adventure Lab that takes scavenger hunting to the next level.

It focuses more on connecting people socially and adds a new twist to the already popular geocaching game!

Want more statistics posts? Take a look at these blogs:

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, geocaching is still popular in 2025 and it's actually growing. In just one day (February 29, 2024), there were 618,976 geocaches found worldwide. Not only that, but over 59,000 geocaches have been hidden last year around the world.
There are more than 3 million geocache players in the world. There are currently over 3.4 million hidden caches for players to find.
The latest geocache statistics from 2019 show that there are about 444,013 active geocache players in the United States.

What Are Your Thoughts?

9 Responses

  1. Great insights on the current state of geocaching! It’s fascinating to see how technology and community engagement have evolved in the past few years. I’ve noticed more local events popping up and a strong push for eco-friendly practices among geocachers. It definitely feels like the community is adapting and thriving! Can’t wait to see where it goes in the future!

  2. Great read! It’s fascinating to see how geocaching trends are evolving in 2024. I love seeing the stats and the increase in outdoor activities. It truly feels like there’s a renewed interest in exploring the outdoors! Looking forward to more insights!

  3. I’ve been geocaching for a few years now and I’m glad to see that it’s still going strong! I agree with the statistics – I’ve noticed an increase in the number of newbies joining the community. I’ve even had friends and family members join me on hunts and we’ve all had a blast. Thanks for sharing this update, it’s great to know that our hobby is still thriving!

  4. What is in Geocache? I’ve never heard of this. I heard it mentioned on a ‘Leon the Lobster’ video on YouTube. I’m very curious.

  5. This is the first time I have ever heard of geocaching! I will definitely get the original app and sign up and see what happens next.

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