Around that corner, beneath that bench, in that alcove; treasures are hidden all around Mission Viejo if you just know where to look.
And a lot of geocachers know. They’ve been coming through town, on the hunt, for the past two years, since the city’s 2023 release of the Discover Mission Viejo GeoTour, a series of 27 hidden geocaches that players of an international treasure-hunting adventure game track down by using a phone app and their own wits.
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Nadia Anderson, 17, of Phelan, uses clues on a geocaching app to figure out a lockbox combination containing a logbook. Mission Viejo introduced 31 new treasure-hunting sites on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, in addition to 27 from 2023. The international game features geocaches ranging from smaller-than-a-dime, nanos, to ammo cans, and 5-gallon buckets. The larger the container, the more swag and trinkets it contains. Treaure hunters can take the items but are asked to put something back of equal or greater value.(Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
On Saturday, Jan. 25, the city released an “expansion pack” to the tour, adding another 28 hidden geocaches. They come in all shapes and sizes -– some as small as a capsule, others as large as a tub – and they are hidden throughout the city.
The original tour was centered around the stretch of Oso Creek Trail that winds through Mission Viejo, and some of the city’s many recreation facilities. Mark Nix, Mission Viejo’s director of recreation and community services, said the new locations extend further into the city.
Nix, it should be noted, is a geocacher, and he got the folks at City Hall on board with joining the craze.
“It’s a hobby of mine that I’ve done with my family,” he said.
Geocaching is free, and there are things geo-hidden in other parts of Orange County. But Mission Viejo is the only Southern California city that has created a whole, self-contained tour.
Some caches might offer a collection of trinkets as a booty, though in a take something, leave something fashion. And all include a log book where successful hunters get to sign their name.
“We encourage you to do it with others, it gets people outside,” Nix said.
“It is everywhere,” he added, referencing Mission Viejo’s geo-tour. “In shopping centers, parks, trails, under benches, light posts.”
The geocaches are found using the app, along with some shoe leather and a keen eye. Some involve questions that need to be answered or a puzzle to figure out how to open the container.
There are even “travel bugs,” which are items imbued with information that geocachers use to get to their next destination.
Each hidden cache has a ranking for how challenging it is considered; some you might walk right up and spot, especially if you know what you are looking for, Nix said. Some will take an investment of time.
For the city, the geo-tour has prompted more people to explore Mission Viejo, stopping at local restaurants or businesses. Nix said some hunters have even booked hotels for a weekend, something he knows because the geocaching app keeps track of people who have found a cache or at least tried.
“Based on the responses we’ve seen from people who have found our caches they have really enjoyed it,” he said.
On Saturday, as they waited for the city to release the expanded tour, newcomers took in some instruction on how to geocache while veterans mingled, showing each other travel bugs or special geocaching container designs.
Then, at 10 a.m., the new geocaches uploaded and the hunting began.
While supplies last, the city is offering a souvenir trackable GeoCoin to those who find at least 45 geocaches on the city’s tour.
Find out more about geocaching and the tour on the city’s website, cityofmissionviejo.org, and search geocaching.
Originally Published: January 28, 2025 at 7:00 AM PST