Contact: Paula Chase-Hyman, 410-268-5514; paulah@mdmunicipal.org or Steve Simon, 301-836-1516; ssimon@veandco.com
49 Sites Throughout Maryland Connect for a Treasure Hunt Through the State
Annapolis, Md.—Looking for a fun and interactive way to explore the unique history of Maryland’s cities and towns? The Maryland Municipal League (MML) is set to open the Discovering Maryland MML Geotrail on January 5, 2013. “Geocaching,” pronounced “geo-cashing,” is a free, interactive outdoor treasure hunt. Participating players seek to locate hidden containers, called “caches” using their smart phone or Global Positioning System (GPS). This is the League’s second state-wide trail.
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The trail’s theme, Discovering Maryland, is designed to promote awareness of and visits to Maryland’s municipalities. Visitors and residents alike will get to know Maryland’s cities and towns’ rich history as they travel towns along the trail. While searching, cachers, are often guided to various attractions like museums, parks and main streets so they can experience as much of the town as possible.
The League’s ultimate goal is to help support economic development in Maryland municipalities, by bringing as many cities and towns together as possible, within different counties, via the trail. Avid cachers are known for cache-hunting all day. This translates to town-hopping and increases the odds that a vast majority of locations along the trail will be visited. Forty-nine (49) municipalities are participating in the new trail.
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MML was the first state municipal league to harness the burgeoning high-tech tourist trade in 2009 with its first state-wide trail, “America in Miniature.” Since then, other municipal leagues have joined the initiative, including Georgia. “MML has proven that a geocache trail is a great way for cities and towns to expand tourism by attracting visitors from amongst the thousands that participate in geocaching throughout the United States,” said Scott A. Hancock, MML Executive Director. “The new trail offers a few brand new participating towns and all new cache locations from previous participants. It’s a new adventure for new and veteran cachers alike.”
The Discovering Maryland MML Trail will launch with kickoff events in Greenbelt, Hancock and Perryville, Md. on Saturday, Jan. 5, from 10 a.m.-noon. Light refreshments, “how to” demonstrations, kids activities, and door prizes will be available at each event. Event attendees will be given a coveted advance listing of all the new geocache coordinates.
Geocachers can also access the coordinates, anytime after 1 p.m. on January 5, by registering at www.geocaching.com. Basic registration is free. A trackable collectible coin will be awarded to the first 200 geocachers who locate at least two caches within each of the participating MML districts:
District 1 Lower Eastern Shore
District 2 Upper Eastern Shore
District 4 Southern Maryland
District 5 Montgomery County
District 6 Frederick County
District 7 Allegany/Garrett Counties
District 8 Washington County
District 9 Prince Georges County
District 10 Cecil/Harford Counties
District 11 Carroll County
To be eligible for the commemorative coin, geocachers must record the location, date and code, of their find, in the Official MML Geocache Trail Passport and post a picture at each cache. Completed passports must then be mailed to MML offices for coin redemption. The official Passport can be downloaded at www.mdmunicipal.org/geocache
The trail is sponsored by Magellan GPS, L.L. Bean, Maryland Geocaching Society and City of Havre de Grace Economic Development Office.
Nearly 1,000 geocachers explored MML’s first trail, which hosted 78 cities and towns. For more information on the Discovering Maryland MML Geocache Trail and kick off events, visit:
