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ABOUT THIS GUIDE

The local laws and guidelines for geocaching placement vary from place to place. As community reviewers learn geocache placement policies for a certain location, they can add it here. This site may not be a complete or accurate list of land policies. These policies are made by the land owner or manager, they are neither the reviewer’s nor Geocaching HQ’s. This guide is just for reference, if no policies for the area you’re looking for are listed, that doesn't mean no policies exist. You must still obtain permission to place your geocache from the landowner or land manager, comply with all applicable laws, and follow the Geocaching Listing Requirements If you have an update, email the community reviewer(s) listed.

Table of Contents

The Help Center

Maybe what you are looking for is in the Geocaching Help Center. Just click here to go to the center and ask your question.

Geocache Hiding Guidelines

We encourage you to find some geocaches before hiding one. The more variety of geocaches you find, the better you will understand how to create an enjoyable experience for other geocachers. Find additional guidance about hiding caches in our Help Center. For publication, geocaches must follow these guidelines and any applicable Regional Geocaching Policies located on this page.

General Information

This page contains specific geocaching land management policies,  location-specific areas, and information for Missouri. Naturally, all other Geocaching.com guidelines, including obtaining adequate permission for any geocache placement, apply.  This listing is not all-inclusive as some land managers have instituted policies we are unaware of or may have amended their posted policies.  If you are a land manager with a geocaching policy which should be listed here please send a copy of your policy and contact information to Mongo.

Federal Agencies that ALLOW geocaching with permission

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

ALLOWED with Permission from the area manager.

• Geocaching on Public Lands

Corps of Engineers

ALLOWED with Permission from the area Manager.

• St. Louis District

• Kansas City District

Mark Twain National Forest

ALLOWED with Permission from the area Ranger.

• Geocaching and Letterboxing Information

• Contact the District Office you are in to speak to a Ranger.

Many agencies require geocache instructions for finders. This welcome note explains what to do with the cache and how to learn more about geocaching.  GEOCACHE NOTE TO BE PLACED INSIDE THE CONTAINER

Federal Agencies that DO NOT ALLOW geocaching

• Fort Leonard Wood

• Mark Twain National Forest NATURAL AREAS

• National Parks Service

• National Scenic Riverways

• US Fish and Wildlife Service

• Whiteman A.F.B. 

Missouri State Agencies that ALLOW Geocaching

Missouri Department of Conservation

ALLOWED with approval of a Special Use Permit good for one year.

Effective June 28, 2023, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has changed its permit process. Register to access their Special Use Permit (SUP) system. MDC permits are good for one year from the time they are issued. You will need to reapply each year to continue having your geocache placed on MDC land.

MDC offers a new online application for Special Use Permits

You do not need to have a Special Use Permit to search for caches in conservation areas, only to place them. Thanks for using and enjoying your Missouri Department of Conservation areas!
To start the process to obtain the Special Use Permit you will need to go to this link and register. Welcome to Special Use Permits
Additional links you may find useful are below.

* Missouri Department of Conservation Website
* Geocaching and Letterbox placement on MDC land

Missouri State Parks

ALLOWED with approval of a permit good for one year.

• Missouri State Park Locations

• Missouri State Parks - Geocaching and Letterbox Permit Application

Permits are good for one (1) year and should be renewed annually. Failure to renew will result in the geocache being archived. Once you have received your permit take a photo of it and attach it to a note to the reviewer. All such notes are archived when the geocache is published.

Many agencies require geocache instructions for finders. This welcome note explains what to do with the cache and how to learn more about geocaching.  GEOCACHE NOTE TO BE PLACED INSIDE THE CONTAINER

Missouri Agencies that DO NOT ALLOW geocaching

Missouri Department of Conservation - NATURAL AREAS. 

Missouri State Parks Natural Areas

Communities

This list does not list every community in Missouri. These are the communities that we are aware of that do have a policy. If you have additional information please help your fellow geocacher out by forwarding that information to Mongo.

Arnold City Parks

Blue Springs

Columbia

Florissant

Gladstone

Independence

Jefferson City Parks Policy

Jefferson County Parks Policy

Kansas City Parks

Lebanon

Lee's Summit

Platte County Geocache Policy

Raymore City Parks and Recreation

St. Charles City Geocaching Policy

St. Charles County Parks

St. Louis County Parks Policy

Many agencies require geocache instructions for finders. This welcome note explains what to do with the cache and how to learn more about geocaching.  GEOCACHE NOTE TO BE PLACED INSIDE THE CONTAINER

Boy Scout Merit Badge Information

For a geocache to be published in Missouri for the BSA Merit Badge for Geocaching the following will be required:

The name and email address of the person in charge of the Geocaching Merit Badge program for that troop should be in a note to the reviewer. Please do not place this into the description on the cache page. Such information is archived when the geocache is published.

When maintenance is needed this contact person will be notified of any issues with the geocache. It will be their responsibility to ensure that maintenance is provided to keep the geocache active for the required minimum time. (90 days)

Boy Scout Merit Badge information

Bridges, Guardrails, and Right of Way (ROW)

Bridges

Geocaches may not be placed on, over, or under bridges located on federal roadways, interstate highways, U. S. highways and primary numbered Missouri highways.

Geocaches generally may be placed on municipal and county road bridges with the following exceptions:

• Over or under federal roads, interstates, U. S. routes and primary numbered Missouri highways.

• Over or under railroads.

• On bridges containing active drawbridges as listed by the Corps of Engineers.

• Bridges located over spillways or part of dams.

Geocaches may be placed on bridges designed for pedestrian use only or former railroad bridges converted to pedestrian trails that pass over interstate or U.S. highways with the following restrictions:

• The geocache must be accessible by a geocacher standing on the surface area designed for foot traffic.

• Ammo cans or PVC pipe containers are not allowed.

• Containers must be clearly labeled as being a geocache and designed so that they cannot be mistaken as an explosive device.

Guardrails

Geocaches are not allowed on interstate highways, controlled access highways, U.S. highways, primarily numbered Missouri highways, or as part of railroad signaling locations.

For bridge and guardrail geocaches to be published, there must be a location available for a geocacher to park his vehicle completely clear of the roadway and the parking location shall not be in a curve or other visually obstructed area.

Geocachers should understand that all roadway bridges are inspected regularly by government inspectors and any geocache found attached to the bridge structure will probably be removed by the inspectors. GUIDELINES ON RESTRICTED

Right of Ways

Geocaches are NOT allowed to be placed on any right of way (ROW) involving a Federal Interstate Highway, U.S. Highway or primary numbered Missouri highways. No exceptions.

*We were notified by Missouri DOT on 12/22/2022 that they will not allow any geocaching due to liability. All geocaches placed previously to this date are grandfathered at this time until further notice.

Cemeteries

The following information is for placing a geocache where a cemetery is located. They may be placed in 1 of 2 ways in Missouri.

1. They may not be placed within the interior of the cemetery, or among the graves without the person(s) who is in charge approval. Owning a plot within the cemetery does not mean you have permission to place a geocache at the gravesite. If a geocache is placed in the interior of the cemetery the following will be needed:

• Written permission from the person(s) in charge of the cemetery. Only that person(s) can give this permission. We will need the following:

  • The name of the person(s) who you received permission from.

  • Their title is with the cemetery.

  • A phone number, or an email address of that person.

    • Upload the written permission as a picture attached to a reviewer note.

All geocaches placed in a cemetery will need all of the following.

• Photographs from the geocache location in all four directions. (N, S, E, and W)

• Photographs towards the geocache location in all four directions. (N, S, E, and W)

• In a note to the reviewer please be as descriptive as possible in your information. The more descriptive you are the better idea the reviewer will have of what is here.

  • Where the cache is hidden (In a tree, on a sign, inside of a log, etc.)

  • What the container is (ammo can, 35 mm film canister, match safe, etc.)

  • How the container is hidden (hanging from a tree, screwed to the tree, in a wall, in vegetation, etc.)

  • Is the geocache container in place? (Yes or No)

  • Is there a logbook inside of the geocache container? (Yes or No)

  • The above requirements should be sent in a Note to the Reviewer when submitting the cache page for review. Note: All pictures and notes sent to a reviewer are deleted before the geocache is published. Do not email the reviewer with this information since we want to keep it with the geocache page in case we need it in the future.

• Since it is illegal to enter a cemetery after sunset in Missouri you must use the appropriate attributes on your cache page. Find the Attribute information here. I.e. not 24/7, not recommended at night. Note: Double-click on the icon to turn into a no function.

  • Include in the description the following statement. * It is illegal to be present inside a cemetery from sunset to sunrise. Please do not place geocaching in jeopardy by doing so. *

GUIDELINES ON RESTRICTED

NO PRECEDENCE IN PLACING A GEOCACHE

Little Free Libraries

Little Free Libraries are growing in popularity and geocachers are increasingly wanting to use them for geocache placement.

They are publishable with the following considerations:

• The libraries are privately owned and usually on private property so permission must be obtained from the library owner.

• The cache page should not be promotional for the Little Free Library movement. 

• They can use the term Little Free Library on the cache page.

• The http://www.littlefreelibrary.org/ website sells library boxes and solicits donations, so it should not be included on cache pages.

• The logbook should be placed in a container within the library, and not just be paper "floating" around. 

Miscellaneous

Cracker Barrel

Cracker Barrel restaurants per their national office, no longer want geocaches on their property. For a time, they did expressly allow them.

Fire Hydrants

Hiding a cache on a fire hydrant could interfere with the hydrant's use in an emergency. A small cache container can become lodged in fire hose threads or fittings, for example. Second, law enforcement officers are watchful of persons who appear to be tampering with a fire hydrant. Third, since dogs do what they do at fire hydrants, expecting cachers to retrieve a cache that has been treated in that manner is a bad idea.  If you have verifiable permission, please post it to a Reviewer Note.

Utility Equipment

Attaching a geocache to utility equipment, such as a piece of power equipment, water or sewer equipment, etc. will need permission.  I'm sure they would not want to find a foreign object attached to something vital to the operation of their equipment.

In a Reviewer Note, provide the complete contact information for who granted permission to place a cache at this location.

Walmart Property

Walmart parking lots. The corporate office of Walmart will not allow geocaches to be placed on their parking lot unless the MANAGER has given permission.

• Make sure to get the following: Name, title, phone number, or email address of the MANAGER of the store to place in a Note to Reviewer when submitting the geocache page for review.

Wall Geocaches

Effective October 2023 geocaches placed on or inside of a wall will not be published unless there is written permission for the owner or manager. This is due to the destruction caused by such hiding techniques.

Once you have the written permission take a photo of it and attach it to a note to the reviewer by clicking on **select photos** at the bottom of the note form. Also, photos will be needed of the container and the hiding location with the container in place. 

All such notes and photos are archived when the geocache is published.

Park Hours

If your cache is placed in any type of park we are now requiring the park hours in the description area of the cache page prior to publication.

Having the park hours in the description helps fellow geocachers plan their trips and eliminates any reason for being in a park when it is closed. If it does have restrictions would you also indicate with an attribute it is not a 24/7 geocache. To make an attribute NO just click on the icon twice with your left mouse button. Attributes on the Geocache Page

Playgrounds

The following information is for placing a geocache where playground equipment exists.

• Geocaches should not be placed anywhere on playground equipment.
  
  

• Geocaches should not be placed where it can be seen from the playground equipment.

• Geocaches should be placed a minimum of 150 feet away from any type of playground equipment.

• It is suggested that a picture from different viewing angles be sent along with a Note to the Reviewer when submitting a geocache where playground equipment exists. All pictures sent to a reviewer are deleted before the geocache is published. GUIDELINES ON RESTRICTED

Railroad Property

Geocaches placed within one hundred (100) feet on each side of the central line of said railroad, including spur lines, are considered to be on property belonging to a railroad.  Explicit permission from the railroad company owning the line must be obtained before a geocache will be allowed within that area.  Exceptions are generally allowed for geocaches placed in public parks, recreation areas, parking lots, etc., especially where man-made physical barriers are provided between the tracks and the geocache's hiding spot.  However, exceptions are considered on a case-by-case basis for the given situation, and allowance of the placement should not be assumed by the cache owner. GUIDELINES ON RESTRICTED

Federal Definition of a Railroad Right of Way

Missouri Railroad Right of Way Defined

School Grounds and Proximity

Pre-K and K-12

We will not publish caches that are on Pre-K, and K-12 school grounds, or near a school. 

• The geocache container must not be closer than 150 feet from any school building, or property.

• Should be placed where the finder cannot be seen by any person within the school. This keeps suspicion from becoming an issue so the police do not get called.

Again, near school grounds and with GPS accuracy only being so good on the best days, most likely a cacher would end up on school grounds regardless.  In many counties, it is against the law to even be on school grounds unless you have been checked in through the office and have a visitor pass. GUIDELINES ON RESTRICTED

College or University Grounds

Geocaches will only be published with written permission from the head of Campus Security.

The written permission should describe the following:

• The location in detail along with the coordinates listed on the geocache page for all elements of the geocache.

• A detailed description of what you have hidden, how it has been hidden and how does one locate the cache container.

Once you have the written permission take a photo of it and attach it to a note to the reviewer by clicking on **select photos** at the bottom of the note form. All such notes and photos are archived when the geocache is published.

"When you go to hide a geocache, think of the reason you are bringing people to that spot. If the only reason is for the geocache, then find a better spot."briansnat, Charter Member

Geocaching HQ and community volunteers are not in any way responsible or liable for caches or their placement. All aspects of your geocache and its placement are your responsibility, and you may be held liable for any resulting consequences. Use of Geocaching HQ services is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. These guidelines are subject to change.