Documentation

How to Geocache Geotrackables

This guide walks through the full trackable loop from creation to release to discovery, so the item can move through real geocaches without exposing its private access details on public pages.

What this article covers

Geotrackable handles the trackable item, its codes, and its journey map. Your usual geocaching tools still help you pick and search for the cache itself.

Create the Geotrackable item
Prepare the physical tag
Place it in a geocache
Search for the next cache
Find the trackable item
Log the find and next move

Step 1

Create the Geotrackable item

Use the single-item flow when one physical token needs its own story, or start from a group when you are preparing several travel items at once.

Save or print the one-time reveal page before you leave it, because the secret code and private scan link are not shown again later.
Give the item a clear title, short description, and image so the public page makes sense when someone finds it.

Create a Single Trackable Create a Group of Trackables

Step 2

Prepare the physical tag

Attach the printed code to something durable before release so later finders can read it clearly in the field.

The public code can live on the tag, but the secret code and private QR should stay out of public cache text, photos, and comments.
Add a photo, category, or opening note while the item is still with you if you want the page to look complete from the start.

Step 3

Place it in a geocache

Put the item into a cache that fits its size and can keep it dry enough to travel.

If you want the route to start immediately, add the first location or journey note when you release the item.
Team-owned items should be dropped by people who understand whether they are logging under the team workflow or under their own remembered secret session.

Place a location

Step 4

Search for the next cache

Most people still use their normal geocaching map or listing app to choose which cache they are walking to next.

Search for the cache in your geocaching tool first, then come back to Geotrackable when you actually discover the travel item inside.
Keeping the secret-code step tied to real possession helps the journey stay accurate instead of turning into guesses from home.

Step 5

Find the trackable item

Once the trackable is in hand, scan the private QR or enter the secret code on Geotrackable.

The remembered active-trackable session lets this browser reopen the item and continue the workflow without retyping the secret every few seconds.
Signed-in finders can keep that remembered access tied to their account so the item also appears on Trackable Journeys later.

Public Trackables

Step 6

Log the find and next move

After the item is found, add the new stop, leave a short note if you want, and record the next handoff when the item moves again.

Use simple notes when you are only discovering the item, and add another stop when you drop it into the next cache.
Trackable Journeys is the best place to review the route map, stop list, and related visible trackables after the item starts moving.

Trackable Journeys

Good habits for real-world travel

One clean loop keeps the story moving

Public pages are for browsing, secret access is for the finder holding the item, and journey updates belong to real-world moves.

Use the public code when you want someone to confirm the item, read the story, or open the safe public page without taking control of the trackable.
Use the secret code or private QR only when the item is physically in hand and you are ready to log a real find, handoff, or drop.
If the item belongs to a club, troop, class, or family team, agree on one simple logging habit so members do not create duplicate stops for the same move.
Never publish the secret code on a public page, public image, cache description, or public comment.
Keep the tag readable and weather resistant so the next finder can match the real item to the right Geotrackable page.
Log each real handoff or cache drop when it happens so the route map stays useful for the next person.

A clear title, one readable tag, and consistent stop logging usually matter more than writing a long story every time.

The best travel items are easy to identify in the field, easy to log when found, and careful about keeping private access details off public surfaces.

Create a Single Trackable Create a Group of Trackables Place a location Trackable Journeys About Trackables Support