Nominations for the 2024 Awards are now Open!

Nominations will be accepted until February 28th. Each year NoVAGO honors some of the best caches that were placed in Northern Virginia. Nominations are an opportunity for you to recognize the efforts of your fellow NoVAGO cachers who have placed hides that you have enjoyed. This list is meant to help you think of some of the best geocaches you found last year. Any questions about the 2024 awards should be sent to awards@novago.org Click here to submit nominations: CACHE AWARD NOMINATION FORM Further instructions are included on the form. The categories are listed below. For a description refer to the post: 2024 NoVAGO Award Categories -Printable worksheet to plan your nominations before heading to the nomination form: MyCacheNomination.pdf Cache Type: Best Traditional Cache Best Mystery/Puzzle Cache Best Multicache Best Letterbox Hybrid Cache Best Earthcache Best Virtual Best Wherigo Cache of the Year Best Theme/Series by Specialty: Best Container Best Cache … Continue reading

2024 NoVAGO Award Categories

Each year NoVAGO honors some of the best caches that were placed in Northern Virginia. Nominations are an opportunity for you to recognize the efforts of your fellow NoVAGO cachers who have placed hides that you have enjoyed. This list is meant to help you think of some of the best geocaches you found last year. For the 2024 NoVAGO Awards, nominations will be solicited for the following categories. Some changes have been introduced for some categories. Make sure that you refresh your understanding of the categories before submitting your nominations. Also, please note that none of these categories are required to be awarded each year. Cache type awards may be combined after the nomination period. -Printable worksheet to plan your nominations before heading to the nomination form: MyCacheNomination.pdf 2024 NoVAGO Cache Award Category Descriptions Cache Type: Best Traditional Cache – The familiar green box on the map, which one … Continue reading

Welcome letter from NoVAGO’s president

Welcome letter from NoVAGO’s president We have so much to look forward to this year! First up is our spring picnic, which is always a fantastic time for everyone to come together and enjoy some geocaching fun with friends! We’re still finalizing the date, but we’ll have it for you soon. Plus, there are two great reasons to mark your calendars: cache awards and pathtags! Every year at our spring picnic, we honor the best geocaches from the previous year with an award ceremony. Our awesome volunteers, Schwandt and MrPsyduck, will be leading the cache awards committee again this year. Keep an eye out for their announcements in the coming weeks for your chance to nominate your favorite caches in the area. Your input is essential, so stay tuned on our website or Facebook group for updates! Last year, we reached out to you for new club pathtag design submissions. … Continue reading

Now in Planning… “Celebrating 25 Years of Geocaching in the DMV” event

Now in Planning… “Celebrating 25 Years of Geocaching in the DMV” event Scheduled for September 20th, 2025, this event is a combined effort of both MGS and NoVAGO. Everyone is welcome! Please log your will-attend. If there are enough people in attendance, the event may be granted Block Party status. … Continue reading

Farewell from your 2024 President (that’s me, Gina aka ThompsonKickers)

Here we are at the end of 2024, this year has been a great one for caching. I personally will be logging my 5000 tomorrow so that’s a nice way to start the next year.  Time has flown by and I have enjoyed the last two years as NoVAGO’s President. As we all know, all things must come to an end.  BUT when there is an end, we also find new beginnings.  I’m ready for my next chapter in the NoVAGO community as Director and former President and still have a lot to give to all.  Also with this good news of beginnings comes a new group of board members.  Heather (hrothroc) is my Presidential successor and I know she is super excited and has big ideas for the year to come. The rest of the crew is as follows;  Vice-President: Tom Waters (CherokeeThree) Secretary: Gab Sedor (sedor18) Treasurer: Freddie … Continue reading

NoVAGO Volunteer Profiles: Geocache Placement & Maintenance

#volunteerspotlight Did you know that NoVAGO is 100% run by volunteers? They are ordinary geocachers who want to give a voice for the the wider geocaching community while supporting efforts in their own Northern Virginia area. To spotlight opportunities in the org, we are running a series of job profiles between now and our “Thanks Event,” the annual volunteer appreciation lunch in January. NoVAGO Volunteer Profiles: Geocaching 101 Classes NoVAGO is always on the look out for volunteers willing and able to hide new geocaches in our area. If you’re interested, let us know what area of the map is your favorite and we’ll let you know if we might be able to use your services. Thank you! To offer your services, e-mail officers@novago.org … Continue reading

NoVAGO Volunteer Profiles: Geocaching 101 Classes

#volunteerspotlight Did you know that NoVAGO is 100% run by volunteers? They are ordinary geocachers who want to give a voice for the the wider geocaching community while supporting efforts in their own Northern Virginia area. To spotlight opportunities in the org, we are running a series of job profiles between now and our “Thanks Event,” the annual volunteer appreciation lunch in January. NoVAGO Volunteer Profiles: Geocaching 101 Classes Northern Virginia Geocaching Organization is the official face of geocaching in our area. We frequently get requests from members of our community to give presentations about the hobby. We work with schools, scouts, libraries, parks and other groups. This educational outreach is part of our commitment to safe, responsible, and environmentally responsible geocaching. Each request is unique and so every presentation must also be slightly tailored to its audience. We need volunteers who love talking about their favorite hobby, geocaching. We … Continue reading

Spotlight Cache: In Memory of Dr Tooth A Magical-Mystery Bird House

#NationalBrushYourTeethDay (November 1) November 1st is National Brush Your Teeth Day! This was not created to remind people to brush their teeth once a year (We at NoVAGO are hoping that everyone brushes their teeth more than this one day annually!) Ha hah! No, this holiday was actually created to encourage parents to make sure their kids brush their teeth twice a day for two minutes. To celebrate this holiday, we here at NoVAGO would like to spotlight a cache in Stafford called “In Memory of Dr Tooth A Magical-Mystery Bird House (GC89BKD).” This gadget cache was placed by robbitandpaul as tribute to their favorite gentile dentist. Since it was placed it has been found 92 times, earned 43 favorite points, and was awarded a coveted NoVAGO Cache Award for most creative geocache of 2019! So make sure your kids are brushing for a full two minutes, and if nearby, … Continue reading

Spotlight Cache: NoVAGO U: Chemistry 100 & 101

#NationalChemistryWeek (October 20–26, 2024) Today we’re celebrating #NationalChemistryWeek by spotlighting this fun puzzle in Leesburg. NoVAGO U: Chemistry 100 & 101 (GC9ZZH5) was placed by hrothroc in 2022 as part of NoVAGO’s annual cache series. In 2024, the cache now has a 74% favorite point rating. First you’ll need to check your periodic table to solve the coordinates for this cache. It should be pretty straightforward for anyone who has completed high school chemistry class. With that done, geocachers will find themselves standing in the lab (well actually the forest) trying to figure out what to do with the supplied equipment. The kit includes a 3D printed cryptex which contains the log paper. Can you figure out the key word to get inside? Be sure to check the old logs. As part of the series, contestants were encouraged to post silly photos related NoVAGO U: Chemistry 100 & 101. Here’s … Continue reading