Can caches be placed in public parks in Seattle without permission req'd?

[dazdarren]

Hi...I'm going to be moving to Seattle and was thinking tht I'd like to place my first cache. Does anyone know if permission is required to place a cache within public parks of Seattle? Thanks

[Team Misguided]

Before you think about hiding one in Seattle you might spend some time finding some of the ones already placed. Seattle has a very dense cache volume and there are very few parks that don't already have a cache or multiple caches in them already. There is also a very high volume of puzzle caches, so many parks that appear to be cache free actually have one or more.

[+ShutterBug98027]

I'm thinking about hiding one in Seattle as well, but just to be on the safe side I called the city to find out.

 

As stated before, Seattle is hugely dense with caches. I was joking with my wife about how Groundspeak should allow anyone with a Seattle area zip code, have at least a 3000 max cache report limit so we can list caches 5 miles from our home.

[+Criminal]

To place a cache in a Seattle park, you should storm into the city offices and demand permission to place geocaches. Pound on the desks and stomp your feet for emphasis. Tell them you’d be happy to fill out a form, get a permit, and pay for any damage caused by someone over whom you have no control. Yeah, that’ll help.

[+WeightMan]

The Seattle Parks policy is basically: They know that caches are out there and there is really nothing they can do about them so they will embrace them. They do bring people into the parks that would not otherwise be there and that is good. Some parks, Camp Long, for example have areas that are as close to wilderness as you will find in the city and for those the person in charge of the park should be consulted for placement guidance so that you don't put one in a sensitive place or one undergoing renovation where they don't want a lot of traffic. I have several placed in Seattle Parks and I only looked for permission for two of them. One is a very highly maintained garden and the other involved a dedicated structure that I wanted to attach to.

 

That being said, there are many caches in the Seattle parks and the advice to find a bunch first is well spoken. Don't assume that a park has no cache just because there are no caches showing there. There are many puzzle caches that end up in Seattle parks. I have two myself. I also have a multi that has physical waypoints in three parks separated by several miles.