What does a "Park and Grab" cache mean?

[highness]

Sorry I mean "park and grab"

Could someone mark a "park and grab" and leave nothing- perhaps only a view?

Edited April 29, 2014 by highness

[+Glimmereyes]

Park and grab usually means that the cache is within a couple feet of the parking area, but it's not an official term so it means whatever the CO wants it to mean.

 

Traditional, Multis and Unknown require a physical container to contain the log, so no. Earthcaches and some of the grandfathered types like Virtuals could be just a view as long as the view was relevant to the logging requirement.

[+Chrysalides]

Sorry I mean "park and grab"

Could someone mark a "park and grab" and leave nothing- perhaps only a view?

Park and grabs almost always refer to a traditional geocache that is easily found within steps of the car. I've never seen Earthcaches or virtuals described as park and grabs, but it is possible that a traditional cache went missing and the owner converted it to a virtual - something that could be done many years ago.

[+Chief301]

"Park & Grab", "P & G", "Cache & Dash", etc. all refer to (usually) a Traditional cache (which means there WILL be a container to find and a logbook to sign), which is located very close to available parking and should be relatively easy to find. A "quickie" so to speak.

 

In most cases you should be able to drive right up to the location and the cache will only be a few steps from the car. A couple that I have found could even be retrieved, signed, and returned without even getting out of the car 😎

[+popokiiti]

My hide is a park and grab in a rest area with a beautiful view. Started life as a Lock and Lock, went missing, replaced by a bison, up went fence blocking access, and it is now a waterproof match container. The area has washrooms, a totem pole, information boards and, as I said, the view. Basically, a park and grab can be anything....nice if it is fun too!

[JASTA 11]

Park n Grabs usually end up on the Ignore List for us.

 

Not always. Just usually.

[Pup Patrol]

Sorry I mean "park and grab"

Could someone mark a "park and grab" and leave nothing- perhaps only a view?

 

Usually means it's quick and easy to find, with no long hiking or walking involved.

 

There should definitely be a physical cache container and a log to sign. Very often they are micro caches.

 

http://geolex.locusprime.net/

 

P & G – “Park and Grab”. A easy-to-find cache that you can get very close to by car. Sometimes written as “P-n-G” or “PNG”.

 

Help Center → FAQ → Other

7.2. Terminology and Glossary

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=50

 

 

B.

Edited April 29, 2014 by Pup Patrol

[+BAMBOOZLE]

I'm guessing about 90% of the caches out there are P & G's. It's not easy placing a cache on private property so as the hobby grew caches were placed in public places....parks, parking lots, road right of way's , etc. and these locations afford close parking to the cache's . Many view the term in a somewhat negative light but I do not. We have found every type container you can imagine hidden in every way you can imagine and they all existed as a P & G....it simply means close parking to the cache. The first cache, the one that started it all, was a P & G.....again , nothing negative and we really enjoyed it. Taking a long walk to find a cache is nice ( these are probably our favorites ) but has little to do with geocaching....its called hiking.

[+SwineFlew]

Sorry I mean "park and grab"

Could someone mark a "park and grab" and leave nothing- perhaps only a view?

Park and grabs almost always refer to a traditional geocache that is easily found within steps of the car. I've never seen Earthcaches or virtuals described as park and grabs, but it is possible that a traditional cache went missing and the owner converted it to a virtual - something that could be done many years ago.

I have. When the city took the virtual away.

[Mr.Yuck]

I'm guessing about 90% of the caches out there are P & G's. It's not easy placing a cache on private property so as the hobby grew caches were placed in public places....parks, parking lots, road right of way's , etc. and these locations afford close parking to the cache's . Many view the term in a somewhat negative light but I do not. We have found every type container you can imagine hidden in every way you can imagine and they all existed as a P & G....it simply means close parking to the cache. The first cache, the one that started it all, was a P & G.....

 

That's the 2nd time the first cache came up this week, and I always hate when people make the P&G statement (nothing personal, of course, Bamboozle). Sure, but 6 miles into the wilderness from the nearest outer ring suburb of Portland. Getting there with 2000 technology probably wasn't very easy. Not like dude put it in a bush 6 feet off of a Walmart Parking lot in Portland.

 

But yeah, I've seen very rural caches referred to as P&G, so I can't argue. Speaking of 2000 P&G's, how's Mingo doing, I haven't looked in ages. Up to it's 100th throwdown yet?

[+BAMBOOZLE]

I'm guessing about 90% of the caches out there are P & G's. It's not easy placing a cache on private property so as the hobby grew caches were placed in public places....parks, parking lots, road right of way's , etc. and these locations afford close parking to the cache's . Many view the term in a somewhat negative light but I do not. We have found every type container you can imagine hidden in every way you can imagine and they all existed as a P & G....it simply means close parking to the cache. The first cache, the one that started it all, was a P & G.....

 

That's the 2nd time the first cache came up this week, and I always hate when people make the P&G statement (nothing personal, of course, Bamboozle). Sure, but 6 miles into the wilderness from the nearest outer ring suburb of Portland. Getting there with 2000 technology probably wasn't very easy. Not like dude put it in a bush 6 feet off of a Walmart Parking lot in Portland.

 

But yeah, I've seen very rural caches referred to as P&G, so I can't argue. Speaking of 2000 P&G's, how's Mingo doing, I haven't looked in ages. Up to it's 100th throwdown yet?

 

Yeah, I've used the analogy before and got hammered but I REALLY don't mean anything negative about it. We've found caches in the middle of the dessert in N.M. and Arizona that , by comparison , makes the first cache look like its in the middle of Manhattan.....but they were still P & G's , I left the motor running.....I just think if you can leave the motor running its a P & G.

I see what you're saying , though.....a lot of people associate P & G with those Wall mart and road sign quick grabs. I will cease to use that comparison in the future because I wouldn't want a misunderstanding to cast even a small shadow on the #1 Cache.

[+Roman!]

P&G: the reason why 9 months after I ran out of gas I was getting married.

[+Chrysalides]

Sure, but 6 miles into the wilderness from the nearest outer ring suburb of Portland. Getting there with 2000 technology probably wasn't very easy.

Erm, compared to today when we can just drive there?

[+humboldt flier]

P&G: the reason why 9 months after I ran out of gas I was getting married.

 

Ohhhhhhh Roman ... you is sooooooooooo bad.

[Mr.Yuck]

Sure, but 6 miles into the wilderness from the nearest outer ring suburb of Portland. Getting there with 2000 technology probably wasn't very easy.

Erm, compared to today when we can just drive there?

 

Funny guy. I meant no mapping on GPS, and many turns to get there. Which, incidently, is how I cached up until about 2009, with no mapping units.

 

EDIT: Oh, no need to apologize Bamboozle!

Edited May 5, 2014 by Mr.Yuck

[+nextlogicalstep]

What's the maximum distance from parking spot to cache spot you'd consider a park and grab?

 

So far, I've labelled my hides with this attribute, but I'm wondering if maybe I've used it incorrectly.

[+mcrow]

Generally, IMO, if you can leave the car running and find the cache it's a P&G.

[+NanCycle]

Generally, IMO, if you can leave the car running and find the cache it's a P&G.

 

I never leave the car running, but the distance determining whether I lock the doors is different in town versus out in the country.

[+niraD]

Generally, IMO, if you can leave the car running and find the cache it's a P&G.

I never leave the car running, but the distance determining whether I lock the doors is different in town versus out in the country.

Yeah, I think my personal concept of a P&G is closer to "Do I need to roll up the windows and lock the doors?" and further from "Do I turn off the car ignition?"

[+mcrow]

Might be different if I were a lady or in the city but I mostly cache in rural areas so not overly worried about the car leaving without me.

[+cerberus1]

What's the maximum distance from parking spot to cache spot you'd consider a park and grab?

 

So far, I've labelled my hides with this attribute, but I'm wondering if maybe I've used it incorrectly.

Your D/Ts are accurate for park n grabs, and the attribute too.

I don't know many who bother to look at 1.5/1.5 traditional cache pages though...

I see anything .1 or less as a p&g, but we've read logs saying "didn't even have to get out of the car".

- If some old, heavy-set guy can go to it and back to the car without breaking a sweat, that's close.

[+WearyTraveler]

 

- If some old, heavy-set guy can go to it and back to the car without breaking a sweat, that's close.

 

Yep - some days I feel like that!

[+Cachez]

Over here, a cache & dash just means you can park right by where the cache is, or it's very easily accessible. Good for people doing certain challenges, or those who want to grab a cache while out on a trip but don't have time to hike 10 miles.

[+hzoi]

Might be different if I were a lady or in the city but I mostly cache in rural areas so not overly worried about the car leaving without me.

Or if you cared about carbon emissions. Each time you do it is just a little bit, but it tends to add up. Many places have outlawed idling for this reason: Germany, D.C. come to mind.

[+edexter]

As noted a "park and grab" means the cache is close to the parking spot. There is no official definition. Once rare, they have now become the norm. I prefer exercise with my caches and after a while it was hard to ignore that most caches provide little or none of that. At present, in my area (SE MASS and E RI) about 15% of new caches require a round trip walk of a quarter mile or more. For a couple of years I tracked the "distance from parking" and noted more than half of the new caches were within 50 feet of parking and nearly a third were actually "on pavement" when viewed on Google Earth.

[+nextlogicalstep]

You can't just park farther from the cache if you want the exercise?

 

I've marked my hides P&G, but I would never do them that way myself. It's just an option.

[+thebruce0]

You can't just park farther from the cache if you want the exercise?

Totally true. And that's how you can make a 1/1 a 5/5 - go to the park on the other side of the river, portage your canoe downstream, launch it, spend the afternoon fighting the current upstream to the cache, tie it to a strong overhanging fallen tree, wade up the embankment, lift the lamp skirt in the parking lot, and repeat everything in reverse back to parking.

 

 

I was going to say I'd consider a P&G about the scale of being able to hop out without shutting off the car, but I think I may also consider some caches within about that .1 rule a P&G. If it takes me less than, say maybe 10 minutes round trip to gz. The attribute is a good guide, but some people use it and some don't, and some people's opinions of P&G vary (just as with most any other cache property).

[+noncentric]

I recently placed a cache that I'm considering adding the park-and-grab attribute to. The cache is hidden within 20 feet of a parking area, but that parking area requires driving several miles on an out-and-back logging road that is deeply rutted. The road is much worse this year than in the past few years, but just about any car with average clearance could make it.

 

You can't just park farther from the cache if you want the exercise?

Totally true. And that's how you can make a 1/1 a 5/5 - go to the park on the other side of the river, portage your canoe downstream, launch it, spend the afternoon fighting the current upstream to the cache, tie it to a strong overhanging fallen tree, wade up the embankment, lift the lamp skirt in the parking lot, and repeat everything in reverse back to parking.

I'll do PnG caches as park-and-grabs occasionally, but usually just for a quick find to get a caching fix. It doesn't sound appealing to drive around and stop for multiple PnG caches.

However, that doesn't mean I avoid PnG caches. My preference is to drive somewhere and park, then do some 'urban hiking' to grab several PnG caches along the way. The other alternative is to take my bike to an area and bike around to PnG caches.

[geostorm321]

I'm guessing about 90% of the caches out there are P & G's. It's not easy placing a cache on private property so as the hobby grew caches were placed in public places....parks, parking lots, road right of way's , etc. and these locations afford close parking to the cache's . Many view the term in a somewhat negative light but I do not. We have found every type container you can imagine hidden in every way you can imagine and they all existed as a P & G....it simply means close parking to the cache. The first cache, the one that started it all, was a P & G.....again , nothing negative and we really enjoyed it. Taking a long walk to find a cache is nice ( these are probably our favorites ) but has little to do with geocaching....its called hiking.

 

Hello there!

I'm a newbie, Is there anyway to figure out before using the GPS and actually going to cords to know whether or not you're going to be bushwacking through woods or poison ivy before driving all the way there? I ask because I live in a city and so far most have taken me into the woods (most OFF tails) and Im shocked by some of the listings like 1 star for terrain and difficulty yet it's in the woods, off trail INSIDE poison ivy, or up 85 degree hills. I'm not trying to complain or anything but until fall (and pants time) I'd like to try avoiding poison ivy and I've gotten 56 mosquito bites this week alone and there is west nile here. So I'd like to find more of the urban caches but not sure how to find those listings or the lamp post ones or the park and grab ones. Thank you!

[+noncentric]

Hello there!

I'm a newbie, Is there anyway to figure out before using the GPS and actually going to cords to know whether or not you're going to be bushwacking through woods or poison ivy before driving all the way there? I ask because I live in a city and so far most have taken me into the woods (most OFF tails) and Im shocked by some of the listings like 1 star for terrain and difficulty yet it's in the woods, off trail INSIDE poison ivy, or up 85 degree hills. I'm not trying to complain or anything but until fall (and pants time) I'd like to try avoiding poison ivy and I've gotten 56 mosquito bites this week alone and there is west nile here. So I'd like to find more of the urban caches but not sure how to find those listings or the lamp post ones or the park and grab ones. Thank you!

One way would be to view the caches on a map first: www.geocaching.com/map.

Then you can change the map style to "Esri WorldImagery" by clicking on the 3 layers icon at the top right of the map. This will give you a satellite view of the map. [Note: Premium Members have an additional option to change their map preference to Google Satellite view].

 

You could also copy the coordinates of a cache from the cache page, then paste those coordinates into Google Maps (on your computer or phone Maps app) to get a satellite view.

[+cerberus1]

I'm a newbie, Is there anyway to figure out before using the GPS and actually going to cords to know whether or not you're going to be bushwacking through woods or poison ivy before driving all the way there? I ask because I live in a city and so far most have taken me into the woods (most OFF tails) and Im shocked by some of the listings like 1 star for terrain and difficulty yet it's in the woods, off trail INSIDE poison ivy, or up 85 degree hills. I'm not trying to complain or anything but until fall (and pants time) I'd like to try avoiding poison ivy and I've gotten 56 mosquito bites this week alone and there is west nile here. So I'd like to find more of the urban caches but not sure how to find those listings or the lamp post ones or the park and grab ones. Thank you!

We see similar here, with 1.5 or less not only in urban/roadside, but some on trails "in the woods" too.

I sorta agree with noncentric, the maps are a good way to see where you're headed, staying away from green areas on those maps if that's your preference.

 

But, poison ivy may have grown years after a cache was placed, and the basics for heading outdoors is spraying for bugs.

This is an outdoors hobby.

[geostorm321]

Hello there!

I'm a newbie, Is there anyway to figure out before using the GPS and actually going to cords to know whether or not you're going to be bushwacking through woods or poison ivy before driving all the way there? I ask because I live in a city and so far most have taken me into the woods (most OFF tails) and Im shocked by some of the listings like 1 star for terrain and difficulty yet it's in the woods, off trail INSIDE poison ivy, or up 85 degree hills. I'm not trying to complain or anything but until fall (and pants time) I'd like to try avoiding poison ivy and I've gotten 56 mosquito bites this week alone and there is west nile here. So I'd like to find more of the urban caches but not sure how to find those listings or the lamp post ones or the park and grab ones. Thank you!

One way would be to view the caches on a map first: www.geocaching.com/map.

Then you can change the map style to "Esri WorldImagery" by clicking on the 3 layers icon at the top right of the map. This will give you a satellite view of the map. [Note: Premium Members have an additional option to change their map preference to Google Satellite view].

 

You could also copy the coordinates of a cache from the cache page, then paste those coordinates into Google Maps (on your computer or phone Maps app) to get a satellite view.

 

Thank you for the super helpful tip, I didn't realize you could change the map view!!! This should help me a lot, thanks again!!!

[geostorm321]

I'm a newbie, Is there anyway to figure out before using the GPS and actually going to cords to know whether or not you're going to be bushwacking through woods or poison ivy before driving all the way there? I ask because I live in a city and so far most have taken me into the woods (most OFF tails) and Im shocked by some of the listings like 1 star for terrain and difficulty yet it's in the woods, off trail INSIDE poison ivy, or up 85 degree hills. I'm not trying to complain or anything but until fall (and pants time) I'd like to try avoiding poison ivy and I've gotten 56 mosquito bites this week alone and there is west nile here. So I'd like to find more of the urban caches but not sure how to find those listings or the lamp post ones or the park and grab ones. Thank you!

We see similar here, with 1.5 or less not only in urban/roadside, but some on trails "in the woods" too.

I sorta agree with noncentric, the maps are a good way to see where you're headed, staying away from green areas on those maps if that's your preference.

 

But, poison ivy may have grown years after a cache was placed, and the basics for heading outdoors is spraying for bugs.

This is an outdoors hobby.

 

I'm not an idiot. I have multiple chemical sensitivities and allergies and I can't use bug spray. That's why I mentioned fall and the ability to wear pants.

 

FYI your post came off very snarky.

[+cerberus1]

NWI

Edited June 17, 2017 by cerberus1

[+bflentje]

I'm a newbie, Is there anyway to figure out before using the GPS and actually going to cords to know whether or not you're going to be bushwacking through woods or poison ivy before driving all the way there? I ask because I live in a city and so far most have taken me into the woods (most OFF tails) and Im shocked by some of the listings like 1 star for terrain and difficulty yet it's in the woods, off trail INSIDE poison ivy, or up 85 degree hills. I'm not trying to complain or anything but until fall (and pants time) I'd like to try avoiding poison ivy and I've gotten 56 mosquito bites this week alone and there is west nile here. So I'd like to find more of the urban caches but not sure how to find those listings or the lamp post ones or the park and grab ones. Thank you!

We see similar here, with 1.5 or less not only in urban/roadside, but some on trails "in the woods" too.

I sorta agree with noncentric, the maps are a good way to see where you're headed, staying away from green areas on those maps if that's your preference.

 

But, poison ivy may have grown years after a cache was placed, and the basics for heading outdoors is spraying for bugs.

This is an outdoors hobby.

 

I'm not an idiot. I have multiple chemical sensitivities and allergies and I can't use bug spray. That's why I mentioned fall and the ability to wear pants.

 

FYI your post came off very snarky.

 

I have a pretty good snark-detector and I didn't find the cerberus1 all that snarky. And for the record, about the only difference between urban and forest hides around here is the tick factor. In MN you can get skeeter bitten any time of the day anywhere in the metro. And many of the urban and suburban parks contain poison ivy, nettles, wild parsnip, and all of the other midwestern plants that bite.

[+CAVinoGal]

Is there anyway to figure out before using the GPS and actually going to cords to know whether or not you're going to be bushwacking through woods or poison ivy before driving all the way there?

 

I'm a relative newbie to geocaching myself. I find previous logs, descriptions, and hints to be helpful in most cases. I also look at the maps (street and satellite), and can see if it is in an urban location, or "off the beaten track" and may be more challenging.

 

Park n Grab (the original OP's question) should not entail bushwhacking (IMO). Terrain 1 or 1.5 for P&G makes sense to me. The difficulty may be higher, depending on the hide. If I come across some poison ivy or poison oak (more common in my part of the country) I'll leave a note in the log to warn others.

[+niraD]

Park n Grab (the original OP's question) should not entail bushwhacking (IMO). Terrain 1 or 1.5 for P&G makes sense to me. The difficulty may be higher, depending on the hide. If I come across some poison ivy or poison oak (more common in my part of the country) I'll leave a note in the log to warn others.

Based on the Help Center article Ratings for difficulty and terrain (D/T), I think it's a stretch to call anything with T2+ or D2+ a "park and grab" cache.

 

T1 and T1.5 are "less than 0.5 mile (0.8 km)", and differ mainly in whether the route is wheelchair accessible. T2 jumps to "less than 2 miles (3 km)". I would think that "park and grab" would imply significantly less than 0.5mi/0.8km, and that anything far enough to warrant a T2 rating is clearly not a "park and grab" cache.

 

Likewise, D1 can be found "within a few minutes", and D1.5 can be found "within 10-15 minutes". If a D1.5 cache really takes the average geocacher 10+ minutes to find, then I think that is also pushing the concept of a "park and grab" cache. And a D2 rating that can be found "within 30 minutes" is right out. The exception might be for caches that are in "the usual spot", which experienced geocachers will be able to find almost immediately, but which could easily take newcomers up to 15 or 30 minutes the first few times they encounter that hide technique. For experienced geocachers, they very well could be "park and grab" caches, even if they take newcomers significantly more time.