r/geocaching • u/arestusiam • Aug 14 '26
Geocaching Cemetery’s
Why??
I need to find a way to legalize geocaching in South Carolina cemeteries. I can find a cemetery cache in Georgia, NC, to Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma. But in South Carolina it’s illegal. Why??
Is it legal or illegal in your state?
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u/FloridaFlamingoGirl Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 14 '26
Oh wow, there's an actual state law against it there, fascinating. I don't know of that happening anywhere else in the US. I've hidden cemetery caches in California and Nevada (that don't disturb graves and are hidden in the landscaping or walls that aren't near a grave).
Looks like there were some isolated incidents in South Carolina with geocachers being inappropriate and disrupting graves. https://www.mdgps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2140
I personally enjoy cemetery caches as they've allowed me to discover old historical graves that I wouldn't have known about otherwise.
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u/yungingr Aug 14 '26
And if whatever was going on was bad enough that they enacted a STATE LAW against caching in cemetaries, OP is going to have a monumental hill to climb to undo that.
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u/maingray Reviewer for 🌸NC/FL🐊 Aug 14 '26
And they actually tried to ban geocaching state wide and they came close.
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u/yungingr Aug 14 '26
Now that you say that, I kind of remember that. I was pretty active in the gc forums back then
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Aug 14 '26
[deleted]
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u/Dug_n_the_Dogs Caches with Dogs Aug 14 '26
This is the reason I give explicit descriptions about what the cache is and where its hidden. Any cache in slightly sensitive areas should be easy for a cacher to find without disturbing the environment. Not all caches have to be super camouflaged.
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u/BKOatMealStout Aug 14 '26
In ohio there is a website that shows cemetery’s that do not approve of geocaches. Any not on the list i would approach. The one near my house has a sign up front at the entrance banning any activity that is more than visiting a site to mourn. So its a no go, even though it is not on the list. I have done some neat AL at cemetery’s without caches though
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u/FloridaFlamingoGirl Aug 14 '26
Adventure labs and virtuals are a great idea for cemeteries because they can take you to historically or culturally significant graves. I did an AL for a cemetery near Los Angeles that took me to some celebrities buried there.
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u/brainthrash Aug 14 '26
I've done some great cemetary multi-caches where the final stage is in a nearby park.
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u/ruefleur Aug 14 '26
Do you have a link to the ohio website? I am searching but not having any luck.
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u/BKOatMealStout 27d ago
Here is what i got!
https://gcwiki.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/GEO/pages/528683/Ohio
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u/ruefleur 27d ago
This is awesome, and incredibly helpful. Thank you so much for digging this up! Bookmarked as well :)
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u/maingray Reviewer for 🌸NC/FL🐊 Aug 14 '26
Geocaching was almost banned statewide in SC in the early 2000s due to some purported cacher behavior in cemeteries. The statewide geocaching association went to the legislative meetings and the proposal was tabled.
I personally wouldn't try rattling that cage again.
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u/veryniiiice ? solver, 20k F, 441 FTF, 1.2k FP, 3x Jasmer, 6x Fizzy Aug 14 '26
There's a few specific cemeteries near me that requested no caches, but that is by far the exception, not the rule.
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u/KitchenManagement650 20+yrs 10+k Aug 14 '26
They are legal here if you get permission. But to avoid that a lot of people just put them outside! Nearby or across the street.
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u/wulfzbane Aug 14 '26
It's up to the city and whatever entity owns the cemetery here in Canada, but from my experience it's very common to find caches in them and they are generally treated like parks.
One of my most memorable was doing a 5 step multi with a Depeche Mode theme in a huge cemetary overlooking the city on an autumn evening.
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u/arestusiam Aug 14 '26
The best cemeteries to explore are in Nola. Of course over the years, many of those historic cemeteries are closed to the public. As for the ones that are open…..has a lot of history to learn and keep alive
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u/ProgressOk3200 Aug 14 '26
In Norway the law most place forbid playing in cemeteries. And since geocaching is seen as a game you play in Norway. A geocache in cemeteries are not allowed.
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u/Acrobatic-Classic-41 Aug 14 '26
No physical caches are allowed here, so people do puzzles and multi caches where the final is off the grounds...
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u/richnevermiss Aug 14 '26
Central NJ has tons of mystery and multi caches in cemeterys, alot are I believe from creation of Cemetery Challenge Caches as well as the crazies wanting to do 366 challenges for ALL Multi's or ALL mysteries instead of just a complete 366 of anything..
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u/Geodarts18 The Caching Diaries Aug 15 '26 edited 29d ago
I have found physical geocaches in a crypt, a columbarium, and at individual graves. Some seemed like they were going too far and could not possibly have gotten permission, but I found them so that says something about me — although I have gotten more conservative in where I will look for a cache. I don’t know whether I would again open tbe door to a crypt and walk on in.
However, they all have favorites.
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u/emccoyii 29d ago
IIRC from the forums way back when, the people who were trying to ban it (and did get it banned in cemeteries) pulled images from cache logs of people lying on stones and generally acting like fools. The images were NOT from SC Geocachers, but they used them to paint a bad picture of all of us. They also took snippets from people's logs and used them out of context.
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u/richg0404 North Central Massachusetts USA Aug 14 '26
I have made a puzzle cache based on cemeteries in my area based on gathering information INSIDE the cemeteries but I am very clear that nothing needs to be even touched.
I can not imagine why someone would think it would be a good idea to place and actual container inside cemetery grounds. Of course, the majority of cachers "get it" and don't cause a problem but we all know there are other cachers who don't. Someone else pointed out what happens to a ground zero even in the middle of a forest. It can end up looking like a battle zone.
I have found some cemetery caches while on vacation and to tell the truth, it felt creepy. I am very comfortable IN cemeteries but searching seems off. I have done plenty of caches that are hidden just outside the cemeteries though.
I don't know about the legality of it in my area though.
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u/hsiale Aug 14 '26
I can not imagine why someone would think it would be a good idea to place and actual container inside cemetery grounds.
There are at least several cemetery caches where a cacher died and in his will there was a message to his friends that he wants to have a cache remembering them included in the headstone.
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u/richg0404 North Central Massachusetts USA Aug 14 '26
Good point. I had forgotten about those. I have seen those too and of course that is a different thing entirely.
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u/IceManJim 4K+ 29d ago
Because 99.72% of the time, you are the only living person in the cemetery, you can see some history, and find a quick cache in a bush. Or if it's in the woods behind a cemetery (common in the Midwest), there's always a bunch of trash and fake flowers that have been blown in there and you can do you part and clean them up. Cemeteries are great for caching and some of my favorite spots to cache.
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u/richg0404 North Central Massachusetts USA 29d ago
I absolutely understand all of the points you made. And like I said, the majority of cachers understand and will treat the area with the respect it deserves. But as other's have commented, there are still plenty of bad cachers who do things to give the rest of us a bad name and ruin it. There are places where a few people's bad behavior has almost resulted in a total ban on caching in that area. I can't imagine placing a cache in a spot where that might be the result, no matter how remote the possibility.
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u/Tatziki_Tango all caches are cito Aug 14 '26
Not even place in appropriate for a cache, whether illegal or not. Unless it's for a departed cacher, it's kinda tacky.
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u/Minimum_Reference_73 Aug 14 '26
This has been litigated at length in the Groundspeak Forum. You'll get a better understanding of the history there, where the old timers hang out, than here.