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The Great Waterloo Region Geocaching Challenge

May 1 through 31, 2026

Get your boots on and your maps out, it’s exploration time! Several cultural sites throughout the Region of Waterloo have hidden caches for you to find, and if you find them, you can enter to win a prize donated by our participating sites!

To qualify for a prize, you will need to complete three Geocache hunts between May 1st and 31st, and take a photo of yourself at each completed cache with the container in-hand.

You will submit these photos through a Google Form (or to events@homerwatson.on.ca if you don’t use Google accounts). Only one of your three caches needs to be found at a participating partner site (listed below), the other two can be of your choice near your favourite cultural sites in the Region of Waterloo!

Participating Sites and Cache Links:

Coming Soon

FAQ

What is a Geocache?

Geocaches are hidden containers that have been purposefully placed for you to hunt, most often by other members of your community! Geocaches should always have a “logbook” in them, which is sometimes as simple as a single slip of paper where you write your name/username and the date you found the cache! For more introductory information about geocaches, start here for written details or here for a video.

Note: Some geocaches have prizes within them already, and the proper ettiquette is to trade one prize for another that fits the container, unless otherwise made clear.

Do I need to download the Geocaching app?

Not necessarily, but it may be helpful. You can just retrieve the location coordinates from the Geocache website and use your own GPS or other mapping app to find the spot, but it can be helpful to have the Geocaching app active while searching for the spot. The app is also useful to have with you for logging your found caches if you decide you want to continue on searching after the minimum three!

What is a “cultural site”?

There are official definitions and designations, but in this case, we want to know what sites represent YOUR idea of culture. It could be a place where nature and human development meet, the bookstore or café you regularly meet a friend at, or the mysterious sculpture you see from the bus every day.

How close does a geocache need to be to one of my favourite cultural sites to count?

Could someone walk from the cache to your favourite site in 10 minutes or less? There are no hard rules here, but short walking distance is a good guideline. If there isn’t a cache anywhere nearby, maybe you can be the first to make one…

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The Loch Doon area was memorialized in celebrated Scottish poet, Robert Burns piece “Ye banks and braes O’ bonnie Doon”

Ye banks and braes o’ bonny Doon,
How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair?
How can ye chant, ye little birds,
And I sae weary fu’ o’ care?
Thou’lt break my heart, thou warbling bird,
That wantons thro’ the flowering thorn:
Thou minds me o’ departed joys,
Departed, never to return.

Aft hae I rov’d by bonnie Doon,
To see the rose and woodbine twine;
And ilka bird sang o’ its love,
And fondly sae did I o’ mine.
Wi’ lightsome heart I pu’d a rose,
Fu’ sweet upon its thorny tree;
And my fause lover stole my rose,
But, ah! he left the thorn wi’ me.

Bring a Friend Promo:
Use Promo code:
BAF2026 at checkout

10% off

Art Programs when you sign up for 2 people at the same time!

Looking for a fun and creative way to spend time with your friends? Sign up for one of our art programs together during our Bring a Friend promotion and receive an extra 10% off your HWHG (minimum 2 people) program registration!

  • Offer valid on HWHG program registrations from Jan 1 through Dec 31, 2026.
  • Includes Children’s Art Programs, Adult Art Programs, Family Programs, Day School and Art Camps.
  • Excludes birthday party bookings, field trip bookings, open studio program, and memberships.
  • No adjustments on previous purchases. Not valid for cash or cash equivalent.
Both registrations must be done through one account and on one transaction for the discount to be applied.