In celebration of the first 100 years of the Allegheny National Forest, visitors will be tracking down hidden caches all over the forest.

To help encourage people to get out, enjoy the forest, and see its sights, Penn Soil Resource Conservation and Development County (RC&D) has partnered with the ANF on a geocache trail.

“We have entered into a challenge cost share agreement for Penn Soil RC&D to develop, install, and steward an Allegheny National Forest (ANF) Centennial geocaching trail to commemorate the ANF Centennial,” Executive Director Wes Ramsey said.

The GeoTrail will have up to 28 special geocaches placed throughout the four counties of the ANF — Warren, Elk, Forest, and McKean.

The agreement was finalized in March.

“Since then, Penn Soil RC&D has initiated acquiring the necessary materials and supplies, completed the design process for the production of the trackable reward token, coordinated the list of potential centennial geocache locations with the project partners, and has begun recruiting the volunteers to place and maintain the special ANF Centennial geocaches,” Ramsey said.

Locations for the caches were suggested by ANF staff and tourism promotion agencies in the four counties.

The locations — GPS coordinates and a description — will be provided through www.geocaching.com.

“Geocaching enthusiasts who visit the national forest and find a minimum of five of the special ANF Centennial geocaches in each of the four counties will be eligible to earn an ANF Centennial Souvenir reward token trackable on geocaching.com,” Ramsey said. “These tokens have been jointly funded by other partners in the project including Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau, Pennsylvania Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau, and Warren County Visitors Bureau.”

The caches and the trail are expected to be up and ready for visitors to find by early summer.

“Geocaching has become increasingly popular in the last two decades for recreation users and families to explore the outdoors and learn about various topics,” Ramsey said. “This would be the first ANF-sponsored geocache trail, and would provide opportunities for recreation users to explore, connect to the outdoors, and learn about the history and ecology of the forest.”

“This project will benefit natural and cultural resources on the forest through providing environmental education and interpretation on natural resources such as wildlife habitats, non-native invasive species, waterways, and heritage — cultural history — resources,” he said. “This GeoTrail has a strong focus on the diverse natural and heritage resources on the ANF, and will allow visitors to enjoy and learn about some of the rich history of the Allegheny National Forest.”

“We encourage you to get out and experience this opportunity, as well as the many other opportunities and events occurring this year to commemorate the Allegheny National Forest Centennial,” he said. “The theme for the Centennial is Recovery to Resilience — 100 Years of Growth since the Allegheny National Forest was created on September 24, 1923.”

More information is available by visiting the Penn Soil RC&D Council Facebook page or website — www.pennsoil.org — or by email to pennsoilrcd@wcconservation.net.