Tips for old and new alike. Common sense stuff we all forget one time or another. I scoured the geocaching forums for advice and tips you might find useful when geocaching. Any unascribed tips sources are from me or common knowledge (in other words, I list my sources if I found any).

The most important piece of advice is to Have Fun!

Tips when finding a cache

• Preparation:
• Bring extra batteries for your GPS, Flashlight, Camera, and anything else that uses batteries. You don't want to run out of power in the middle of the woods when "you've almost found it".
• Carry a first aid kit for cut/scrapes/brokenbones and other caching related injuries.
• Carry a backup map and a compass incase your GPS fails you.
• Take the printout of the cache page with you so you can reenter the coordinates if you get them wrong the first time, or decode the clue if you need it.
• Read the cache page at least once before you go.
• Take extra water with you. Dehydration is bad (I know).
• You should carry a flashlight with you - just in case your caching trip takes longer than expected. It can also be used to light up those shadowy hiding places. -Team GPSaxophone
• Dress for the weather.
• Wear bright orange if you near the woods or in the woods during hunting season. It's best to say out of an area where hunters are.
• Wear light-colored clothing if you'll be near ticks and other buggers. You can spot them easier and remove them before they "get attached to you."
• Bring a cell phone incase you get into trouble. -chriscmoor
• Make sure you have plenty of fuel for your caching vehicle ... -Darkmoon
• Bugspray. Need I say more?
• Always keep a small garbage bag in your car, like the kind that have holes to go over your window roller handle. They keep America beautiful and your car uncluttered. If they get full, you can just toss them out the window. -majicman
• Take paper towels with you on long hikes, lest you be forced to use your socks. -Indiana Jeff
• Carry your own writing utensil in case the cache is missing its (or it is broken).
• Bring appropriate items to trade.
• Check your waypoint entries. (Make sure you enter them in the correct datum).
• On the hunt:
• Mark a waypoint at your vehicle where you parked (or where you left your bike).
• Watch for poison Oak, Ivy, poison bugs and poison people.
• Watch for snakes and other critters!
• Do not trespass on private property. If you can ask permission and are given permission then be careful just the same. If not, stay off my lawn! (or whomever's lawn).
• Use your lanyard (string attached to GPS). That will keep it from falling and getting, broken, lost, etc.
• Use a walking stick for step by step ground probing. (It can save you from getting sucked into muck, or falling through icy patches, or generally just plain falling and you can't get up).
• Keep to the trail. And mark a waypoint where you went off the trail if you have to go off trail to get the cache. Do follow the trail where possible. Often a trail will turn away from the cache, then loop back in its direction. Resist the urge to bushwack. It won't save you much time and more often than not, you'll just run into the trail again. -BrianSnat
• Do not sit on a cactus.
• Don't believe your GPS's pointer arrow all the time. It only works when your moving at a steady rate (unless you have a digital compass). Even compasses can be messed up by magnetic interference such as high iron deposits nearby. Always double check your direction.
• Use your GPS's Bearing reading to aim your way to the cache with a (real) compass. It will be more accurate than the GPS arrow.
• Be discreet. Don't attract unnecessary attention to yourself. Do try to make sure you aren't being watched. In high traffic areas, its a good idea to take the cache and move to another spot to make your trade and log in. Then return the cache to its hiding place when you are sure nobody's looking. -BrianSnat
• Zero is not zero. The biggest newbie frustration that I've found is when they zero out the expect the cache to be right there. It's usually not right there, and can be a good ways off (20-40ft easily). Look for an easy one first and work your way up. -george
• There are no lines in nature. Don't make a straight line to the cache waypoint, unless it's in a football field. In the real outdoor world, there's usually (not quite always) an easier way than a straight line. You'll damage the environment less, and the environment will damage you less (it'll still get you occasionally with poison plants, briars, bugs, and whatever those "stinging nettles" are that I keep hearing about). -ClayJar ("The quickest way between two points is not a straight line").
• Trust your intuition to find the cache (especially once you've done a few). You can go following arrows and shooting bearings all day and still miss a cache that you would find if you just stopped and looked a slow 360. -ClayJar
• Keep track of the time. You might not want to be caching after dark in certain areas or forget you have an appointment elsewhere and miss it.
• Do not turn over, or move every rock and down tree in the area during your search. When you leave the area, it should not look like a cyclone went through. Besides, it isn't necessary and may tick off land managers. -BrianSnat
• Cache in. Trash out. Clean up the area where you place the cache if you can. It makes us look good in the eyes of the landowners (usually State Park owners).
• If you didn't find the cache:
• Do not log it as a find if you didn't find it. It will confuse the cache owner and subsequent searchers. You should log it as a "Not Found" in this case. Do log a "not found", if you didn't find it, no matter what the reason. It alerts the owner and other cachers that there could be a problem. A "not found" is nothing to be ashamed of. We all have our share. -BrianSnat
• If you found the cache:
• Do not mark the location of the cache with stones, flagging tape, arrows, cairns, etc... You found it without the extra help, so can everyone else. -BrianSnat
• Take a stick and poke around in the cache before sticking your hand in. Small critters like scorpions and spiders may be in there. -Dave54
• One thing to mention about moving the cache a bit while logging your find: unless you're completely sure that you'll remember the exact spot, mark the hiding spot with something that you can easily remove after returning the cache. I remember past discussions about this, and several people saying that when they take the cache away to log their find, they forget where exactly it had been hidden (quite understandable in some environments.) Just be sure to remove that "extra help" you put there when you return the cache to it position. -GatoRx
• Making the trade:
• Do not leave food in the caches. This includes dog biscuits, gum, Pez and cans of soda. It doesn't matter how well sealed the food item is. Just don't do it. -BrianSnat
• Do not leave heavily scented items like soap, candles, incense, pot-pourri, etc... The scents may be as interesting to animals as food. -BrianSnat
• Trade fair. If you have something to trade that less valuable than what you want to trade it for, then don't trade at all. Trade even or trade up but don't trade down.
• Try and pick your Sig. items early in your caching career and you should number them... its cool that eventually people will know you were there by your sig. item even before they read the log -coast2coast2coast
• Logging your find:
• Do log your find on this website. It's a courtesy to the cache owner. It lets them know the cache has been found and their effort is appreciated. -BrianSnat
• Do not leave the cache exposed, unless you are absolutely sure that is the way the owner wants it. -BrianSnat
• ...another reminder would be to NOT post Travel bug ID numbers within log entries. I've noticed several of these since the new year in my watch lists emails. -Metaphor
• In your logs, both at the cache and online, include the time of day of when you found the cache. Although it's not a requirement, it will let you know by how much time you may have missed another geocacher. -cachew nut
• Putting the cache back:
• Leave the cache as you found it when you are done.
• Do make sure you re-seal the lid. Many caches are ruined because someone failed to close the lid properly. -BrianSnat
• When you get home:
• Check for bugs (especially ticks if your area is prone to them).
• Get everyone you know hooked!
• ...And plan your next outing!

Tips when hiding a cache

• Preparation:
• Get permission first! Some areas do not allow geocaching, such as National Parks. State parks, however, are usually an individual manner. So ask first to avoid any problems later.
• Follow the guidelines!
• Keep items in a waterproof container and put the items in ziplock type bags to improve water protection.
• Ammo cans are great for keeping contents dry and secure, but in more populated areas may raise red flags if seen by non-geocachers. Ammo cans should not be a problem in more remote areas. Use transparent containers when possible. -OUTSID4EVR (I'm going to add -- that applies for pipe caches as well (pvc pipes, or other caches which could raise alarm. They may not be outlawed in your area it just might be a better idea to use a transparent container nowadays...)
• Don't put too many caches in the same area (we got to give these out of shape geocachers some exercise :)
• It might help to find some caches before you hide any. You can get a feel for the type of cache you want to hide and how to do it right (if the caches you found were hid properly that is).
• Use the Rating system properly: Geocache Rating System
• Don't forget to add a page like this one so that if someone stumbles on the cache who isn't a geocacher they will know what to do with it.
• Label your cache on the outside as a Geocache or with the geocaching web address.
• Placing the cache:
• Don't damage the wildlife (plants or animal).
• Usually [caches] are placed off-trail, so do your best to ensure that sensitive flora and fauna aren't damaged unduly. Look for places that cachers will zero in on (fallen logs, solo bushes, clearings off trail, etc.) because you DO ultimately want someone to find it, right? Also keep in mind the environmental conditions of the area -- does it drop below freezing? If so, you may want to include pencils instead of pens in your cache. Does it rain a lot? Then make sure the cache container is waterproof. You get the idea. -barefoot
• Cache in. Trash out. Clean up the area where you place the cache if you can. It makes us look good in the eyes of the landowners (usually State Park owners).
• Posting the cache for all to see:
• Don't put information essential to finding the cache in the hint. And don't put information about potentially dangerous situations around the cache in the hint. -CYBret
• Don't write a useless hint. There are few things worse than finally breaking down to use the hint and reading "This cache is too easy for a hint" Either leave a hint or leave it blank. -george

Got a tip?
If it's not already listed then send you're geocaching related tip to me and I'll try and post it here!

Thanks goes to:
Everyone who posted tips to the forums which is where I got most of the information about.
Everyone here, who helped refine this tip list.
Jeremy Irish for linking to this page on http://www.geocaching.com/links.asp
Anyone and everyone with a spirit of adventure and a lack of common sense!