Coastside Youth Inspired to Explore Open Spaces
Published September 4, 2025
Under a clear blue sky, 17 students from the Boys & Girls Club of the Coastside combined smartphones and open space for a GPS-powered geocaching event hosted by Midpen at Los Trancos Open Space Preserve. This hands-on outing marked another chapter in a growing partnership between the Boys and Girls Club and Midpen that began in 2024, dedicated to connecting young people with nature through immersive outdoor experiences.
Geocaching—where participants use smartphones to locate hidden containers, or “caches,” throughout the landscape—is an ideal blend of tech and trail. In a world full of screens, this global activity offers a refreshing twist: using GPS to fuel curiosity, teamwork and a little friendly competition. Hikers can locate boxes filled with tiny treasures hidden along the trails and swap cache trinkets to keep the adventure alive.
“The geocaching outing with Midpen was a wonderful opportunity for our youth to explore nature, build confidence and strengthen their connection to the outdoors,” said Boys and Girls Club Program Director Sandra Sarabia. “Experiences like this are vital—they spark curiosity, encourage teamwork and foster a lifelong appreciation for our natural spaces.”
Led by Midpen’s enthusiastic volunteer docent naturalists, the experience wasn’t just about finding hidden objects, it was about discovering a connection to the land. For many of the Boys and Girls Club participants, this event was their first introduction to their local open space preserves.
Time spent in nature has proven to boost physical health, ease stress and strengthen mental resilience, making it an invaluable complement to youth development. Midpen’s partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of the Coastside aims to not only celebrate that spirit of young discovery and rejuvenation but also empower the next generation of environmental stewards to see open spaces not as distant places, but as part of their everyday world.
“This was my first hike ever,” said a Boys and Girls Club student. “I didn’t know walking in nature could be so cool.”
From ridgeline trails to shaded canyons, Midpen’s 25 publicly accessible preserves feature more than 300 hidden geocaches.