This BIT cache is located behind the Lakeland Centre at Van Wagner's Beach, along the Hamilton Beach Trail. The land is owned by the City of Hamilton and managed by the Hamilton Conservation Authority. Free parking is located close to the cache.

This location can be very busy at times, and completely deserted at others. During the summer, it might be nearly impossible to retrieve the container to which the BIT cache is attached, without being noticed. During the winter, there will be no problem.

The traditional cache,  GC3Z5CK, has been listed on geocaching.com since October of 2012. There is no obligation to open the cache and sign the logbook, unless you wish to log that find on GC.com

The following information is taken from that listing:

About the hide

You are looking for a medium-sized PB container with a bright red lid! It’s tucked into the large rocks found at GZ and partially hidden using smaller rocks. You don’t need to climb on the rocks to find it, and is best approached from the beach and not from above! Please rehide as found.

About Van Wagner’s Beach

I’m not sure how official this name is, but in the local birding community it is well understood to be the area of the Lake Ontario shoreline which parallels Van Wagner’s Beach Road. Also check out the nearby “Van Wagner’s Ponds” which can also be a hot-spot of birding activity. If I understand correctly those ponds were used in the old days to sequester water from the lake which was then used to supply the city with water.

Best time to visit Van Wagner’s Beach

In the fall when the winds are strong out of the east. That is when a number of pelagic specialty species find themselves far from home, I guess they get blown off course by the winds? The viewing platform located at GZ is frequently occupied by several birders with large spotting scope when the conditions are just right. They’ll spend hours scoping the lake looking for those cherished target species, even in the most intense winds. As an interesting side note, Hurricane Sandy blew through the area on Tuesday Oct 30th, while this listing was in review. Several stalwart birders braved the wind and rain at VWB and were rewarded with views of some exceptional birds. Local bird experts referred to that day at Van Wagner’s Beach as one of the best on record!

Birds to See at Van Wagner’s Beach

If you BYOB at the right time of year you might just see the following species (not an exhaustive list). If you want to know why birders in Hamilton would make such a fuss over these birds, just look at a range map for any of the species listed below and it should quickly become apparent!
Uncommon pelagic birds recorded at Van Wagner’s Beach include jaegers (Parasitic and Long-tailed jaeger are observed several times each season, while Pomarine are infrequently observed), black-legged kittiwakes, various gull species (Sabine's, glaucous, lesser black-backed, greater black-backed, little, Bonaparte’s), and black tern.
Shorebirds have frequently been observed along the beach or in flight, including American avocets red-necked phalaropes, red knot, sanderling, dunlin, willet, purple sandpiper. Loons (common and red-throated), scoter (surf, white-winged and black), grebes (red-throated, pied-billed, horned) and a number of species of duck can usually been seen out on the lake in fall or winter.
Rare sightings include records for Manx shearwater, Wilson’s storm-petrel, Leach’s storm-petrel, northern gannet, long-billed curlew, brant, snow goose, and king eider.

Additional Details

Lots of free parking nearby. The trail gets pretty busy most of the year, watch for cyclists and rollerbladders zipping along when accessing the trail. This may be a tough one to get during the summer as there will be lots of people on the beach and on the platform above. Please be stealthy.