I suggested checking out this site, that discusses this:
http://www.handicaching.com/

To my understanding a TERRAIN of 1 SHOULD BE Wheel Chair accessible … if the owner did it right … anything short of that should be at least a 1.5.

The DIFFICULTY rating should not have anything to do with this, as that typically reflects the “trickyness” of the cache, not how hard it is to get to the spot. A puzzle cache could be very difficult to figure out, but still be something you could wheel up to. Our a cache could be along a sidewalk, 2 feet up on a metal post, but maybe there are 26 metal posts at ground zero. A real life example could be a military tank, with a magnetic within reach from a chair along a side walk … but just what spot.

Handicaching.com is a great site, but it is actually a tool for rating caches which are ALREADY rated as terrain 1 (or maybe a handful of 1.5s). The site to look at for deciding what exactly is “handicapped accessible” is http://www.clayjar.com/gcrs/
Note that the website only rates in whole stars, so the 1/2 star ratings are up to you. Also note the requirement is handicapped accessible, not necessarily wheelchair accessible.

To summarize the website, the following should be true for a terrain 1:

• Hiking distance less than 1/2 mile (round trip)
• Paved path or boardwalk
• No overgrowth
• Minimal to no elevation change
• No special equipment required (i.e. you can’t claim a boating cache is terrain 1, even though the above 4 requirements might be correct.)

The problem with NOT adhering to this standard is that you will be disappointing many people who rely on the Terrain 1 rating to select caches they are physically able to reach.

At one time, Groundspeak had given clear definitions of each of the terrain ratings: 1= wheelchair or stroller accessible; 5 = requires special equipment, or skill; yada, yada. I cannot locate those definitions now. But that doesn’t change how I would rate terrain. If terrain challenges a wheelchair bound geocacher, it should be rated 1.5 or higher.

Trudy & I spent several months seeking out Terrain 1 caches and found that many are inappropriately rated. All too often, the error is not evident until you arrive at the scene. This is very disappointing to those of us with physical limitations.

The most common input/complaint on my caches when I first started placing them was that I was putting 1-star and they were not “wheel chair accessible”. This seems to be an important topic and item to “get right” on your cache listings or expect feedback.

Personally, I have yet to run into a wheel-chair bound geocacher while geocaching. It sounds like most of the time it’s folks who bring someone along like a family member and help them participate.

I would imagine if someone was in a wheelchair and aggresively pursuing geocaching as a sport/hobby for themselves, I envision these folks do not have your run of the mill hospital wheel-chair and probably can navigate some grass and curbs. I would think this category of cacher would have the most difficulty with caches placed up high or that require some climbing — which many cache hiders forget about when they rate their cache a 1-star terrain. But then there’s the wheel-chair bound people who climb mountains!

But since I haven’t met anyone, I am just hypothesizing.

-cheeto-

I rate all of my caches at 2/2 minimum.

Hi,

I collect a list of caches that I have visited that I think are wheelchair accessible, and it is listed here, for those interested:

http://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?guid=261fe11c-dba9-4c18-a4b5-b8378ce9077d

As far as criteria goes, I look at the surface, whether it is firm or not. If it is turf, is it mowed, firm turf, mostly level? Also, what level is the cache at. Ground hides that require a little manuevering to get to, for example, would be tough to do in a wheelchair, so I consider the height of cache placement. Most of the caches on my list are just off of the sidewalk or pavement, but when on turf, I note that.

My list is based on the type of rehab patients that I have worked with, that use the sports style wheelchairs (tilted in rear wheels, with bigger front wheels) and assumes that folks have enough upper body mobility to operate the wheelchair and use a reacher to get at the caches. My list is not aimed at folks who would be using the traditional wheelchair ya see in hospitals or nursing homes, as those would tip, even on firm turf.

As far as distance goes, I recently added one that was about a quarter of a mile on a good flat shale surface, but noted the extra length on the description. Some folks in wheelchairs would want the longer cruise, others would not, hence the reason to note the length.

In most cases, I comment on the list what the surface is like, so folks can make their own judgement.

zuma