Be sure to renew your Fossil Permits! Never Dig into the River banks! Collection of Artifacts is Illegal on Florida state owned land!

TBFC Field Trips

The Tampa Bay Fossil Club has various field trips planned throughout the season. Information about them can be found below.

Field trips are open to Club members in good standing only, with a signed release form on file (unless overwise noted).

For more information on trips contact our Field Trip Director Fred Hendershot.

Club members can learn more about Upcoming field trips during club meetings, in the Chronicles, or through the clubs Facebook page.

Monthly Peace River Trips:

Monthly Peace River field trips in the 2024-2025 season will be on the second Saturday of each month until June, water levels and weather permitting.

Meeting Location:

We will meet at the Peace River Park, 1322 E. Main St., Wauchula.

Area A on the map, is about a 1⁄2 mile long and is deeper and not hunt-able if river levels are above 5 feet. Areas B and C are shallow and can be hunted by youngsters if the level is below 7 feet on the gage. There is a nice wide path from this park along the river to areas B and C, a little over 1⁄2 mile walk. Only Area C has room for a wagon. At this time neither site has facilities, so stop before arriving.

You must be a paid member of TBFC to participate in Monthly Peace River Trips

Please watch this page, the calendar and Facebook for cancellations due to high water. It is not unusual for TBFC to cancel river trips in the spring or fall due to high water levels.
- FRED

Equipment:

Here is some information about Recommended Tools for screening in Florida rivers. If you don't have a screen, you can typically rent one from Fred.

Peace River Water Levels:

Monthly Peace River trips are river depth permitting, (below 7 feet as measured by the Peace River gauge at Zolfo Springs, Florida.


The water level for the Peace River - Zolfo Springs Florida can be monitored via the US Geological Survey as seen below:


The water gage at Zolfo is in a deep hole and does not indicate hunting levels at Thousand Trails.
Typically, if it is 7 feet or lower there will be good fossil hunting in the shallows.


The water level for the Peace River - Arcadia Florida can be monitored via the US Geological Survey as seen below:


If the water level is lower than 3.5 feet in this graph, you can hunt fossils using the shovel and screen method in the shallows. There are several places to put in and just walk; boats are not needed.

We have started doing our monthly hunts at Brownville Park. The site is 6.3 miles north of Arcadia on Brownville Rd which goes out to a county Park on the river. Park at the boat ramp and walk upstream to the island and hunt the shallows. Yes, it is free. Check the calendar for trip updates.

CEMEX Center Hill Mine Trips:

The dates for the Center Hill Trips are all on Wednesdays from 8:30-Noon: 9/4/2024, 10/16/2024, 11/13/2024, 12/11/2024, 1/15/2025, 2/12/2025, 3/12/2025 4/9/2024, 5/14/2024.
Earth Day at Center Hill: (TBFC volunteers needed) Saturday 4/5/25

CEMEX Center Hill Mine trips are for TBFC members only! There is a limit of 20 people for this trip. You must be a paid TBFC Member in good standing to attend. The first 20 people who email Marlin at (members can check the Chronicles for email address) will be on the list (email only... no text or phone calls). Any others than the first 20 will be placed on a waiting list. Marlin will send an email with detailed instructions to the first 20 on the list. Address, directions and other details can be found in the Chronicles.

Center Hill is an active limestone mine. You will find Eocene marine deposits, mostly invertebrates... many echinoid species, shell casts, corals, crabs etc. On rare occasion, you may find a rib section, vertebra, or small shark tooth.

Please note that we are required to wear the yellow safety vests. You can buy the yellow safety vests at Home Depot or Lowes.

You must wear your own hard hat at the Center Hill Mine. You must wear long pants... NO SHORTS. You must wear closed toe shoes... NO sandals or flip-flops. You must wear a yellow safety vest.

You will have a 20-minute site specific training when you arrive.
- MARLIN

Brooksville Quarry Trips:

The dates for the Brooksville Quarry Trips are all on Wednesdays from 8:30-Noon: 9/25/2024, 10/30/2024, 11/20/2024, 12/18/2024, 1/29/2025, 2/26/2025, 3/26/2025, 4/16/2025, 5/21/2025.

There is a limit of 20 people for each trip. You must be a paid TBFC Member in good standing to attend. The first 20 people who email Marlin (check Chronicles for email). E-mail only... no text or phone calls. Any others than the first 20 will be on a waiting list.

(Note: The Brooksville Quarry is NOT the old Vulcan Mine)

You must wear your own hard hat at the Brooksville Quarry. You must wear long pants... NO SHORTS. You must wear closed toe shoes... no sandals or flip-flops.

You must wear a yellow safety vest. You will have a 20 minute site specific training when you arrive.
- MARLIN

Echinoids are commonly found at CEMEX and Brooksville:

Here's some info on echinoids.

Bone Valley Fossil Farm Trips:

Bone Valley Fossil Farm trip dates will vary each month. The next one will be mentioned above in the updates. Sign up at the next club meeting or through the Facebook club page. There is a limit of 20 people for each trip. You must be a paid TBFC Member in good standing to attend.
Meeting location and what to bring will be provided to you after you sign up.

What is the Bone Valley Fossil Farm?

The Bone Valley Fossil Farm offers a unique opportunity for fossil hunters to hunt for Bone Valley fossils - without breaking the law. Bone Valley is an area in southwest Florida that is known for producing colorful fossil sharks teeth that have blue, green, yellow or cream colored enamel with white or grey roots. Most of this fossil layer is owned by phosphate mines and since they have stopped allowing fossil clubs to hunt at their mines, there is really very few places you could still find these types of teeth without trespassing.

The Bone Valley Fossil Farm fixes this issue by providing that fossil layer material for hunters to sift and wash through from 8am to 2:30pm on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays. Anyone can sign up to dig at the fossil farm through their Facebook page Bone Valley Fossil Farm but the club also gets a chance to rent out the Farm for our TBFC Field Trip at a discounted cost per person. Additional details about the trip will be provided at each club meeting when possible and on the club's Facebook page.
- EILEEN

Other Publically Accessible Peace River Hunting Locations:

Peace River Park:

This is where the TBFC does monthly trips, but it is open to the public too.

Peace River Park is located at 1322 Main Street East, Wauchula, FL 33873.

This site has a variety of hunting levels which can be seen on this PDF Map, A is deeper and for adults, B is very shallow and sometimes dry, C is shallow and easy to reach with a wagon if desired. After parking, walk across the small wooden bridge then turn sharp left as the path follows a small creek to the river. This is a primitive camping site and has no restrooms or change sites. It is a bit of a hike around to C but the path is mowed and easy walking.

You may also reach this site by kayak from the Wauchula Riverside Park Boat Ramp heading south.

The river level needs to be 7 feet or lower, as read at the Zolfo Springs gauge for good/safe fossil hunting.

Brownville Park:

Typically, Peace River trips were at Brownville Park but that spot hasn't been producing as of Fall 2022. Each season the river can expose new material based on the storms we've had so this could change. The Brownville information will remain here for those that want to try it.

You'll want the water level to be lower than 3.5 feet based on the Arcadia gauge for fossil hunting in this location.

The GPS address is 1885 NE Brownville St., Arcadia, FL, 34266.

There is a $2.00 per car fee payable in the box at left as you enter the gate. Bring correct change.
The park has reopened their campground and restrooms after being closed for a year due to COVID.

Please follow these simple rules so that we maintain our welcome at Brownville:

- Please car pool to the park when you can. Parking is limited and has been a problem in the past.
- Please use the hose outside to rinse fossils. Some hunters have done this in the restroom sink and clogged them.
- The showers are for campers only.
- Please help keep trash picked up and haul your own trash when possible.

Thousand Trails:

Folks who like to camp will enjoy Thousand Trails RV Park located at:

255 HWY 17 South, Wauchula, FL 33873



They border a long stretch of the Peace River. You must be a camper to hunt from their property. Screens and shovels are the recommended tools for fossil hunting from this location. Use the Zolfo Springs guage for this location. 7ft or lower, for good hunting.

Canoe Outpost in Arcadia

Rent a canoe and head up river to find gravel spots to dig and sift for fossils. Another location in that area is the Peace River Camp Ground at Arcadia, ask at the desk, when you check in and pay for a $15.00 pass that covers 2 days, for the wilderness area beach.

Other Publically Accessible Fossil Hunting Locations in Florida:

Gainesville Area:

If you are in the Gainesville area you can try Hog Creek, and while there, don't miss the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University, it is first rate.

Note: Creek Laws in Gainsville may have changed. Please check the local law before fossil hunting in the creeks!

Venice Beach:

There are some beach spots. South of Venice at the end of Harbor Drive is a park called Caspersen Beach with good beach hunting Caspersen Beach is Closed as the access road was washed out by Hurricane Debby.

Englewood and north to Manasota Key is OK, but the shark teeth tend to be pretty worn by the waves. It is nice to sit at the waters edge and pick out little teeth or use a screen. If you are a certified SCUBA diver, diving from shore from Caspersen or Venice Beach may lead to larger teeth. There are also a handful of dive charters in the area that can put you on fossil rich spots with depths up to 30ft. If you are lucky, you may find a decent sized Megalodon tooth!