Peace River: Fossil Hunting in DeSoto County, Florida

Plan your visit

Generally open to casual rockhounding

County

DeSoto County

State

Florida

Coordinates

27.21139, -81.85528

Coordinates are approximate. Confirm the exact ground in the RockHoundR app, where land overlays show which agency manages the area.

Land & collecting status

Generally open to casual rockhounding

Most public-tagged spots sit on BLM, U.S. Forest Service, or other federal land where reasonable hand collecting of common rocks and minerals is allowed. Confirm posted rules and active mining claims before you dig.

Access note: Public access via boat ramps and canoe outfitters near Arcadia, Zolfo Springs, Wauchula, and Brownville. Shark teeth and invertebrate fossils need no permit; collecting vertebrate fossils such as mammoth or mastodon bone from the state-owned river bottom requires a five dollar Florida Fossil Permit from the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Public-land rules vary by agency, season, and field office. The RockHoundR app pulls live BLM, USFS, NPS, and tribal overlays so you can see exactly which agency manages the ground at this spot.

Best time to visit Peace River

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: September to May. Typical highs run 91°F in midsummer and 73°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 47°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, ARCADIA station (1 mi away).

Geology at Peace River

This spot sits on Hawthorn Group, Peace River Formation, mapped as sand, clay, and dolostone that formed roughly 16 to 3 million years ago. Reworked sediments like these can carry fossils eroded from older beds upstream, typically as rolled bone fragments, teeth, and shell material.

Mapped unit

Hawthorn Group, Peace River Formation

Age

16–3 Ma (Middle Miocene to Pliocene)

Rock types

sand, clay, and dolostone

Elevation

80 ft

Geologic mapping via Macrostrat and the underlying state geological survey maps (CC BY 4.0). Bedrock at the surface can vary within a mapped unit.

Sources & verification

Spot details combine the public RockHoundR location dataset, normalized mineral labels, agency land-status checks in the app, and community submissions. Coordinates are approximate until verified in the field.

• Florida Geological Survey
• Florida Museum vertebrate fossil permit
• Florida State Parks rules
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules