Where to Collect Near Tampa

If you are like me, you often have the urge to take an unofficial field trip. You may be wondering if I can recommend any such field trips. Here is my general overview of the Tampa Bay area's rock hounding opportunities, or perhaps I should say fossiling opportunities as Florida doesn't have rocks, only sand and limestone. So we collect fossils, agatized coral and chert.

The phosphate mines are closed to everyone at this time, even clubs and schools. The rock and lime stone pits have some openings and I try to schedule one trip to Vulcan in the Brooksville vicinity each month for fossils and chert. However, you cannot go by yourself and must be part of a club's planned field trip.

The Peace River offers the best fossiling opportunities if the water level is low. I monitor Zolfo Springs on the USGS website and if the water level is 6 feet or lower you can hunt fossils using the shovel and screen method. There are several places where a boat is not needed and you can merely walk to a fossil bearing location. Use the left-hand logo as a link to monitor the river's water level. I don't know where their gage is located but you can hunt in the shallows if the water level is below 6 feet.

One location on the Peace River is the Peace River Camp Ground at Arcadia (use logo on left as a link to their website), ask at the desk, when you check in and pay $10.00 day pass, for the Wilderness Area beach. Another location is 6.3 miles north of Arcadia called Brownville Rd which goes west 1 mile to a county park on the left. Park at the boat ramp and walk upstream to the island and hunt the shallows. Yes, it is free.

If you are in Gainesville, try Hog Creek. I recommend that you also attend the fossil museum at the University as it is first rate.

The north west beach at Honeymoon Island has agatized coral and chert. Honeymoon Island is in the Gulf north of Clearwater.

There are several beaches, south of Venice, where you can find sharks' teeth and small fossils. For example, at the end of Harbor Drive is a park with good beach hunting. Also Englewood and Manasota are good. The sharks' teeth are well worn but it is nice to sit at the waters edge and collect teeth or use a screen (like the Florida snow shovels).

- submitted by Fred Hendershot