Florida Fossil Hunters ::: Central Florida

Field Trips

Field trips to Vulcan Mine, Brooksville

Currently these dates are available:
October 11th, 2008
November 8th, 2008
December 13th, 2008
See letter from Vulcan Mine

For insurance purposes, you MUST be a member of the Florida Fossil Hunters to join us on the field trips. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Meet on the driveway loop near the entrance to Vulcan Mine by 8:30 am to sign releases before we are led into the mine.

Directions: From Orlando take Hwy. 50 west to Brooksville. Turn right onto US 98 north and go approximately 10 miles. Vulcan Mine is on the left (west) side of 98 and the address is 16313 Ponce De Leon Blvd.

This is mostly surface collecting with a little digging. Bring a small trowel or rock hammer or screwdriver to pry out specimens and bring a bucket to collect. Bring small containers and paper towels/toilet paper to store fragile fossils.

Wear a hat, sturdy shoes, long pants (some of the rocks are sharp) and sunscreen. Bring lots of water and some snacks/lunch to eat.

We find mostly echinoids. Sometimes sea urchins, pieces of bone, and shark teeth are found. We also find chert rock. This is the material that the Indians used to make arrowheads and tools. This is one of the few places where kids are allowed in to fossil hunt. Be sure to stay with them since this is a working mine and there are steep cliffs and small sinkholes as well.

ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BE ESCORTED OUT OF THE MINE. DO NOT LEAVE ON YOUR OWN SINCE IT IS EASY TO BECOME LOST AND THEY DO NOT WANT FOLKS WANDERING AROUND THE MINE WHILE THEY ARE WORKING.

For more info, contact
Shelley Zimmerman at 407-891-1260.

Vulcan Mine Fossil Illustrations
Yankeetown Fossil Illustrations

Examples of Past Trips

Annual Peace River Camping & Fossil Hunting trip (May)
Tusks - Museum Field Trip
Asian Dinosaurs - Museum Field Trip
Ruck's Pit, Ft. Drum Field Trip
Cargill Field Trip
Vulcan Field Trip
Cargill Field Trip

We received this email from Alan at the Vulcan Mine in Brooksville. Be sure to check with Shelley to make sure a field trip has been arranged before going on any of the dates listed below.

Alan says:

There have been some changes at the mine in recent months that many of you are aware of. We laid off 20 employees in April and in May received a new manager. Our operating schedule has changed based on supply and demand to working production Monday thru Thursday. We have a few people at the site on Friday and no one here on the weekends. In discussing changes in how we operate, of course, there are changes with how we will be able to work with fossil clubs going forward. Due to cost restrictions we will have the quarry open one Saturday per month for fossil hunters. There will no longer be any Sunday trips. Since we are only running our production 4 days per week, we will be open to fossil hunters on Fridays thoughout each month.

Groups still need to contact Vulcan ahead of time to schedule their trips.

I am sorry it has come to this, but the current outlook is dismal for the rest of this year and into most of 2009 for the aggregate industry. I will do my best to keep you all in the loop as things change. Hopefully the economy will start moving again and we can be more flexible with our scheduling.

From today forward we will be available on the 2nd Saturday of each month. Again it needs to be scheduled in advance. If there are no scheduled trips on that particular Saturday, no one will be at the quarry to escort them in. The second Saturday of each month was chosen due to the overall number of people that come out on that weekend during previous years as well as the dates do not interfere with any holidays.

Currently these dates are available:
June 14th, 2008
July 12th, 2008
August 9th, 2008
September 13th, 2008
October 11th, 2008
November 8th, 2008
December 13th, 2008

I apologize for any inconvenience. We will do our best to continue to be available for the fossil hunting community.

Alan Pagels
Safety, Health and Environmental Coordinator
Vulcan Materials Company
Florida Rock Division

Click here to Check the
Status of the Peace River depth

Fossil Hunting Permit
If you wish to find vertebrate fossils on Florida State lands, including all navigable rivers, you will first need to obtain a very inexpensive permit!

click here for information on how
to apply for a permit

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