Field Trips

Vulcan Field Trip

The next Vulcan Mine Field Trip is scheduled for February 11th.
Christophe Cardot, Trip Leader
Email: christopheart@yahoo.fr
Home phone: 386-426-5374
Phone number for the day of the field trip only,
cell ph: 386-689-4581.

This is one of the few places where kids are allowed in to fossil hunt. Be sure to stay with them since there are steep cliffs, sharp rocks, and small sinkholes.

You MUST be a member of the club for insurance purposes to participate in this field trip.

See letter from Vulcan Mine

Meet on the driveway loop near the entrance to the Mine by 8:30 am to sign releases before we are escorted into the mine around 9 am.  We get to drive our vehicles in so you can have your coolers, snacks, and equipment handy while you hunt. They usually allow us to dig until noon and sometimes people can stay till 2 pm.

All of the participants MUST be escorted into and out of the mine. Do not leave on your own since it is easy to become lost.

Directions: The trip will take approximately 2 hours from Orlando to Vulcan Mine. Be sure to allow for extra time to stop at a restroom before you get there. THERE ARE NO RESTROOM FACILITIES AT VULCAN, other than the boulders and the hills. 

From Orlando take Hwy. 50 west (or the 408 west to the FL Turnpike, take exit 272 and then continue west on Hwy. 50) to Brooksville. Follow 50A/98 North through Brooksville and turn right on Ponce De Leon Blvd. (Hwy 98 North).  Go approximately 10 miles. Vulcan/Cemex will be on your left. The address is 16313 Ponce De Leon Blvd, Brooksville, for those of you who want to download a map.

If you follow the truck route for Hwy. 50, you have to turn right onto 41, and then take the fork to the left to hook up with Ponce De Leon Blvd/98. There are several fast food places on 41 where you can take advantage of the bathroom facilities before getting to Vulcan. Be sure NOT to keep following 41 north. You want to take 98 north from Brooksville.

This is mostly surface collecting with occasionally a little digging to pry out a specimen. Bring a small trowel or screwdriver or rock hammer, and a bucket to put your fossils and rocks into. You may want to bring small containers and tissue for fragile fossils.

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

We find mostly echinoids and sometimes sea urchins, pieces of bone, or other fossils are found. We also find chert rocks. This is the material that the Indians used to make their arrowheads and tools.

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.

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