For fossil collectors who aren’t necessarily paddlers, Brownville Park is where to head when the Peace River starts evaporating.
In the river floodplain and partly atop sandy bluffs, it’s a family-friendly place to wade into the river’s clear waters.
Campsites at Brownville ParkA splendid canopy of ancient live oaks shades the park’s central feature, a small campground near the river.
The park also provides paddlers with a place to camp on multi-day trips, and a launch for boaters when waters are higher.
In addition to river views, some surprising geologic features are along the park’s easy nature trail loop.
Nubbly limestone bedrock along creekResources
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Overview
Location: Brownville
Length: 0.5 mile
Trailhead: 27.297669, -81.846395
Address: 1885 NE Brownville St, Arcadia
Fees: $2 per car
Restroom: Adjoining the campground
Land Manager: DeSoto County
Phone: 863-491-5333
Open sunrise to sunset. Leashed dogs welcome except where posted. Mosquitoes can be persistent certain times of year.
The 22 campsites are a mix of car camping and trailer sites with a dump station provided and an older bathhouse. Call ahead to reserve. There is also a walk-in group campsite.
Overnight parking for non-campers (multi-day paddlers) costs $10. A $25 annual pass is available. A camp host is on site.
Directions
From the junction of US 17 and SR 70 in Arcadia, follow US 17 north 6.2 miles to Brownville. Turn left on Brownville Rd and follow it 1.1 miles to the park entrance on the left immediately before the bridge over the river. Pay the entrance fee at the kiosk and continue down a narrow unpaved road into the floodplain. The first parking area provides access to a worn path to the fossil-hunting area. Continue through the campground to a parking area closer to the boat launch, past the restrooms. Mind the no parking signs in several spots.
Hike
Starting beneath the live oak canopy, walk to the picnic table on the river bluff for a view of the Peace River.
Before phosphate mining ate up vast tracts of landscape between Bartow and here, river levels stayed relatively steady thanks to many springs feeding its length.
Picnic table with the best viewRadical changes to surface hydrology by extensive mining since the 1950s dried up springs and wiped out natural depression marshes feeding the floodplain.
Now heavily rainfall-dependent, the flow of the Peace River varies tremendously over the course of the year.
Reinforcement at the launch shows how high the river normally rises. It overwhelmed the surrounding area for miles higher during Hurricane Ian.It’s most obvious in this corridor between Wauchula and Arcadia, which is why fossil hunters gravitate to this area.
The overall basin is nicknamed Bone Valley. The phosphorous content of ancient fossils attracted the mining companies, who extract phosphate for fertilizer.
Picnic area with kioskCrossing the boat launch entrance, walk over to the picnic area and kiosk for descriptions and photos of birds commonly seen here and information about the Peace River watershed.
Return past the downriver picnic table and aim for the Nature Trail sign adjoining a line of wooden posts.
Nature Trail accessA two-track leads into a sparse bluff forest dominated by oaks and hickory on sandy soil. Views of the river are obscured by saw palmetto.
Descend gradually, curving around a floodplain opposite from the bluffs. The path reaches a T intersection with a worn slope leading to river level.
Slope to river levelAs long as you can see a beach to walk on, descend to the grayish area where fossilized shark’s teeth may be found.
Turn left to see the first notable geologic feature, a clear waterway flowing into the Peace River.
A waterway etched in layers of limestoneIt has carved a well-worn channel in the limestone with a series of deep ledges, and drops past them in a small cascade.
Is it spring-fed? The water clarity and surface karst (limestone bedrock) says yes. The source of this stream is on private property.
Looking upriverAfter a peek upriver to see the bluffs, ascend back to the trail and follow the broad grassy expanse under the trees.
There are many social trails; a worn side path is worth walking for an overview of the creek above its cascade.
Creek outflow from aboveGrassy and dappled with shade, the trail parallels the waterway upstream, the floodplain swamp opposite.
Drawing close to the creek at a quarter mile, descend a side trail to a limestone ledge above it.
Limestone ledgeThe rocky surface is typical of karst, another indicator of a probable spring. The rocky bottom of the stream reveals a lower level of flow.
A small cascade appears to be a man-made dam of rocks, but the stream curves and drops through more water-carved limestone ledges at the base of a bluff.
Water flows above and below holes in the rocky bottom of the streamReturn to the main path and continue. The path splits, the branch to the left leading to the group campsite, a collection of picnic tables under the oaks.
Take the branch to the right, still following the creek upstream. Vegetation blocks off most views of it, but gaps reveal glimpses of just how rocky it is.
Group campsitePathway and waterway part ways, the two-track approaching a line of wooden posts. Meet the park road at 0.4 mile. Turn left and follow it into the live oak canopy.
Passing a side trail to the group camp, continue along the edge of of the parking area to the picnic table along the Peace River to complete this half mile circuit.
Returning to the riverfrontTrail Map
Explore More!
Learn more about the Peace River
Peace River Rising from marshes in the Green Swamp basin in Lakeland, the Peace River winds through fossil-rich Bone Valley west of the Lake Wales Ridge, reaching the Gulf of Mexico at Charlotte Harbor.Video
A walk through the nature trail at Brownville Park
Slideshow
See our photos from this park
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