I collect rocks. Let’s face it, if you’ve ever met me, you probably already knew that. Did you also know how badly I wanted a Megalodon tooth? Scale of 1-10, probably an 8.5.

In March of 2024, I took things into my own hands and booked a shark tooth hunting adventure in Wauchula, FL. Never heard of it? There’s a reason. It’s a teeny, tiny town in the middle of Florida. There’s not a lot there. However, they do happen to be a town that Peace River runs through.

There’s a company called Paleo Discoveries that runs fossil hunting tours by canoe in Peace River. Tours are about 6 hours long, and you’re wading in the water the entire time, minus the canoe trip up the river and back.

There are a couple of things that I highly recommend bringing with you on this adventure that will make things go a lot more smoothly. Tight-fitting water shoes, a dry bag for your cell phone/keys, a few gallon-size ziploc bags, a waterproof backpack to keep everything in that you wear for the canoeing part of the adventure, and sunglasses you don’t care about. Every one of these things has a purpose. The tour company provides all of the tools you need.

Water shoes – You’re wading through a river. You’ve GOT to protect your feet from all of the shark teeth, rocks, etc. at the bottom of that river, or you’re going to have a bad time.

Dry bag – Do you really want your cell phone or keyfob to drown in the river? No? Didn’t think so.

Gallon-size bags – These are for putting all of your treasures that you collect in as you go.

Backpack – You’ll need something to carry all of this in, something that will also survive getting wet since you are, after all, in waist-deep water the whole time.

Sunglasses – We tipped over. RIP rainbow heart sunglasses. I still miss those sunglasses. Make sure whatever pair you take is a pair you can stand to lose, and maybe even tuck a second pair in your backpack just in case.

Booking is really easy, you just email the owner (Fred), call him, or fill out the form on their website. You pay when you arrive by either cash or venmo. Once everyone is at the meeting location, you caravan to the canoe launch point. Everyone selects their tools from the ones provided, listens to the instructions and safety briefing, and off you all go up the river.

Canoeing up the river is the hardest part of the whole tour. If you’re not careful, the current will push you to the side, you’ll hit rock and tip over. That’s what happened to us. After we got back in our canoe, the tour guide climbed in with us and made sure we got where we needed to be. I got to be a passenger princess the rest of the way up and back, which was glorious.

Along the river banks, you’ll see a few tiny alligators, and lots of fish. The alligators could not care less about you and just hang out on the sides of the river in the sun. They’re used to these tour groups, and the guide even has names for them.

The way it works is that you dig up shovels full of gravel from the bottom of the river and sift it through these floating screens that are attached to you so that they don’t float away. Then you see what all fun things you got, keep the items you want, and dump the rest back into the water. Rinse and repeat. The guide is happy to look at anything you collect to let you know what it is, and what kind of animal it’s from.

I got LOTS of fossilized shark teeth, some fossilized dugong bones, a few other little animal fossils, a couple of cool rocks, and a piece of wood shaped like a penis (not pictured in the gallery).

I didn’t walk away with the palm-sized megalodon tooth that I was hoping for, but it was still an awesome adventure. If you have a couple of days to head to Florida, give Fred over at Paleo Discoveries a shout.

Know before you go:
$125 for adults; $90 for kids 12 & under
All minors must be accompanied by an adult.
Official website: fossilhuntingtours.com

Bonus tip:
Check out Nicholas’ Family Restaurant for a post-adventure meal.