One of the four rivers rising from the Green Swamp northeast of Tampa, the Peace River flows for 106 miles to Charlotte Harbor. Officially, its headwaters is Lake Hancock.
Not considered navigable north of Bartow, it at times also dries up from Zolfo Springs through Arcadia, when fossil hunters come out to comb the bottom for finds.
Before phosphate mining took over the phosphate-rich Bone Valley, river levels stayed relatively steady thanks to many springs feeding its length.
Huge open pit mines affected (and still affect) the region’s hydrology, drying out natural wetlands and causing some springs to stop flowing.
Below Bartow, the river has a large floodplain. It asserted itself during Hurricane Ian, swamping downtown Arcadia and many smaller communities within a mile of its banks.
The 67-mile state-designated Peace River Trail has launches, rest stops, and campsites along its multi-day route paddling route on both public and private lands.
It starts at Fort Meade Recreation Area and ends at SR 70 in Arcadia. South of that point, the river widens significantly and has powerboat traffic.