Pictured: The Peace River airboat tour is popular for locals and tourists. Photo courtesy of Peace River Charters.

This weekend, take a trip out of Sarasota and travel back into a different time to the historic Peace River. Not only is the Peace River home to some of the oldest fossils in the country, but the flora and fauna that populate the area also harken back to a different era - the dense foliage, wild cattle, and yes - an abundance of alligators.

While the Peace River can be explored and enjoyed in a variety of ways, the most exciting might just be with Peace River Charters, a custom charter outfit operating out of Arcadia, Florida - about an hour away from Sarasota. Peace River Charters offers a bevy of different tours throughout the Peace River - most notably their airboat, swamp buggy, and horseback tours.

“Our airboat tour is about an hour long and goes down the Peace River. You’ll see gators and whatever wildlife is out. Then we have our swamp buggies, which are kind of like a jacked up monster truck that plows through trails in the forest. That one is a half hour tour where you’ll see llama and wild cattle. We also have a horse trail that’s an hour long tour and meanders down by the river as well,” says Lisa Newman of Peace River Charters.

The airboat tours, however, remain the outfit’s biggest draw. “They go about 30-35 miles per hour - mostly over water but they also take a little section of the tour to go over the land. It’s a beautiful river and typically guests get to see quite a bit of alligators. Afterwards at the gift shop, they can hold the baby gators, feed the larger ones and experience our petting zoo as well,” adds Newman.

Peace River Charters, 4192 SW Adventure Way, Arcadia, FL 34266. Phone: 1-863-444-0693.

Pictured: The Peace River airboat tour is popular for locals and tourists. Photo courtesy of Peace River Charters.

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