Foraging Guide

Greetings! I've put together a guide in hopes of helping my local community forage mushrooms. If you'd still like help, I offer private foraging lessons throughout the year. I can take you out for a specific type of mushroom or I can help you make a local park "yours" so you can hit it regularly at your leisure.

You will want to make a walking stick your new best friend. They add a third point of contact to prevent slips and falls when you're hiking in mud. They're great for pushing ferns and brush out of the way to reveal mushrooms on the ground. They are also an incredible tool for foraging mushrooms off the sides of trees that may be out of reach.

It's also worth considering a basket or mesh bag to collect your fruits. A specialized mushroom knife is an invaluable tool. You can cut off the base of your mushrooms before adding them to your bag or basket. It helps prevent dirt from getting on the rest of your mushrooms.

You may also want to assemble a backpack with forest supplies and have another bag for urban foraging. There's no need to carry a lot of the hiking tools you'd need alone out in the mountains when foraging in a local park.

The worst thing you an do in Oregon is trespass. There are enhancements for harvesting fruits while trespassing. These crimes are taken very seriously in Oregon and it is not something you want in your life. Some people also harvest the mushrooms that grow on their property for a living, so while a few might seem like no big deal to you, it is the seasonal bread and butter that gets some people through the year.

You want to research every park you go to. There is an incredible guide available here on OregonDiscovery.

For the most part, you can stick to any park with "State Park" in the name, and harvest 5 gallons of mushrooms per vehicle per day, unless otherwise posted.

You want to assess your risk when foraging and mitigate factors that may have negative consequences for you.You will want to perform an allergy test on each new individual species of mushrooms you introduce to your diet.You chew up a tiny piece for a few seconds and spit it out. If you have no adverse reaction, you should be good to go.

Some mushrooms may be delicious and desirable to others but cause you severe gastric upset. Many people love mica cap mushrooms but they personally make me very sick.

While some people might find it worth it to travel icy mountain roads for 4 ounces of less-than-desirable mushrooms, this might be something you personally want to keep off your radar.

Never be afraid to err on the side of caution when it comes to mushrooms and foraging. Trust your gut. When in doubt, throw it out.

Find what makes you awesome. Each and every person who goes foraging has their own superpower. You may have incredibly long arms that can reach mushrooms other people can't. Perhaps you're short and you have a different vantage point along trails than a person of average height. Or, maybe you're a runner or cyclist and you can cover more ground than others which increases your likelihood of finding mushrooms.

Take what is special about you and turn it into a weapon you can use to find and harvest more mushrooms than the average person.

You can also prioritize certain mushrooms throughout the year. Oysters and Turkey Tail grow nearly every time it rains here in Oregon. It may be worth your time to go after more rare mushrooms in the Fall season and save the common stuff for other times of the year.

You can out-walk 90% of other pickers by hiking or cycling deeper into a park. Most people leave their cars and only travel a mile or two closest to the parking lot. Diving deep into the heart of the park and picking your way out will result in more mushrooms. After all, more mushrooms grow where most people typically don't go.

You can use OregonHikers, AllTrails, iNaturalist, Google Reviews, Google Photos, weather trends, and even street names to pinpoint the mushrooms you wish to find. Alder Brook Road, for example, would be great if you're chasing moisture and going for alder oysters.

You will want to lean heavily into parks that are neglected by Parks Service and landscapers. The more dead wood that exists in the park, the more mushrooms you'll find. Heavily manicured parks that have every fallen twig removed will have fewer mushrooms.

Certain mushrooms grow during certain (and short) times of the year. You want to make the most of the brief amount of time you have to find your mushroom of choice. There will be periods where you find nothing and there will be periods where you find so many you don't know what to do with them.

Your best friend when finding abundance like this is a food dehydrator. There are some Open Country dehydrators floating around on Ebay and Craigslist for very cheap. Our last model lasted us 12 years of regular use and cost us $5 at a yard sale.

Once mushrooms are dried to a crisp they are shelf stable for years. I have stored porcini for at least 5 years and Chicken of the Woods for at least 3.

You put your dried mushrooms with water and oil in a cool pan with seasoning and boil. This forces the hot seasoned water into your mushrooms and they are effectively "fresh" mushrooms again. The oil that remains prevents them from burning. Then add them to any dish as you see fit.

You even want to boil/fry any fresh mushroom you intend to eat. Eating raw mushrooms is not advisable. Boiling will kill any bacteria, larvae or eggs that might remain and help you from getting sick. If the concern about bugs is a big deal to you, remember, processed food like cereal has human hair, cockroach legs, fly eggs, and a whole host of other disgusting things in it, so how bad can wild mushrooms really be?

In short, I think it is best if most foragers strive to be good humans in all things they do. Be a considerate hiker, maybe pick up some garbage since nobody else is going to, be respectful of the natural world around you and strive to be a good steward to our public lands.