Forests › Washington

Mushroom foraging in Olympic National Forest

13 of our 17 species have habitat in Olympic National Forest (about 2,437 km² of public forest mapped). This week 10 of them are flushing somewhere in the forest. Updated every night from the weather forecast.

Where the habitat is

5 km squares: darker green means more of the square is habitat for at least one species. The map shows the zones at 250 m.

Species and seasons

Chanterelle

Cantharellus formosus, C. californicus

Flushing peak Thursday, Nov 5

1,706 km² of habitat · season here 10 Sep – 21 Oct

Second-growth Douglas-fir and western hemlock, Sitka spruce; coast live oak in California.

Hedgehog

Hydnum spp.

Flushing peak Wednesday, Nov 11

1,676 km² of habitat · season here 8 Oct – 18 Dec

Douglas-fir, hemlock and spruce; in California tanoak, live oak, madrone and Bishop pine. Late: into winter.

Lobster

Hypomyces lactifluorum on Russula

Out of season

1,618 km² of habitat · season here 5 Sep – 18 Oct

Orange mould on short-stemmed russulas under Douglas-fir, spruce, pine and hemlock; late summer to autumn.

Shrimp russula

Russula xerampelina group

Flushing peak Wednesday, Nov 11

1,616 km² of habitat · season here 13 Sep – 8 Oct

Conifer forest (Douglas-fir, spruce, pine, hemlock), mixed evergreen forest in California.

Yellowfoot

Craterellus tubaeformis

Flushing peak Wednesday, Nov 11

1,494 km² of habitat · season here 7 Oct – 14 Dec

Western hemlock above all, on rotten wood and moss in old wet forest; late autumn into winter.

Chicken of the woods (conifer)

Laetiporus conifericola

Out of season

1,416 km² of habitat · season here 19 Aug – 15 Sep

Big living or dead conifers: true fir, spruce, hemlock, also pines and redwood; mountains in California, down to the coast further north.

Bear's head

Hericium abietis, H. erinaceus, H. coralloides

Flushing peak Thursday, Nov 5

1,342 km² of habitat · season here 30 Sep – 30 Oct

Large dead wood: true fir and Douglas-fir logs in the mountains, oak and tanoak in California.

Fall king bolete

Boletus edulis group

Some flushing

1,240 km² of habitat · season here 4 Oct – 24 Oct

Sitka spruce and shore pine dunes, Bishop and Monterey pine, tanoak–madrone, true fir.

Cauliflower

Sparassis radicata

Flushing peak Friday, Nov 6

1,062 km² of habitat · season here 30 Sep – 26 Oct

At the base of Douglas-fir and pines, often on the same tree year after year; autumn, winter in California.

Oyster

Pleurotus ostreatus group

Flushing peak Wednesday, Nov 11

993 km² of habitat · season here 22 May – 1 Jul

Dead alder, cottonwood, maple, oak and tanoak; spring and autumn in Oregon and Washington, winter in California.

Candy cap

Lactarius rubidus, L. rufulus

Flushing peak Wednesday, Nov 11

789 km² of habitat · season here not enough records

Tanoak, live oak, Douglas-fir and Bishop pine in the coastal fog belt; winter in California, November further north.

Matsutake

Tricholoma murrillianum

Flushing peak Wednesday, Nov 11

342 km² of habitat · season here 16 Oct – 24 Nov

Lodgepole and shore pine, Shasta red fir, tanoak; sandy, acidic, well-drained soils.

Black trumpet

Craterellus calicornucopioides

Out of season

1 km² of habitat · season here not enough records

Tanoak above all, also madrone and live oak; moss and deep shade. California and southern Oregon, winter to spring.

"Flushing": at least a fifth of the species' habitat in the forest is rated good or better on one of the next 7 days. Season: the middle half of dated finds in this part of Washington (GBIF, 2000-2026). How accurate is this?

Picking rules

Picking allowed, no permit: No permit for incidental personal gathering; may not sell or trade. official page

Rules change: always check with the forest before you go. Wilderness areas, research natural areas and some monuments are closed to picking.

The full forage map

250 m habitat zones for 17 species, a 15-day flush outlook that follows the weather and the terrain, public-land picking rules, field mode with offline maps, picking alerts, and photo check-ins. It is in private beta: ask for an invite.

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Safety

Never eat a wild mushroom unless an expert has identified it in person. Several deadly species grow in these forests.