The Best Ways To Start Mushroom Hunting in Portland

October is peak wild mushroom season. The early rain is exactly what the mushrooms need to grow.

And Norther Emily of Wild Solitude Guiding recently offered some tips if you’re looking to get started mushroom foraging:

Mushrooms for Beginners

In local Douglas fir forests around the area you can find edible mushrooms that are relatively easy to identify. When in doubt, don’t eat anything you aren’t sure about. (There are poisonous mushrooms out there.)

Emily picked three to start with:

• Chanterelles. They’re plentiful and fairly easy to identify: "Chanterelles are a pretty distinctive mushroom, and most people have had them before,” says Emily. And the mushrooms that look similar won’t kill you if you make a mistake.
• Lobster mushrooms. Their unique color and size make them an easy pick. “Lobsters are great because they're really smelly; they're very distinctive,” says Emily. “It doesn't have a lookalike.”
• Hedgehog mushrooms. Again they’re pretty easy to identify — this time by their shape. “ They're not the most common mushroom, but they're very distinctive,” says Emily.

More on some mushrooms that may be good for beginners to forage for. [City Cast Portland ✏️]

Go Out in the Woods With an Expert

If you want to learn more, check out one of the many events this time of year, including at state parks and with private guides. “ It's so much easier when you have somebody to kind of walk you through the process,” says Emily.

Some Guided Excursions

• Wild Mushroom Hike | Friday | Fort Stevens State Park (Hammond, Ore.)
• Season Forest Foraging (not just mushrooms) | Saturday | With Norther Emily of Wild Solitude Guiding
• Fungal Friends: Lichens & Mushrooms Hike | Saturday | L.L. Stub Stewart State Park (Buxton, Ore.)
• Fall Mushroom Foray | Sunday | With Rachel Zoller of Yellow Elanor | Trout Lake, Wash.
• Columbia Gorge Mushroom Forage | Sunday | With WildCraft

Other Events to Learn More

• Mushroom Mania 2025 | Saturday | Tryon Creek
• Oregon Mycological Society’s Fall Mushroom Show | Oct. 26 | World Forestry Center (Washington Park)

Other Resources

• Pacific Northwest Mushroom Identification Forum Facebook group