Your guide to morel mushroom hunting in Michigan

We’re making morel mushroom hunting easy with advice on where and when to go, plus what supplies to bring along.

Michiganders celebrate the arrival of spring in myriad ways, from attending a Detroit Tigers baseball game to touring a winery or picking up fresh produce at a farmers market. One other splendid way to spend a spring day is by hunting for morel mushrooms. Morel mushroom hunting is a fun way to enjoy the outdoors and explore parts of Michigan you may not otherwise visit. Plus, you get to eat what you collect!

Several morel mushroom species can be found in Michigan, including the white morel, black morel, half-free morel, and burn-site morel. The white morel, also referred to as the common morel, is the easiest to identify. The mushroom is usually white or gray and has a hollow cap. Like all morel mushrooms, the white morel’s cap has a distinct honeycomb-like design.  

If you’ve never been foraging before, don’t worry. Morels are among the easiest mushrooms to identify. However, there are also two types of false morels, or non-edible look-alikes, to be on the lookout for: the Verpa and Gyromitra species.  To help you find as many morels as possible—and avoid the poisonous look-alikes—we’re sharing our top foraging tips below. Keep reading to learn more about morel mushroom hunting in Michigan. 

Various morel mushrooms displayed o a log. (Michael McKay/Unsplash)

When to go

Spring is the best season for morel mushroom hunting. May is Morel Month in Michigan, but the fruiting period begins in late April and runs through mid-June. Morels, like many other fungi, prefer warm soil. Daytime temperatures should be in the 60s, and nighttime temperatures shouldn’t drop below the mid-40s. 

You can hunt for morels at any time of day, but many hunters find early morning or evening to be ideal because the lighting makes it easier to spot the mushrooms. Some also suggest going the day after it rains. 

This year, the National Morel Mushroom Festival will take place May 15-18 in Boyne City. The festival features morel tastings and a cooking competition, a competitive morel hunt, a morel hunting seminar, a paint and sip session, an arts and crafts show, a concert, a carnival, and more. If you’re curious about morel mushrooms but aren’t sure you want to go out hunting for them yet, check out the festival first. 

What you’ll need

Rather than wandering aimlessly and hoping you’ll stumble upon some morels, rely on a map to point you in the right direction. (The Michigan Department of Natural Resources built a map that highlights large burn sites in forested areas, which are ideal for morel mushroom hunting.) 

Similar to when you’re gardening or picking berries, there are some tools that can make morel hunting easier. At the very least, you should bring a foraging basket and a harvesting knife. You may also want to bring along a guide book that identifies edible and poisonous mushrooms to ensure you don’t collect anything that could harm you, as well as a notebook to record where you found your mushrooms and any other important details about your hunt you want to remember. 

On top of all that, packing standard supplies for exploring the outdoors, such as a compass or GPS unit, bug spray, water, comfortable footwear, and snacks, is a smart move.  

Where to head

According to the Department of Natural Resources, some of the best morel mushroom picking can be done in southern Michigan. However, northern Michigan is also known as an excellent spot for morel mushroom hunting. Mesick, located northwest of Cadillac, is the Mushroom Capital of the U.S. and a popular destination for morel foragers. (Mesick also hosts the annual Mesick Mushroom Festival.)

Grass and other ground covers typically don’t yield morels, but some hunters have found the mushrooms growing in fields, along the edge of a paved road, and in landscaping mulch. Morel mushrooms often grow near the base of dead or dying trees, especially oak, aspen, ash, and elm trees. 

Part of the fun of morel mushrooms is how unpredictable they are. Just because they grew in a location last year doesn’t mean you’ll find them there again this year. We recommend using the DNR’s MI-Morels map, which we touched on briefly above, to determine the best areas to hunt for morels. 

Other tips

Once you’ve decided on a location for your hunt, walk slowly and scan the ground carefully. You may find it helpful to crouch down low to get closer to ground level. Morels aren’t always easy to spot, especially if you’ve never looked for them before, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t find any right away. 

To properly harvest a morel, pinch or cut the stem at ground level. Leaving the base of the mushroom in the soil encourages future growth. Avoid placing morels in a plastic bag—this can cause them to degrade. Instead, store them in a mesh bag or a paper bag if you don’t have access to a mesh one. 

Finally, don’t forget that in Michigan, morels picked on public land are for personal use only and not to be sold commercially. 

How to enjoy morel mushrooms

After a long day of morel mushroom hunting, it’s time to enjoy your harvest. There are plenty of ways to prepare morel mushrooms—they can be sautéed, fried, baked, or grilled—just make sure to fully cook them because raw or undercooked morels can be mildly toxic. 

Thanks to their earthy flavor, morels make a tasty addition to a slew of savory dishes, including stews, soups, and sauces. You can also add them to risotto, pasta, or an omelet, or use them as a pizza topping. Stuffed morels make the mushroom the star of the dish—stuff them with cheese, meat, or another filling of your choice. They’re also delicious sautéed with butter and herbs. If you’re feeling really adventurous, treat your tastebuds to some morel mushroom ice cream.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.