Here come the fun-gi: Rain, cooler temps gas begin of Pacific County’s fall mushroom season

Here come the fun-gi: Rain, cooler temps gas begin of Pacific County’s fall mushroom season

Published 9:31 am Sunday, October 12, 2025

PACIFIC COUNTY — As the leaves and the rain start to fall, hope rises for fall fungi foragers.

The first measurable fall rains of the autumn season have lately began to fall, spurring the beginning of a well-liked fall custom rooted within the dank coastal forests, fields and meadows.

“The season is really starting to kick off,” stated out of doors educator Junie B Fungal, an authorized foraging and wild plant knowledgeable, when requested concerning the standing of the autumn mushroom season this yr alongside the Long Beach Peninsula.

Fungal, 38, has been a forager for seven years whereas additionally instructing out of doors lessons for the final 4 years because the creator of Washington-based Backpack Biology, established to assist individuals reconnect with nature and study new expertise, resembling mushroom foraging.

“There have been mushrooms out there growing at higher elevations and areas where it’s particularly moist,” Fungal stated.

“I was out in that area (Long Beach Peninsula) about two weeks ago and only saw a couple of chanterelles and no porcini yet.  So, I think at this point with the cooler temps, it’s just getting started. I’ve seen lots of chanterelles, some bear’s head. Porcinis seem to just be starting. It’s also been a productive year for Bondarzewia Occidentalis, which is a rare fungi for the PNW.  It’s usually a mountainous variety, but just seeing a lot of posts about it and found a couple myself.”

Facebook teams such because the Pacific Northwest Mushroom Forum (180,000 members) and Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest (50,000 members) are common social media teams created to assist individuals establish and find out about wild fungi within the Pacific Northwest.

Prized ‘choice’ culinary mushrooms might start to rise domestically any day now, if some haven’t already.

“Matsutake have appeared in northern Idaho a few weeks ago and I’ve seen just one or two posts about there in our area, so I know that season is about to start in the next two weeks or so I bet,” Fungal stated.