Morel mushrooms in the forest; photo courtesy of Wikimedia

With a mild winter and early spring, the season to start hunting for morel mushrooms could be here sooner than normal. According to Washington County Conservation Director Steve Anderson, all it takes for morels to grow is warm ground and the proper moisture conditions, though that typically doesn’t happen until late April or early May. However, Anderson says he has found mushrooms in late March in the past, and if there were to ever be an early morel season, this year has the makings of it.

When the mushrooms will start showing themselves is as difficult to predict as the weather is, according to Anderson. When they do, he says any one of Washington County Conservation’s wooded properties are ideal locations to find morels, “I would encourage people to just get one of our county conservation maps, go on our website, or whatever you want. Every one of our forested areas produce morel mushrooms. Some of the perennial favorites include our Sockum Ridge area, (or) Ferncliff for sure. But even the less commonly-sought areas all have them.” Anderson has been disappointed with the morel harvest in the last couple years, but is hopeful this will be a banner year for Washington County foragers.