The San Juan Mountains are one of the best places in Colorado to hunt for wild mushrooms, and Norwood just happens to be on the edge of a mushroom mecca. From the San Miguel River canyon to tree line, mushroom foragers and fungi enthusiasts can find everything from choice edibles including the prized golden and blue Chanterelle, Porcini and Morel, to poisonous species that can cause severe illness or even death if ingested. Fortunately, the most sought after and prized wild mushroom varieties are incredibly easy to identify…finding them however, is the hardest (and most fun) challenge.
If you are new to mushroom hunting, the task can be daunting with forest floors littered with thousands of species of mushrooms. Try focusing on one or a few edible species, and get confident in your ability to identify them. Do not eat any mushrooms you cannot easily identify!
For the sake of knowing what’s what, we are going to focus on seven of the most easily identifiable choice mushroom varieties that grow nearly everywhere in the San Juan Mountains between Norwood, Telluride, Rico, Dunton and Dolores, many of which coexist in similar locations. Mushroom season typically kicks off around the end of July, a couple weeks after consistent summer monsoonal rains begin, and runs through the end of September. There are, however, a couple species that prefer to pop up in the spring or fall.
Mushroom Hunting “Rules of the Forest”
First and foremost, Mother Nature is providing you with a miraculous fruit, full of incredible health benefits. Remember the Golden Rule, and show her gratitude and respect by practicing good foraging etiquette. In return, she will provide you with hefty bounties of mushrooms for years to come.
- Always follow “Leave No Trace” principles when tromping around the forest.
- Avoid pulling entire mushrooms out of the ground. Doing so will damage the mycelium that creates the mushroom. Instead, cut mushrooms off at the stem with a knife, leaving the base behind.
- Use a weaved basket or netting to collect your mushrooms in. This allows the mushroom’s spores to fall back to the ground as you wander around, helping to spread spores and cultivate additional mushroom patches.
- If you stumble upon a “honey pot,” don’t be greedy. Harvest responsibly and never take the entire patch. Leave some mushrooms behind to help maintain a healthy patch and keep mushrooms growing back year after year.
- This one is less about Mother Nature, and more about common sense. Don’t trespass onto private property without gaining permission first. Your safest bet is to just stay on BLM/National Forest land.
Golden Chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius)
How to identify Chanterelle mushrooms
- Cap: Bright orange to yellow-orange, bald, convex to flat when young, concave and wavy when older.
- Under Cap: Gills (connecting in veins), well spaced, shallow, blunt and thick.
- Stalk: Colored like cap or slightly paler, solid.
- Flesh: White on the inside with a tinge of yellow-orange on the outside.
- Odor: Fruity, sometimes like an apricot
Where to find Chanterelle mushrooms
- Elevation: +/-10,000 – 10,500 ft.
- Habitat: Strictly pine subalpine forests, from the edge of the aspen to pine transition to a few hundred feet above.
Chanterelles can be found in similar locations as Porcini, Hawks Wings and Gem Studded Puffballs. Chanterelles do not like being crowded by too much vegetation and tend to prefer a fine balance of downed, decaying trees (not too many, and not too few). Chanterelle mushrooms are most often found in more open spaces (sometimes small fields) that receive some sunshine, but are still protected by the cover of pine. Chanterelles often grow in clusters and grow in patches next to, around, and between heavily rotting trees. Chanterelles love growing in disturbed ground (where cattle graze and along game trails), and also like to share their space with specific plant species including mosses and wild strawberries.
* Pro Tip: Keep an eye out for the elusive Blue Chanterelle! Blue Chanterelles tend to grow in the same habitat and locations as Golden Chanterelles.
Health benefits of Chanterelle mushrooms
Chanterelle mushrooms have incredible immune boosting, bone health and anti-inflammatory properties thanks to their hefty dose of vitamin D, copper, magnesium, B-complex vitamins and iron!
Porcini a.k.a King Bolete (Boletus edulis)
How to identify Porcini mushrooms
- Cap: Large to very large, bald, brown to yellow-brown, red-brown, dark red. Caps on the oldest Boletes can reach up to 1’ in diameter.
- Under Cap: Sponge layer (no gills), white when young, yellow to brown when aging.
- Stalk: Thick (larger than 1”), white, solid. In very young Porcini, the stalk can be as big as the cap, sometimes bigger.
- Flesh: White, not staining brown or blue when cut.
Where to find Porcini mushrooms
- Elevation: +10,000 ft.
- Habitat: Pine subalpine forests, from the edge of the aspen to pine transition to tree line.
Porcini can be found in similar locations as Chanterelles, Hawks Wings and Gem Studded Puffballs. Similar to Chanterelles, Porcini do not like being crowded by too much vegetation, and they love downed, decaying trees. Porcini are often found beneath pine trees, where there is very little vegetation, typically next to or near downed trees. If there is vegetation in the area, porcini will share their space with plant species including wild strawberries.
* Pro tip: Bugs love Porcini mushrooms. Gather when they’re young, the younger the better. Test the cap for firmness, any mushroom that is even slightly soft is usually too far gone to eat. Cut the mushroom from its stalk and inspect for bug holes. If it’s riddled with holes, slice the mushroom into pieces and scatter. For further inspection, slice the mushroom vertically down the middle to determine the state of things inside the mushroom. The parts of the mushroom that don’t have bug holes are salvageable.
Health benefits of Porcini mushrooms
Porcini mushrooms are excellent sources of protein and dietary fiber. They are high in potassium, calcium, and iron, as well as vitamin C, vitamin A, and B-complex vitamins. And wouldn’t you know it, they also contain certain antioxidants such as beta-carotene and lycopene.
Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus)
How to identify Oyster mushrooms
- Cap: Medium to large, bald, white to gray, dark gray, tan or brown.
- Under Cap: Gills, white or pale, running down the stalk.
- Stalk: Short, thick and off-center or entirely absent. Veil, ring and vulva absent
- Flesh: White or pale
Where to find Oyster mushrooms
- Elevation: +/-7,000-9,000 ft.
- Habitat: Dead hardwoods (occasionally pine), widespread and abundant, especially on dead cottonwoods, ash and oak.
We have a couple different species of oyster mushrooms in the region, with the most common being found growing on dead cottonwood trees and stumps at lower altitudes in valleys and along the San Miguel and Dolores rivers. We also have aspen oysters, which grow primarily on the wood of quaking aspens. All of the oysters in our area will be found growing in shelf-like clusters from dead or dying wood. Oyster mushrooms grow in groups (or shelves), their caps are off-set and fan or shell shaped and their gills run along the mushroom, down the off-center stem if present. Oyster mushrooms have a unique odor that smells slightly fishy. Because they grow at lower altitudes which are generally warmer than their high altitude counterparts, Oyster mushrooms will appear during the cooler weather. Keep an eye out for these mushrooms during the late summer and as Colorado’s fall color season begins.
Health benefits of Oyster mushrooms
Oyster mushrooms are known for their impressive health-promoting properties, and are loaded with fiber, vitamins such as niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, folate, vitamin B6, and thiamin. Minerals in oyster mushrooms include phosphorus, potassium, copper, iron, magnesium, zinc, manganese, and selenium. Oyster mushrooms have been used in traditional medicine for centuries.
Morel (Morchella esculenta)
How to identify Morel mushrooms
- Cap: Round to oval, cone-shaped, honeycombed with pits and ridges. Pits and ridges can be tan, buff or yellow-brown. The cap is completely intergrown with the stalk.
- Stalk: Joined completely to the cap, hollow.
- Flesh: Same color as the cap.
Where to find Morel mushrooms
- Elevation: +/-7,000-9,000 ft.
- Habitat: Dead hardwoods (occasionally pine), widespread and abundant, especially around dead cottonwoods, ash and oak. In recent burn scars and along rivers and streams.
Morel mushrooms are most often found in the San Juan Mountains alongside river banks and open, grassy fields where there are plenty of cottonwood trees, wood chips and decaying plant matter. Morel mushrooms are most prevalent in the spring, typically in April to June when the temperature is consistently above 60 degrees, but can be found higher up in burn scars during the late summer monsoon season.
Health benefits of Morel mushrooms
Interestingly enough, Morels carry the highest amount of vitamin-D among the edible mushrooms. They are high in copper, iron, manganese, phosphorus, zinc, and are an excellent source of the B-complex vitamins such as niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, and vitamin B-6.
Hawk Wing (Sarcodon imbricatum)
How to identify Hawk Wing mushrooms
- Cap: Medium to large, brown to dark brown with large brown to black scales (resembles a hawk’s wing)..
- Under Cap: Teeth or spines, brown or dark gray, brittle.
- Stalk: White to brown
- Flesh: Brittle, off-white to light tan, not woody or leathery.
Where to find Hawks Wing mushrooms
- Elevation: +10,000 ft.
- Habitat: Pine subalpine forests, from the edge of the aspen to pine transition to tree line.
Hawk Wing mushrooms can be found in similar subalpine terrain as Chanterelles, Porcini and Gem Studded Puffballs. Similar to Chanterelles and Porcini, Hawk Wing mushrooms prefer to not be crowded by too much vegetation and are often found scattered amongst pine trees in more open forests.
Shaggy Mane (Coprinus comatus)
Images courtesy of Nola Svoboda
How to identify Shaggy Mane mushrooms
- Cap: Tall and skinny, 2-10” high, cylindrical (bell-shaped) and shaggy when young, white with brownish scales at the center on a white background.
- Under Cap: Gills, long, dark brown to black, extremely crowded (like pages in a book). Older mushrooms self digest as they age, decaying from the bottom to top, leaving behind inky black fluid.
- Stalk: Long, white and hollow.
- Flesh: White to off-white
Where to find Shaggy Mane mushrooms
- Elevation: +/-8,000-11,000 ft.
- Habitat: Dirt and gravel roads, parking lots and paths.
Shaggy Mane mushrooms are typically found growing in groups (or troops) along dirt/gravel roads, parking lots and in other areas where the ground has been disturbed. They are the “soldiers” among mushrooms and are often seen “marching” along roadsides. Shaggy Mane mushrooms are very delicate and quick to perish. Only harvest those that have not begun to liquify and eat as soon as possible. Don’t pick Shaggy Manes growing along busy roads as they may be contaminated with pollutants from exhaust fumes and chemicals.
Gem Studded Puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum)
How to identify Puffballs mushrooms
- Body: 2-6 cm, round, no cap or stalk. Young Puffballs are white with small cone-like spines covering the top. Older Puffballs become off-white, tan and brown
- Flesh: White when young, yellow-olive brown when older.
Where to find Puffballs mushrooms
- Elevation: +/-8,000-11,000 ft.
- Habitat: Aspen and pine subalpine forests.
Puffball mushrooms generally grow in clusters in open areas with little vegetation amongst moss and on moist soil, and are often found scattered randomly in similar subalpine locations as Chanterelles, Porcini and Hawk Wings.
Learn more about mushrooms!
There are a number of resources available to help you identify and learn more about many of the mushroom species that grow in the San Juan Mountains, from books to Facebook groups and even a festival dedicated to mushrooms!
The Telluride Mushroom Festival, which takes place every August, is your one stop shop with forays, resources and speakers to help you learn all there is to know about mushrooms in the region.
For year round information and resources, the Colorado Mycological Society Facebook group is the place to hang. There you can see what mushrooms others around the state are finding, learn how to identify them, share your own mushroom stories and get help identifying any you’re unsure of.
As for reading, here are some recommended books for our area which you can find at Between The Covers book store in Telluride:
“All That the Rain Promises and More…”
“Mushrooms of the Rocky Mountain Region”
“Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America”
