Where to find morels — and when the season starts
Morels are the most hunted mushroom in North America and the most frustrating: a few spring weeks, a different spot every year, and hunters who will tell you anything except where they go. There is no secret, though — just soil temperature, the right dying trees, and a habit of writing down where you found them.
When is morel season?
Morels come up when the ground warms in spring. The usual rule of thumb is soil around 50 °F (10 °C) a few inches down, after the first warm rains and a run of mild nights. Old-timers use the woods themselves as a thermometer: lilacs in bloom, mayapples unfolding, oak leaves the size of a squirrel's ear.
Because it follows warmth, the season rolls north and uphill through spring:
| Region | Typical season |
|---|---|
| Gulf states and the Deep South | Late February to March |
| Mid-South, lower Midwest, mid-Atlantic | Late March to April |
| Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, Northeast | Late April to May |
| Northern states and southern Canada | May to early June |
| Western mountains | May to July, following the snowmelt uphill |
| Western burns | The spring and summer after a wildfire |
A given patch fruits for only two or three weeks. Early in the season look on warm, south-facing slopes; as it goes on, move to north-facing slopes and shaded creek bottoms.
What trees do morels grow under?
- Dying and dead elms — the classic. Look for elms with bark just starting to slip off; a dead elm can produce for a few springs, then stops once the bark is gone.
- Ash — especially stands thinned by the emerald ash borer, which has left a lot of dying ash across the East and Midwest.
- Old apple orchards — abandoned ones, at the edges and under the oldest trees.
- Cottonwood, sycamore and tulip poplar — on river bottoms and floodplains, in well-drained sandy soil.
- Conifers in the West — Douglas fir, pines and true firs, above all where they have burned.
Disturbed ground matters as much as the tree: old logging roads, the edges of clearings, ground that flooded the year before.
Burn morels
In the West, the biggest flushes come the spring and summer after a forest fire, in burned conifer stands. They are a one- or two-season event: the year after the burn is the big one, then they fade.
Many national forests ask for a personal-use permit to pick in burn areas — often free, sometimes with limits — so check with the ranger district before you go. And burns are hazardous: watch for falling dead trees, especially in wind.
How to search a slope
- Slow down. Morels hide in last year's leaves, and the eye needs a minute to "switch on". Crouch and look along the ground rather than down onto it.
- When you find one, stop. They rarely grow alone. Search the circle around it before you move on.
- Work the edges — the line where woods meet a field, a road or a creek is more productive than the middle of the forest.
- Learn the real thing first. False morels exist and some are poisonous. If you are new, have your first finds checked by someone experienced or a local mushroom club before eating them.
Do morels come back to the same spot?
Less reliably than most mushrooms. A chanterelle patch can produce for decades because it lives on a healthy tree; morels follow change — a dying elm, a fresh burn, disturbed ground — and move on when the change is over. More on why in why mushrooms grow in the same place every year.
That is exactly why the best hunters keep records. An orchard or a stand of dying elms can give morels for several springs in a row; a burn usually gives one great year. Write down where and when, and you will know which spots to check first and which to drop.
What morel maps can and cannot tell you
Public morel maps collect sightings and show the season moving north week by week. That is genuinely useful for timing: when reports reach your county, it is time to go. They are useless for spots — nobody posts a real one, and a pin from someone else's afternoon will not tell you which elm to check. The map that pays off is your own: every patch you found, with the date.
Getting back to the car
Spring woods before the leaves are fully out all look the same, and morel hunting means walking slowly, off-trail, with your eyes on the ground. It is the classic way to lose your bearings. Mark the car before you leave the road — see how to mark your entry point — and you can wander as far as the morels lead.
Common questions
When is morel season? When the soil warms to about 50 °F in spring: late February in the Deep South, April to May in the Midwest and Northeast, May to early June in the northern states and southern Canada, later in the mountains.
What trees do morels grow under? Dying and dead elms, ash, old apple trees, and cottonwood, sycamore and tulip poplar on river bottoms. In the West, conifers — especially after a fire.
Do morels grow in the same place every year? Sometimes, for a few years — around dying elms or in old orchards. Burn morels are usually a one-season event. Keep a record and check your old spots first.
How long does morel season last? A few weeks in any one place, two to three weeks per patch. The season as a whole moves north and uphill from late winter to early summer.