72 Microseasons of the Pacific Northwest

61/72: Nov 2 to 6

Mushroom season reaches its zenith. Maximum diversity, the fungal feast.

Cascades Interior Valleys Olympics & Rainforest Puget Sound / Salish Sea

Annual Cycle

風物詩 · Fūbutsushi

The Pacific Northwest forest floor in early November — golden chanterelles, hedgehog mushrooms, and scattered king boletes all fruiting in the same stand of Douglas-fir, the year's richest moment.

物の哀れ · Mono no Aware

By December the season will wind down and the forest floor will be quiet again. This week of simultaneous chanterelles, hedgehogs, and king boletes comes once a year and not for long.

What the season brings?

October-November represents the absolute peak for mushroom diversity and abundance in Pacific Northwest forests. Look for chanterelles (golden trumpets returning to the same spots annually), matsutake still fruiting in its October peak window, hedgehog mushrooms beginning their season, cauliflower mushrooms (rare finds at Douglas fir bases), king boletes, and the toxic-but-beautiful amanitas now dotting the forest floor with their red-and-white fairy tale caps.

Foods to Mark the Season

Chanterelles continue and may peak in a wet November—Oregon's Coast Range and western Cascades are still producing through the first weeks of November. Olympia oysters (*Ostrea lurida*)—the only oyster native to the Pacific coast—are at their cleanest and most flavorful in cold fall water; Puget Sound's Totten and Eld Inlets are key producers. Chum salmon runs continue in Washington rivers, and Oregon commercial Dungeness crab season opens December 1.

Edible Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest - Salish Mushrooms