Peninsula mushroom hunting

[Mech]

Hi all,
Hey I don’t know much about mushrooms but I would like to learn.
I own several acres in Clallam County.

We have a few hundred trees and some cleared areas.
We seem to get a lot of mushrooms on our southern sunny side by foliage but I haven’t seen any morels.

Most of our mushrooms are on the edge of our cleared areas.

Are there any good mushrooms here?
We are in a low elevation (0 to 500 feet) and I haven’t seen any morels here.

Could any of you by chance point me in the right direction that isn’t all that far away?
I’m cool with an hour or so drive.

Could any of you possibly point me to some books to study?

All the best.
Andy.

[JimmyHoffa]

I'm not sure the soil gets disturbed enough (fires and deep freeze/thaw cycles) for morels (generally) on the peninsula.  The only places I've heard of with morels (true morels) on the peninsula are some of the orchards and a few areas out by Diamond Point.  Might get some other good shrooms, but most of the people I know don't really start finding much until hitting the edge of the rainshadow.

[MADMAX]

Stick with chanterelles
Once you got it it's pretty much fool proof
When in doubt throw them out

[pianoman9701]

Mushrooms available in the rain forest right now are yellowfoot chanterelles, hedgehog, black trumpet, cauliflower, and some wood growers like bear's head, maybe still some oyster. Chanterelles are just about done and the ones left are gnarly and water-logged. The yellowfoot will always be damp because they grow mostly in moss. Use a salad spinner to shed some of the excess moisture. Commercial purveyors use a dedicated washing machine on the spin cycle.

Get two David Arora books: All That the Rain Promises and More (great field guide), and Mushrooms Demystified, by many considered to be the bible of fungi foraging in N. America.

[Platensek-po]

Mushrooms available in the rain forest right now are yellowfoot chanterelles, hedgehog, black trumpet, cauliflower, and some wood growers like bear's head, maybe still some oyster. Chanterelles are just about done and the ones left are gnarly and water-logged. The yellowfoot will always be damp because they grow mostly in moss. Use a salad spinner to shed some of the excess moisture. Commercial purveyors use a dedicated washing machine on the spin cycle.

Get two David Arora books: All That the Rain Promises and More (great field guide), and Mushrooms Demystified, by many considered to be the bible of fungi foraging in N. America.

I second the David arora books. Morels are a bust until you cross the cascades. We find lots of cauliflower and corals this time of year. Chanterelles are about done. Lots of great shroom foraging on the peninsula.