Morel Mushrooms – Hunting Morels in Minnesota, Michigan, & Wisconsin

Hunting For The Morel Mushroom

It’s been a long winter, the ice is off, the Bluegills are not in the shallows yet, and the hunting seasons are closed, so what’s next. Well it’s time to start looking for the best tasting mushroom in nature, the Morel.

In Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin I have found Morel Mushrooms as early as April 17th. These are the early grays, which grow up to 2 inches and are better eating then the larger Morels. To find these tasty things look on the Southeast side of hills where is there is plenty of dead wood, preferably Elm.

Season & Stages Of The Morel

The Morel Mushroom has four stages to its season, each lasting approximately a week, but will overlap. So you can count on four to five weeks of finding Morels.

Stage one is the early gray, which are the smallest of the Morels and hard to see. I look for dead trees that have recently dropped their bark. You will also find them growing in moss, as this ground warms up much faster in these areas.

Stage two is the small yellow, which between the early grays and these there is no better tasting mushroom. These are found in the same areas as the early grays so you do not need to change where you search.

Stage three is the large gray. Now I start to add to expand my search, including roadside ditches, Oaks, Maples,  sumac that is growing among the buck thorn and thicket, and of course keeping to the dead elm.

The last of these stages is the large yellow that will grow 8 inches or more. Even though these are not as tasty as the smaller Morels they are good. Try taking a few and placing them between two slices of buttered bread, Wow!

Morel Mushroom Tips

So look though our articles and see tips on how to Find, Cook, Propagate, and Preserve the Morel Mushroom.