Photo of a fallen tree laying in field of small green ferns. Part of the tree's trunk is burned away, leaving a depression that is filled with rainwater that shows a reflection of another tree.

Foray frenzy: Maximizing the time left in mushroom season

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You know the saying “When it rains, it pours” is intended to convey that when one bad thing happens, it will be followed quickly by other calamities. But, if you love rain, that phrase becomes a positive. For example, when it rains, mushrooms emerge, which in my world is a joyous event. 

Photo of ink cap, growing out of dirt, surrounded by tall green grass.
Ink cap beside the Meadow Trail on Mount Lemmon, Sept. 20, 2025

Proof in point, we had a brief but much appreciated dose of rain to close out our unusually dry Monsoon 2025. It was just enough to bring out the mushrooms, giving me more opportunities to wander the woods looking for my fungi friends. 

And that is exactly what I’ve been doing.

My first trip was back to Mount Bigelow with my husband, John, on Saturday, Oct. 20, to check on the growth of some oysters I had seen earlier in the week. We didn’t have a lot of time because we had to be back down the mountain in time for a family dinner, and we weren’t seeing much from the car so we hopped over to Mount Lemmon to explore around the Meadow Trail. We found ink caps, red-belted conks, oysterlings, suillus, and brown cup mushrooms.  It was a good start, but I knew there was more to see and wanted to come back.

So we did.

The next day, it was back to the Meadow Trail to spend a more leisurely day of foraging. We found more of the same, obviously, but also some wood ears, plum and custards and russulas.

Photo of meadow full of grass, lined on both sides by green trees under a blue sky with white clouds.
Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve. Sept. 27, 2025

The following Saturday we went with a good friend to The Nature Conservancy’s Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve and it did not disappoint. The preserve, which is popular with birders, is a pleasant setting for an easy shaded walk and opportunities to see wildlife, flowing water and, of course, mushrooms.

We started on the Creek Trail and returned on the Railroad Trail (PDF: tail map) and barely got mud on our boots before we found oysters high on a dead cottonwood and some elf cups on the ground below. We continued on and found ink caps, oysterlings, zylaria and unidentified boletes. Along the way, we also saw a deer and a flock of about two dozen wild turkeys.

If you are based in southeastern Arizona, I recommend the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve if you want an enjoyable day trip and an easy walk with plenty to see. A couple rules that are important to consider: the preserve does not allow dogs, and collecting of any kind is prohibited. The preserve is next to another fun stop, the Paton Center for Hummingbirds. The two attractions are connected by a trail, so you can park once and enjoy both. Whether or not you are a birder, I think you’ll enjoy the Paton Center. There are shaded benches surrounded by bird feeders to attract whatever hummingbirds happen to be passing through the region. They provide binoculars to help you get a great view of these amazing and beautiful creatures. While everyone else was looking at hummingbirds, I found some boletes for a happy bonus to my visit.

Sunday found me and John back on Mount Bigelow. This time, we had time to explore and we were not disappointed. We found oysters, false chanterelles, puffballs, cat’s tongue, plums and custard, and rosy conks along with the usual assortment of LBMs (little brown mushrooms).

After so much late-season rain and mushrooms, exploring the Santa Catalinas and the foothills of the Santa Ritas was good, but definitely not enough. So, Monday I took my first-ever trip out to the Galiuro Mountains. But this blog is long enough, so that story will have to wait until another time.

Photo showing a woman tapping brown mushrooms that art growing on a dead log.
Photo of the underside of two mushrooms growing out of a burned log. Gills of the mushroom are visible.
Photo of a small light brown mushroom with a long, bumpy cap that has a brown spot in the center. The mushroom is growing out from under a dead stick laying on the ground.
Photo of a brown cup mushroom growing out of the ground covered in pine needles. A small spider is on the mushroom.
Photo of fungus on a dead log. The fungus is tiny and bulbous in shape, colored white with a pink hue.
Photo of brown wood ear mushrooms growing on a burned log with tall green grass growing in the foreground.
Photo of brown mushroom growing out of dead log.
Photo of mushroom emerging from the ground. The cap is almost pink, the stipe is white. The cap is mostly covered in dirt and pine needles.
Photo showing a small yellow mushroom growing next to a clover-like plant.
Photo of a mushroom taken at ground level. The perspective makes it appear very tall with tall trees in the background.
Photo of tiny orange mushroom growing on a stick laying on the ground in a bed of dead leaves.
Photo of oyster mushrooms high on a dead cottonwood tree.
Photo of brown fuzzy looking mushrooms growing out of a dead log.
Photo of cicada husk clinging to a tree with white bark.
Photo showing several wild turkeys on the ground under a tall tree.
Photo of black mushroom growing in dirt surrounded by green grass.
Photo of tan mushrooms with drops of water on the biggest one, growing out of dirt at the base of a brown tree trunk.
Photo of white-capped mushroom growing out of dirt surrounded by dead sticks and next to a green leaf with black spots on it.
Photo of a deer looking toward the camera, standing on a grassy path in a green forest.
Photo of two women waking away from the camera on a grass-covered path through a meadow lined with tall cottonwood trees.
Photo of several oyster mushrooms, white in color, growing on a dead log.
Photo of a cluster of brown mushrooms growing on a dead log.
Photo of a small mushroom growing in dirt covered with pine needles and near bright green moss. There are two smaller mushrooms growing near it.
Photo of tiny white mushrooms growing in a dead piece of wood lying on a bed of dead sticks.
Photo of small brown mushrooms growing next to smaller brown cup mushrooms in dirt on a burned log.
Photo of two mushrooms growing among dead logs. They are both brown. One cap is spread wide open, the smaller one is still unopened.
Photo of light brown, almost white mushrooms growing on a dead pine tree.
Photo showing two kinds of mushrooms growing on a log. One group of mushrooms is smooth and white. The other is smaller, ridged and green.
Photo of nearly translucent white mushrooms growing in a stump with sunlight filtering through the forest in the background. the underside of the mushrooms looks like a rough cat tongue.

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