Wild Mushroom Field Trip

Let’s look for edible, wild mushrooms near Vancouver…

This foraging foray will focus on edible mushroom identification in BC, like how to find porcini, chanterelle, matsutake, fat jacks, wild oysters and many more. Our ever-popular “Wild Mushroom Identification Trips” are easy forest walking trips with an expert myco-guide through B.C.’s forest to identify whatever we find and these tickets book up fast! Join us on an edible mushroom trip today, these field trips are good for all ages.

Where do we meet?

The meet up location will be determined the week before the event depending on where the mushrooms are popping up in the lower mainland.  Usually we start in higher elevations in Sept/Oct on the North Shore and move to lower elevations in November/Dec.  Check your email the week before your scheduled class for meeting point information.  If you don’t have a car be sure to book late October and November dates which are more transit accessible. 

When is the best time to book a mushroom trip in BC?

Prime mushrooms season is in fall from September to December in British Columbia, you will find different species of mushrooms coming up in each month.  Porcini mushrooms tend to come up earlier in fall whereas matsutake or pine mushrooms are a late fall arrival.

Do we offer private mushroom foraging classes?

Yes!  You pick the date and we’ll book a mushroom guide for your group.  We can bring the culinary adventure right to you.  For groups of 10+  Please contact us by email for details.

How do you know a wild mushroom is safe to eat?

There are no simple tests, it’s a lifelong, wonderful journey to learn which wild mushrooms are your friends and which one’s to leave to the forest.  First, focus on learning which edible mushrooms are easiest to identify in BC that don’t have confusing look alikes.  Learning to identify edible mushrooms isn’t hard, it just requires practice and patience.  My best advice is to pick a few new mushrooms to learn every year and get comfortable with identifying them correctly before you choose to consume them.  As an example, think of wild blackberries, most people in our area know how to identify them correctly and are comfortable picking and eating them, they took the time to learn and were rewarded by delicious berries.  Start your journey with an experienced mushroom harvester and you’ll build confidence.

Where can I learn to harvest matsutake or pine mushrooms?

Matsutake mushrooms can be found in many conifer forests across British Columbia, it’s our most expensive mushroom export!  While we can never guarantee that we’ll find any particular mushroom, your best bet is to book the Whistler, BC mushroom field trip that Swallow Tail runs every October.  Our expert guides teach students about matsutake habitat, when to look and most importantly key identifying features like their aroma and texture.

Notes: The class is not a live cooking class or a harvesting trip, the class will study edible mushrooms in their habitat and discuss ethical and sustainable and safe harvesting practices. It is illegal to harvest in all parks in BC, private land and indigenous reserve lands, so we’ll teach you about areas you can legally pick and give you the tools to find you’re own mushroom patches.

Our team lives and teaches on the unceeded territory of many indigenous peoples in BC.  We work with First Nation groups in BC to offer private classes pro-bono in areas where we teach, please contact us for details.