A Hudson Valley Almanac day-trip guide
Twenty-three mushroom farms, foraging guides, and mushroom clubs across eight counties. The region's damp hardwood forests grow some of the best wild mushrooms in the Northeast, and a growing number of farms cultivate gourmet varieties like shiitake, oyster, and lion's mane. Whether you want to buy them, grow them, or learn to find them, there's someone here to help.
Bulich Mushroom Farm in Catskill is a third-generation family farm on 700 acres, growing mushrooms since the late 1940s, including portobello, crimini, and shiitake. Nearby, Bulich Creekside Farm in Leeds is a family farm stand with vegetables, fruit, and plants. Glenwild Farms in Livingston Manor grows wood-grown shiitake and oyster mushrooms, and Flowering Sun Ecology Center in Ellenville specializes in gourmet mushrooms at the edge of Catskill Park. Fromer Market Gardens on Tannersville's Main Street grows shiitake alongside its organic vegetables.
Wild Hudson Valley in Cairo is a forest farm and educational organization with a mushroom laying yard, and Dough Haven Farm in Easton is a 52-acre agroforestry farm using forest-farming methods.
Catskill Fungi in Kerhonkson is a mushroom foraging guide, educator, and sustainable harvester. Food Forest Fungi in Greene County is a licensed NYS mushroom foraging and outdoor guide business. Deep Forest Wild Edible in Beacon was founded by a chef and licensed mushroom forager. Sean Rowe, Rent-A-Forager leads guided walks and private classes in the Catskills. In Accord, Dina Falconi, a master herbalist and forager with more than 40 years of experience, teaches wild plants and mushrooms, and her Botanical Arts Press publishes the field guide Foraging & Feasting. Near the city, D.I.G. Farm's Wild Roots Project in North Salem and Heather Flournoy of Wild Nearby teach foraging too.
The best way to learn is with people who've done it for years. The Mid-Hudson Mycological Association hosts guided forays, as do the Delaware Highlands Mushroom Society in Sullivan County and the Connecticut-Westchester Mycological Association.
Never eat a wild mushroom unless someone with real expertise has identified it; several deadly species look like edible ones. A guided walk or club foray is the safest way to start. Get permission before foraging on private land, and follow the rules on public land, since some parks don't allow collecting. Wild mushroom season peaks from late summer into fall, while cultivated mushrooms are available year-round.
Explore more of the region's theme guides on Explore by Theme.
Damp woods, a sharp eye, and someone beside you who knows which ones not to pick.