Join us on a mushroom walk to learn how to find and identify mushrooms. These educational walks are not for foraging and we will be leaving most mushrooms in place for the other walks. Also, in order to ensure the safety of all, no dogs are allowed on any of the mushroom walks.
Two levels of walks are offered:
Beginner-Intermediate Mycology Walks – Learn mushroom basics with the leader highlighting identification of common edible and toxic mushrooms. You will also be introduced to how to approach mushroom identification, the importance of taxonomy (scientific classification and naming), and tips to continue your exploration of the world of mycology.
Intermediate-Advanced Mycology Walks – If you are comfortable with mushroom basics, join our intermediate to advanced hikes to grow your skills in identifying new mushrooms you come across, learning how the surrounding ecosystem gives you clues to finding and identifying mushrooms, using taxonomy and tools to deepen your understanding of mycology and on some walks, the science of forest mycology.
Fee: $10. Note that some sign-up slots are available online, and half will be available by stopping by the Mushroom Identification Hall in the Tent. If the walk is noted as “sold out” online, be sure to stop by the sales table at the keynote event or the Mushroom Identification Hall during the festival because spots are still likely available. We cannot offer refunds if your plans change, but you can transfer your ticket to another participant by sending them your event confirmation and receipt and authorizing them to use it.
Walk Location: The walk location is specified by the walk time. Parking is very limited for the walks. For Cummins Creek walks, you must be willing to carpool (minimum 3 people) . For Cape Perpetua walks, catch the Trolley or pay for parking at the Cape Perpetua Visitor's Center ($5 - spots not guaranteed). See the Trolley schedule on the home page.
Two levels of walks are offered:
Beginner-Intermediate Mycology Walks – Learn mushroom basics with the leader highlighting identification of common edible and toxic mushrooms. You will also be introduced to how to approach mushroom identification, the importance of taxonomy (scientific classification and naming), and tips to continue your exploration of the world of mycology.
Intermediate-Advanced Mycology Walks – If you are comfortable with mushroom basics, join our intermediate to advanced hikes to grow your skills in identifying new mushrooms you come across, learning how the surrounding ecosystem gives you clues to finding and identifying mushrooms, using taxonomy and tools to deepen your understanding of mycology and on some walks, the science of forest mycology.
Fee: $10. Note that some sign-up slots are available online, and half will be available by stopping by the Mushroom Identification Hall in the Tent. If the walk is noted as “sold out” online, be sure to stop by the sales table at the keynote event or the Mushroom Identification Hall during the festival because spots are still likely available. We cannot offer refunds if your plans change, but you can transfer your ticket to another participant by sending them your event confirmation and receipt and authorizing them to use it.
Walk Location: The walk location is specified by the walk time. Parking is very limited for the walks. For Cummins Creek walks, you must be willing to carpool (minimum 3 people) . For Cape Perpetua walks, catch the Trolley or pay for parking at the Cape Perpetua Visitor's Center ($5 - spots not guaranteed). See the Trolley schedule on the home page.
Saturday 10am-11:15am - Beginner-Intermediate Walk | Scott Bradley
Location: Cape Perpetua
Scott Bradley - I have been a hunter/gatherer since I was a toddler and pill bugs had to be pried from my hands as I slept. Foraging for mushrooms is but an extension of this life-long passion. And how better to enjoy the peace of the forest and get the exercise this aging body requires? And yes, they are a treat to eat and pleasure to share with those who appreciate them even more than I.
Saturday 10am-11:15am - Intermediate-Advanced Walk | Susie Holmes
Location: Cape Perpetua Visitor's Center
Susie Holmes is a founding member of the Cascade Mycological Society and biology faculty member at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon where she teaches mushroom biology and plant science courses. With interests in biodiversity and landscape ecology, she works with students in her classes to research phenology and fungal ecology and has co-founded a Fungal Diversity Project titled Macrofungi of Lane County. She has taught fungal microscopy courses for mycology clubs in the PNW and she co-organizes the annual Mount Pisgah Mushroom Festival in Eugene.
Saturday 10:30am-11:45am - Intermediate-Advanced Walk | Matt Trappe
Location: Cape Perpetua Visitor's Center
Dr. Matt Trappe is the lead author of the Field Guide to North American Truffles, and led forays for the North American Truffling Society for 20 years as Trufflemaster. He earned his Master's degree studying the habitat and host associations of Winter Chanterelles, and his Ph.D. studying the effects of disturbance on fungal communities at Crater Lake National Park. He has published papers on post-Fukushima radiocesium accumulation in chanterelles, the fossilized fungus Prototaxites, and the enigmatic Sedecula pulvinata, as well as formally naming and describing the culinarily valuable Oregon Brown Truffle, Kalapuya brunnea.
Saturday 11:30am - 1pm - Beginner-Intermediate Walk | Luke Maurer and Jessie Vargo
Location: Cape Perpetua
Luke Maurer and Jessie Vargo, FeatherCap Field Guide, FeatherCap Llc., Portland, OR.
Whether it’s farming, fishing, or foraging for fungi, FeatherCap is home to all sorts of efforts to connect you to place through your palate. Luke and Jessie look forward to sharing in the delights of foraging edible mushrooms and reveling in the beauty and diversity of PNW fungi!
Saturday 11:45am-1pm -Beginner-Intermediate Walk | Mike Potts
Location: Cummins Creek
Mike Potts is an amateur mycologist who has studied fungi and their habitats in southern Oregon since 2006. He is an expert in field identification and has passionately devoted his time photographing and studying mushrooms from the high Cascades to the coastal Redwoods. His photo's can be found in the Audubon Mushroom Field Guide app, Daniel Winkler's new field guide; Fruits of the Forest, p. 259.
Saturday 12pm-1:15pm - Intermediate-Advanced Walk | Joyce Eberhart and Scott Bradley
Location: Cape Perpetua
Joyce Eberhart is retired from Oregon State University after 38 years in research. For most of her career she enjoyed doing research on forest mushrooms and truffles with her husband, Dan Luoma. Scott Bradley - I have been a hunter/gatherer since I was a toddler and pill bugs had to be pried from my hands as I slept. Foraging for mushrooms is but an extension of this life-long passion. And how better to enjoy the peace of the forest and get the exercise this aging body requires? And yes, they are a treat to eat and pleasure to share with those who appreciate them even more than I.
Saturday 1pm-2:15pm - Intermediate-Advanced Walk | Jon Sommer
Location: Cape Perpetua
Jon Sommer has led mushroom forays, given lectures on a range of mycological topics, and taught mushroom identification across the United States for more than five decades. He is a well-known speaker and presenter for mycological societies and forays across the country. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Botany at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California and two Master’s Degrees from the University of California, Davis (Botany & Plant Pathology). He has studied mushroom identification with notable mycologists including Drs. David Largent, Orson K. Miller Jr. and Harry D. Thiers. A resident of Colorado for 30 years, and now living on the Oregon coast, Jon has in-depth knowledge of fungi across the US and particularly northern California and Oregon. He is the immediate Past President of the Colorado Mycological Society and is the current President of the Lincoln County Mycological Society in Oregon.
Saturday 1:30pm-2:45pm - Beginner-Intermediate Walk | Joe Spivack
Location: Cummins Creek
Joe Spivack is a mushroom educator who taught community education mushroom courses for 10 years. Joe is a founding member of Cascade Mycological Society. 
Saturday 1:30pm-2:45pm - Beginner-Intermediate Walk | Lee Yamada & Susan Harper
Location: Cape Perpetua
Lee Yamada: I’ve been interested in mushrooms for a long time, way before the 80’s. I started to study mushrooms in the early 80’s. I joined the San Francisco Mycological Society, Fungus Federation Santa Cruz. I was a long time Minister (Board member). I was in charge of the FFSC Fungus Fair for 10 years, was past Foray Chair for NAMA and now I’m a Board member of Eugene Cascade Mycological Society. I have gained a huge amount of knowledge of mushrooms and I like to talk about them.
Saturday 2:30pm-4:30PM - Beginner-Intermediate Walk | Chris Melotti and Molly Widmer
Location: Cape Perpetua
For over 30 years, Chris Melotti has worked as a wildlife biologist and Molly Widmer as a botanist. As long-term forest professionals in the PNW, they have learned to expand the beauty and scientific excitement of plants and animals by meeting in the middle with fungi. Bring alive your love of forests with the added love of forest fungi!Saturday 3pm- 4:15pm - Intermediate-Advanced Walk | Lee Yamada & Susan Harper
Location: Cape Perpetua
Lee Yamada: I’ve been interested in mushrooms for a long time, way before the 80’s. I started to study mushrooms in the early 80’s. I joined the San Francisco Mycological Society, Fungus Federation Santa Cruz. I was a long time Minister (Board member). I was in charge of the FFSC Fungus Fair for 10 years, was past Foray Chair for NAMA and now I’m a Board member of Eugene Cascade Mycological Society. I have gained a huge amount of knowledge of mushrooms and I like to talk about them.Saturday 3:15pm-4:30pm -Intermediate-Advanced Walk | Joe Spivack
Location: Cummins Creek
Joe Spivack is a mushroom educator who taught community education mushroom courses for 10 years. Joe is a founding member of Cascade Mycological Society. Sunday Walks
Sunday 10AM-12PM - Intermediate-Advanced Walk | Chris Melotti and Molly Widmer
Location: Cape Perpetua
For over 30 years, Chris Melotti has worked as a wildlife biologist and Molly Widmer as a forest botanist. As long-term forest professionals in the PNW, they have learned to expand the beauty and scientific excitement of plants and animals by meeting in the middle with fungi. Bring alive your love of forests with the added love of forest fungi!Sunday 10am-11:15am - Intermediate-Advanced Walk | Joe Spivack
Location: Cummins Creek
Joe Spivack is a mushroom educator who taught community education mushroom courses for 10 years. Joe is a founding member of Cascade Mycological Society. Sunday 10:30am-11:45am - Beginner-Intermediate Walk | Susie Holmes
Location: Cape Perpetua
Susie Holmes is a founding member of the Cascade Mycological Society and biology faculty member at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon where she teaches mushroom biology and plant science courses. With interests in biodiversity and landscape ecology, she works with students in her classes to research phenology and fungal ecology and has co-founded a Fungal Diversity Project titled Macrofungi of Lane County. She has taught fungal microscopy courses for mycology clubs in the PNW and she co-organizes the annual Mount Pisgah Mushroom Festival in Eugene.Sunday 12pm-1:15pm - Intermediate-Advanced Walk | Matt Trappe
Location: Cape Perpetua
Dr. Matt Trappe is the lead author of the Field Guide to North American Truffles, and led forays for the North American Truffling Society for 20 years as Trufflemaster. He earned his Master's degree studying the habitat and host associations of Winter Chanterelles, and his Ph.D. studying the effects of disturbance on fungal communities at Crater Lake National Park. He has published papers on post-Fukushima radiocesium accumulation in chanterelles, the fossilized fungus Prototaxites, and the enigmatic Sedecula pulvinata, as well as formally naming and describing the culinarily valuable Oregon Brown Truffle, Kalapuya brunnea.Sunday 12:15pm-1:30pm - Beginner-Intermediate Walk | Lee Yamada & Susan Harper
Location: Cape Perpetua
Lee Yamada: I’ve been interested in mushrooms for a long time, way before the 80’s. I started to study mushrooms in the early 80’s. I joined the San Francisco Mycological Society, Fungus Federation Santa Cruz. I was a long time Minister (Board member). I was in charge of the FFSC Fungus Fair for 10 years, was past Foray Chair for NAMA and now I’m a Board member of Eugene Cascade Mycological Society. I have gained a huge amount of knowledge of mushrooms and I like to talk about them.Sunday 1:30pm-2:45pm -Beginner-Intermediate Walk | Mike Potts
Location: Cape Perpetua
Mike Potts is an amateur mycologist who has studied fungi and their habitats in southern Oregon since 2006. He is an expert in field identification and has passionately devoted his time photographing and studying mushrooms from the high Cascades to the coastal Redwoods. His photo's can be found in the Audubon Mushroom Field Guide app, Daniel Winkler's new field guide; Fruits of the Forest, p. 259.
Sunday 1:45pm-3pm - Intermediate-Advanced Walk | Jon Sommer
Location: Cape Perpetua
Jon Sommer has led mushroom forays, given lectures on a range of mycological topics, and taught mushroom identification across the United States for more than five decades. He is a well-known speaker and presenter for mycological societies and forays across the country. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Botany at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California and two Master’s Degrees from the University of California, Davis (Botany & Plant Pathology). He has studied mushroom identification with notable mycologists including Drs. David Largent, Orson K. Miller Jr. and Harry D. Thiers. A resident of Colorado for 30 years, and now living on the Oregon coast, Jon has in-depth knowledge of fungi across the US and particularly northern California and Oregon. He is the immediate Past President of the Colorado Mycological Society and is the current President of the Lincoln County Mycological Society in Oregon.
