Hunting for Morel Mushrooms in Colorado

[Zanatos]

I haven't been mushroom hunting for years, but I used to go all the time when I was a kid growing up in Missouri. (I also used to find and harvest corals, elephant ears, and puffballs - but Morels are the holy grail of mushrooms, imo.)

Does anyone know of a good place to find Morel mushrooms? April and May are the best months to find them. I have heard that there are a few good places in nearby state parks, and I think it might be fun to go out looking for some with other mushroom fanatics.

[Hibs]

Can't speak about CO, but I go with my father-in-law, and he's onto spots in NE where he finds pounds. Seems to have the best luck along the river. Just gotta get out there and start beating the dirt.

Here's a pic of good weekend haul from two years ago...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v107/HibsLX/Mushrooms/photobucket-1044-1333308652204.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/HibsLX/media/Mushrooms/photobucket-1044-1333308652204.jpg.html)

[Kim-n-Dean]

You guys are rock-stars or I've been misinformed!

I have friends who hunt mushrooms, but for scientific research, only. They claim the difference between safe and deadly is a difference that even experts have a difficult time with. Therefore, experts always recommend, "don't even bother!".

Kim loves shrooms and has always wanted to know if what we find is safe to bring back to camp. Most aren't, so, we "don't even bother!".

Funny... we're cooking up a big batch of shroom spaghetti sauce right now. Too bad smell-a-vision doesn't work!!

[zfrilly]

Found some in a neighbors yard in Edgewater one year. just two but it made me wonder how often they are found out here in Colorado. Looked into it and did not find a lot of stories of big hauls out here. I am from Indiana and we used to go hunt them every spring. I really miss morels but think you are gonna have to go further east where hard wood trees are to really find many. Seems our go to hunting spots were always around fallen poplar trees. Good luck let us know what you find.

[Hibs]

You guys are rock-stars or I've been misinformed!

I have friends who hunt mushrooms, but for scientific research, only. They claim the difference between safe and deadly is a difference that even experts have a difficult time with. Therefore, experts always recommend, "don't even bother!".

Kim loves shrooms and has always wanted to know if what we find is safe to bring back to camp. Most aren't, so, we "don't even bother!".

Funny... we're cooking up a big batch of shroom spaghetti sauce right now. Too bad smell-a-vision doesn't work!!

Morel mushrooms aren't some kind of psychedelic mushroom, they are purely amazing to eat. I've never heard of a "bad" morel. If it looks like what I posted above, you are good to go. Been eating them by the pounds for years.

[Kim-n-Dean]

Morel mushrooms aren't some kind of psychedelic mushroom, they are purely amazing to eat.Good to hear! What makes you think I'm talking about psychedelic shrooms, only? Ah, you probably know me...
I've never heard of a "bad" morel.That's because they all died! Just kidding. I'm almost fifty-years-old and the rule of thumb has always been; safe vs. deadly is almost indistinguishable. Then again, we didn't have smart phones...
If it looks like what I posted above, you are good to go. Been eating them by the pounds for years. What I've been taught, says don't eat wild mushrooms!! They look too similar. I'm not sure if shrooms have evolved too much since the '70's, but so many, so called experts, have always said that mushrooms are very difficult to tell safe from deadly.

Is this just an urban legend?

Not that any of this really matters to me, I can't stand mushrooms! I do like shroom gravy, but pull all the chunks out before serving...

[Hibs]

Sounds like urban legend to me. To my knowledge, there isn't any harmful mushroom that looks anywhere close to what a Morel looks like.

[mdub]

Peaked my interest on this variety. I may have to try one. From what I have read morels are tasty. Here is a link on where you could find some in colorado.

http://www.coloradomushrooms.com/board/read.php?5,73

[Zanatos]

There is a mushroom that some people call the "false morel." But to me, the difference between the false version and the real thing is blatantly obvious.

http://thegreatmorel.com/falsemorel.html

My dad worked for Missouri Pacific Railroad, and I grew up really poor - so finding some morels, shooting a few squirrels and rabbits, and catching a few catfish or crappie often made the difference on whether we would be eating or not.

In addition to morel mushrooms, one of my favorite dishes was when my mother would take a can of biscuits, put them in a casserole dish, pour a couple cans of cream of chicken soup over them, and bake the whole thing in the oven until the biscuits rose and browned on top. We called it chicken dumplings, and it fed four people for less than two dollars. I still make it once in awhile. If you have kids - try it. They will love it.

[#1Townie]

Nope.