Chanterelle Mushroom Hunting: How to Find Chanterelle Mushrooms

  Chanterelle Mushrooms are a large, apricot-orange colored (though some varieties are white and even blue) and meaty textured mushroom whose flavor rivals the delicious Morel Mushrooms. It’s a tough choice between the two in terms of flavor and flexability of their uses–both are superior mushrooms to hunt. 

If you’ve never went mushroom picking, you will need a few basic items to get started. Those are:

Permission to enter the location you intend to hunt for mushrooms at

Some government or private owned places also require passes or permits, so beware where you hunt

A clean basket or bucket (Baskets are better to help spread Chanterelle Mushroom spores)

A sharp knife – Best to use a pocket knife that closes to avoid any accidents should you fall

Knowledge of what you are picking and Mushroom Field Guide

Good hiking boots or comfortable shoes for the terrain you will visit

Proper clothing and emergency kit, including matches, compass and flashlight

Map of area if you are unfamiliar with location

Always have a partner in case someone gets hurt

Cell Phone to call for help

Many of these items are just common sense emergency preparation items, but you would be surprised how many people wander into the woods and never come out. So, let someone at home know where you will be and take a partner with you–stick together. It’s more fun teasing each other about who has the most Chanterelles in their bucket anyhow.

If you don’t know what a Chanterelle looks like you need to have a good grasp of that knowledge before you go hunting for them. Get books, use Mushroom Field Guides or go with an experienced mushroom hunter a few times until you are confident you know what you’re doing. Eating poisonous mushrooms can cause mild to serious illnesses and even death. It’s nothing to guess at.

One of my favorite mushroom field guides is, 100 Edible Mushrooms, but you can find many good books. Look for excellent photos and detailed descriptions of the mushroom that include when and where each variety grows. It is also very helpful for beginners if the book has good basic information about the parts of the mushroom so you know what the book is referring to when it mentions gills, stems, caps, etc.

Another suggestion, might be to harvest them and then take them to an expert or experienced mushroom hunter to examine before eating them. However, it’s easier to identify any mushroom in the woods than it is in the bucket because you can see the mushroom in its natural surroundings.

There’s an old mushroom hunter saying, ‘When in doubt toss it out.’  It’s a wise rule of thumb to follow.

So, you are ready to go hunt for Chanterelle Mushrooms. The best time to look for Chanterelles is in the fall, though you can find them earlier sometimes. In the Pacific Northwest, the best time is usually a week or two after the end of summer rainfalls start flowing. In Washington, they flow pretty good. Chanterelles will continue to grow until about the end of October, usually dying back after the first hard frost. I’ve found a few after light frosts, but not enough to warrant freezing toes and fingers.

Chanterelles need a good bit of moisture before they start peeking out of the ground. The rains have to make it through all the trees before the forest floor gets its share of moisture and so the two week regular rain flow is a good estimate to use before going out the first time that season. If you find mushrooms and they appear dry, then go back to the same area after a few more good rains. The forest floor shouldn’t be crunching under your feet.

Wikipedia.org has a basic, brief explanation and photo of one variety of Chanterelle–the Golden Chanterelle. This will give you an idea of what you are looking for, but be sure to use a guide and other reliable sources.

Most Chanterelle hunters believe in cutting the Chanterelles at the base and leaving the root. Some hunters are now suggesting to use a twist and pull method, then trimming off the root end and leaving it in the woods. It is known that Chanterelles spread by the millions of little spores they release, which is why it is better to use a basket than a bucket when you are harvesting them. Each one you place in the basket is spreading lots of spores about everywhere you walk because the spores can fall through the basket. With a bucket they can’t.

So, to cut or not cut is a current debate among hunters, but my experience has been the Chanterelles have kept us well supplied in the areas we have cut to harvest. In areas where evidence of others pulling them up by the roots was found, the Chanterelles did not come back as heavy the next year.

Chanterelles grow in wooded areas under conifers. In the Pacific Northwest, they are more abundant around Douglas-Fir and Western Hemlock trees. We’ve found them in old growth forests, second growth forests and never in open, dry clear cuts. They tend to grow better on a north facing slope. Look at the trees in the forest. Examine the moss growing on the tree trunks. Did you know that moss usually grows heavier on the north side of tree trunks? It does and Chanterelles are found more often on that side of the tree than any other.

We find more Chanterelles in little clearings in the forest than we do where the underbrush is thick, though we have found good patches in sparse underbrush with scatters of salal and ferns. If you enter from an open road or clearing, the patches are generally heavier about 100-200 feet within that border. We’ve discovered Chanterelles like growing in the sunlight dancing through the trees–just a sprinkling of sunshine.

If you’ve ever been in the woods and come to an area that allows a small amount of sunlight to cast down on the open, mossy covered ground below, you’ve been in a good place to start looking more closely for Chanterelles.

Follow small deer trails or dirt hiking paths and watch for Chanterelles just off the edges on both sides. They seem to pop up in your view when you least expect it. You want to look for the Chanterelles bright, orange coloring. Maple leaves will fool you every time, so that is a good example of the coloring you are searching for. 

If you find one Chanterelle be sure to inspect the entire area around it in all directions. Where there is one, there are usually more. We’ve also found you can find a bit of a trail or line of Chanterelles. You find one, then look around, find another and keep heading in the same direction. They seem to grow along the same line–whether it is due to the perfect amount of moisture or sunlight is unknown, but just an extra tip to get your basket filled.

 After years of hunting Chanterelle Mushrooms you will begin to recognize the prime growing locations more easily and quickly. You will feel your stomach start to tingle with delight knowing you are in perfect Chanterelle country and another tasty mushroom is just around the next tree.

Now that you know how to find these delicious mushrooms, learn How to Clean Chanterelle Mushrooms.

So, what do you say when someone asks where you find Chanterelles?  That’s right–”In the Woods.”

Discover the Meadow Mushroom here.

or Learn how to find Chicken of the Woods Mushroom

How to Preserve Mushrooms by Canning