Mendocino County is home to over 3,000 types of mushrooms, 500 of which are edible. And every fall, beginning in October, when the gentle rains begin to fall, the mushrooms flourish in abundance. It’s the perfect place to sample (and maybe even pick yourself!) chanterelles, porcinis, morels and hedgehogs, and even the extremely rare candy cap mushroom, with its intense maple-syrup flavor, that grows only along the northern coast of California.

The highlight of mushroom season is Mendocino County’s annual 10-day Wine & Mushroom Festival (this year from Friday, November 5th through Monday, November 15th), with everything from mushroom dinners, wine- and beer-pairing workshops, mushroom exhibits, guided mushroom foraging walks and much, much more.

Ryane Snow, a member of the Mycological Society and a well-known local leader of mushroom identification walks, states, “We have so many incredible varieties of mushrooms that are grown in Mendocino County, and everyone in the community gets involved in showcasing this great local bounty. As more people discover the health benefits of mushrooms, as well as how versatile and delicious they are to cook with, the interest in our festival is growing.”