Mushroom Photography Season Approaches

An Amanita mushroom button From mushrooms

In past years, I've taken quite a few pictures of mushrooms, but the last two years have been a bit light. Part of that is the weather, which has been rather dry, but part of it is just how little I've made it out into the woods. Hopefully, this year I can change that. I've already spotted morels outside of the Marriot Hotel in Boston (yep, right on their mulch there were three of them), and a few scattered spring mushrooms around the city. I'll be trying to make a run up to the White Mountains in New Hampshire soon, but if I don't at least I'll make it to the Middlesex Fells Reservation, which is just north of Boston.

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If you live in the Greater Boston area and haven't made it to either Blue Hills or the Fells, you really should. The trails there range from pleasant walk to serious hike and there are some views of the city and of the surrounding area that just can't be beat.

For mushrooms, I usually go to the southern part of the Fells (see map to left) for the great view and lots of different kinds of terrain that support mushrooms. If you walk north from here, you eventually come to the sheepfold, which is a lovely pasture used as a dog park. Around there you find many types of field mushrooms and there are many swampy areas that support mushrooms as well.

For species that prefer moving water, the eastern Fells has a great waterfall area that's fairly easy to get to from a parking area on North Border Road.

The key thing is just to get out there and enjoy it!