What is a foray?
A "foray" is a trip out into the woods and fields to search for fungi. It is broad enough to cover any purpose you might have for doing this: scientific, nature appreciation, artistic, interests as well as "collecting for the pot", to eat. All WMS forays will have at least 1 designated expert foray leader to guide the group, be available at a table talk at the end of the hike, and help compile a species list for each site. Some sites may have rules against foraging to eat (for example Milwaukee County Parks) but we will generally only pick sites where all fungi collection is accepted and will alert members to any restrictions.
Single day forays are open to all of WMS & to your guests... no RSVP needed. These are listed in black type in the events schedule below. These forays will vary from site to site, but often will involve collecting mushrooms for scientific, artistic and culinary use and being able to venture off trail. Some exact meeting places are To Be Determined so we can scout for the best spot and will be sent to WMS members by email and updated here very close to the dates.
Our larger foray retreats go over multiple days, and will have sign up required (limited space). Sign up goes toward paying for multiple mycologists as foray leaders & extra materials for events only available to those at these events. These are listed in violet type and marked with a star. 🌟
Foray Retreats with Registrations that are OPEN NOW:
🌟 Tri-County Foray 2023 based in Cumberland, WI
🌟 Northwoods Foray 2023 based in Cable, WI
Foray Retreats with Registrations that have closed:
Hiles Foray 2023 based in Hiles, WI.
Hiles 2024 will be July 18th to 21st!
Bayfield Rustic Camping Foray 2023 based in Bayfield, WI
Registration sign up will go to members first. If you are not a member and want to be contacted separately about the registrations opening, you can contact us here and give your email. We will do our best to keep up with this!
Single day forays are open to all of WMS & to your guests... no RSVP needed. These are listed in black type in the events schedule below. These forays will vary from site to site, but often will involve collecting mushrooms for scientific, artistic and culinary use and being able to venture off trail. Some exact meeting places are To Be Determined so we can scout for the best spot and will be sent to WMS members by email and updated here very close to the dates.
Our larger foray retreats go over multiple days, and will have sign up required (limited space). Sign up goes toward paying for multiple mycologists as foray leaders & extra materials for events only available to those at these events. These are listed in violet type and marked with a star. 🌟
Foray Retreats with Registrations that are OPEN NOW:
🌟 Tri-County Foray 2023 based in Cumberland, WI
🌟 Northwoods Foray 2023 based in Cable, WI
Foray Retreats with Registrations that have closed:
Hiles Foray 2023 based in Hiles, WI.
Hiles 2024 will be July 18th to 21st!
Bayfield Rustic Camping Foray 2023 based in Bayfield, WI
Registration sign up will go to members first. If you are not a member and want to be contacted separately about the registrations opening, you can contact us here and give your email. We will do our best to keep up with this!
You can also browse our past 2022 events and our past 2021 events.
2023 Schedule:
Including: Online (Zoom) Presentations, In-Person Member Events including Presentations & Forays out in the Woods plus multi-day retreat forays.
Also listed in blue are some events by other WI mycological clubs, including:
- Madison Mycological Society (MMS) - webiste + facebook
- Northwestern Wisconsin Myco-Enthusaists (NWME) - facebook
- UW-La Crosse Mycology Club (LAXMC) - facebook
- Door Peninsula Mushroom Club (DPMC) - facebook
And major events by the North American Mycological Assocaiation (NAMA) - website - facebook
❄️ JANUARY ❄️
January 15 (Sunday) Winter Polypore Survey Foray, Storrs Lake Wildlife Area near Milton, WI - see here for our species list from the foray.
January 19 (Thursday) WMS on Zoom presentation by Jon Sommer of Colorado Mycological Society on “Mushroom Classification: Why all the name changes? ” - meeting opens 6:30 PM Central, presentation at 7 PM Central.
💗 FEBRUARY 💗
February 23 (Thursday) IN PERSON presentation Waukesha Public Library - with a presentation by Britt Bunyard on The Lives of Fungi: A Natural History of Our Planet's Decomposers - Rescheduled from February 16 due to winter weather. Britt will begin presenting at 6:30 PM.
☘️ MARCH ☘️
*** March 16 (Thursday) WMS on Zoom presentation by Katherine MacLean, author of Midnight Water: A Psychedelic Memoir - meeting opens 6:30 PM Central, presentation at 7 PM Central. *** Postponed due to illness! *** Rescheduled to May 18th
🌧️ APRIL 🌧️
April 20 (Thursday) WMS on Zoom presentation by Aaron Hilliard of Washington Kitsap Peninsula Mycological Society and YouTube Channel, Mushroom Wonderland - meeting opens 6:30 PM Central, presentation at 7 PM Central.
April 23 - (Sunday) 11 am to 1 pm - Rib Mountain State Park
- see here for species list from the foray.
🌸 MAY 🌸
May 6 (Saturday) - 1 pm to 3 pm - Meet at Crossroads at Big Creek, indoors in the Collins Learning Center with a presentation by Charlotte Lukes from 1:30 to 2 pm and displays on wild mushrooms and mushroom cultivation. WMS is supporting Door Peninsula Mushroom Club (DPMC) starting its first year as a new regional club, and we are celebrating their creation by letting our members know about their 1st annual Mushroom Day!
May 13 (Saturday) 10:30 am to 12:30 pm - South Kettle Moraine near Dousman, WI - exact meeting place has been sent to members! If you are missing this email, please reach out to us. If you want to get your mind focused on morels, check out this video about morels in WI.
May 18 (Thursday) WMS on Zoom presentation by Katherine MacLean, author of Midnight Water: A Psychedelic Memoir - meeting opens 6:30 PM Central, presentation at 7 PM Central.
May 21 (Sunday) 10 am to 12 pm North Kettle Moraine near Glenbeulah, WI - the exact meeting place has been sent to members. For quick reference: it will be at Greenbush Recreational Area, meet at the camping area parking lot. Click here to see park area map.
Also May 21 (Sunday) Madison Mycological Society Foray: Donald County Park
2 pm to 4 pm Meet at the Equestrian Access Parking.
Also May 21 and May 22 (Sunday and Monday) Synmycanthrosium (“Together-fungus-people-place”) to be held at UW-La Crosse. This symposium will honor Dr. Volk’s profound and enduring scientific impacts in the field of mycology and beyond. The symposium agenda is available here. The bulk of the event is on May 22, and so is not so much in conflict with the other events on May 21. Registration is here.
May 27 (Saturday) 10 am to 12 pm - Perrot State Park DR. TOM VOLK Memorial Foray - Joint Foray with UW-La Crosse Mycology Club. See this event on Facebook on the UW-La Crosse Mycology Club's page. Meet at the Pavillion in the park. To check out the species list from this foray, click here.
🌳 JUNE 🌳
June 3 (Saturday) 10 am to 12 pm - Navarino Nature Center - southwestern part of Shawano County - we will meet in front of the center! We ask that if you plan to attend, you register with the Nature Center here to help them keep track of their visitor numbers.
June 9, 10 (Friday-Saturday) Milwaukee Public Museum Bioblitz at Havenwoods State Forest in Milwaukee - sign up for participation was to be in by May 1st, and was sent to all WMS members. Public welcome to visit the Bioblitz without sign up on Saturday from 10 am -3 pm. WMS will have our own finds table there.
June 10 (Saturday) 11 am to 1 pm - Wyalusing State Park in Grant County.
Meet at the main parking lot - 13081 State Park Ln, Bagley, WI 53801
June 11 (Sunday) 2 pm to 4 pm - Madison Mycological Society Foray at UW-Arboretum Meet at the Curtis Parking Lot. See Madison Mycological Society's website for any changes or more details. Leaders - Jessica (815-742-9162), Andrew, and Porter.
June 15 (Thursday) WMS on Zoom presentation Peter McCoy, author of Radical Mycology - meeting opens 6:30 PM Central, presentation at 7 PM Central.
June 24 (Saturday) 10 am to 12 pm - Menomonee Park - Waukesha County - W220 N7884 Town Line Rd, Menomonee Falls, WI 53051 - Meet at Picnic Area 3 - Follow the park signs to "Bugline Trails" and park in the parking lot in front of "Reserved Picnic Area 3".
(Event Cancelled by Madison Mycological Society - To be Rescheduled) June 24 (Saturday) 10 am to 12 pm - Hoyt Park in Madison WI - Madison Mycological Society Foray. See Madison Mycological Society's website for updates.
☀️ JULY ☀️
July 15 (Saturday) 10 am to 12 pm - Devil's Lake State Park - Joint foray with Madison Mycological Society!
July 20 (Thursday) WMS on Zoom presentation by Yulia Welk on her background in fungi as medicine with a focus on the benefits of medicinal mushrooms for skincare. The meeting opens 6:30 PM Central, presentation at 7 PM Central. Some of you will have met Yulia at past Northwoods forays in Cable, WI, where she lives!
🌟 July 20 - 23, (Thurs.-Sunday) Hiles Foray - Hiles, WI - Hiles 2023 Registration is now closed but you can still view the information about the event by clicking the link to "registration". You can also put Hiles 2024 on your calendar for 7/18-7/21/24!
July 22 (Saturday) Door Peninsula Mushroom Club event: Mushroom Farm Tour at the Door County Mushroom Company - address to be sent on request messaging the Door Peninsula Mushroom Club on Facebook.
July 23 (Sunday) 2 pm to 4 pm - Madison Mycological Society Foray: Lake Kegonsa State Park - See Madison Mycological Society's website for any changes or more details.
July 24 (Monday) - Due date for the North American Mycological Association's visual arts contest (prize = 1 year of NAMA membership). This contest is open to all members of NAMA or an affiliate club (WMS is one!) See Here.
July 25 (TUESDAY) 1 pm to 3 pm - meet at Lost Creek Falls Trailhead near Cornucopia, WI in Bayfield County
July 29 (Saturday) 10 am to 12 pm - Retzer Nature Center in Waukesha County - meet out front of the nature center, and please register here: https://www.waukeshacounty.gov/events/park-system/23Jul29_FungusForay/ to help Waukesha Co. parks keep track of numbers.
Also July 29 (Saturday) 11 am to 1 pm - Chippewa Moraine State Recreation Area in Chippewa County - Joint foray with Northwestern Wisconsin Myco Enthusiasts! - meet out front of the nature center.
July 30th - August 6th (Sunday to Sunday) North American Mycological Association (NAMA) Regional Foray - Mexico City & Valle de Bravo in Mexico. This is a NAMA, not WMS, event. Registration is open through NAMA.
🍃 AUGUST 🍃
August 5th (Saturday) 10 am to 12 pm - Whitefish Dunes State Park in Door County - co-foray with the Door Peninsula Mushroom Club!
🌟 August 10 - 13th, (Thurs.-Sunday) Bayfield Rustic Camping - Bayfield, WI - registration is open now - Bayfield Rustic Camping !
August 17 (Thursday) WMS on Zoom presentation by Shannon Pump of Wild Dörr Mushrooms and Foraging - this will be a "Tick Talk"! A discussion on tick prevention techniques, what to do if bit, and what ticks can carry. Shannon will share the variety of treatments that she is using for her own Lyme's disease, including antibiotics to treatments derived from the mushrooms she forages. Zoom meeting opens 6:30 PM Central, presentation begins at 7 PM Central.
August 24 - 27th (Thursday to Sunday) North American Mycological Association (NAMA) Annual Foray - Appalachia NAMA 2023 in Hendersonville North Carolina. This is a NAMA, not WMS event. Registration is open.
Aug 25 – 27 (Friday to Sunday) Madison Mycological Society annual Camping Foray - Kettle Moraine State Park, Madison Mycological Society membership required for this foray. See their website for updates and more details.
Cancelled - August 26 (Saturday) Door Peninsula Mushroom Club event: Tour of Wildwood Gourmet Mushrooms in Sister bay - - Reschedule if any TBD.
🌟 August 31st - September 3rd (Thurs.-Sunday) Tri County Foray co-hosted by the Northwestern Wisconsin MycoEnthusiasts and WMS. Signup to be posted, members of both groups receive by email first, along with any lucky person who checks our event calendar here regularly. Sign up is now open! Click here to register for Tri County 2023! Our base of fungi operations will be in beautiful Cumberland, WI this year, with foray spots throughout the counties of Barron, Washburn and Burnett.
🍄 SEPTEMBER 🍄
September 2 (Saturday) 10 am to 12 pm - Mosquito Hill Nature Center near New London, WI - we will meet in front of the nature center!
🌟 September 7 - 10th (Thurs.-Sunday) Northwoods Foray - Cable, WI - sign up is now open! Click here to register for Cable Northwoods Foray 2023
September 14 (Thursday) WMS on Zoom with Chilean mycologist and mycological activist and author, Guiliana Furci presenting on her incredibly interesting work with Fungi Foundation. We will have no WMS fungi species list or iNaturalist review before this presentation, which will start with Guiliana presenting at 6:30 PM.
Sept. 16 (Saturday) - 12 pm to 2 pm - Bayfield, WI - foray leaving from Bayfield public library.
September 17 (Sunday) 2 pm to 4 pm Madison Mycological Society Foray: Indian Lake County Park. See Madison Mycological Society's website for any changes or more details.
September 21 (Thursday) WMS on Zoom presentation 6:30 PM Central, year in review of WMS fungi & species lists! (See Sept 14 for our regular speaker for Sept.)
Sept. 24 (Sunday) 11 am to 1 pm - Whitefish Dunes State Park Door County - Joint foray with Door Peninsula Mushroom Club, Charlotte Lukes foray leader - exact meeting place to be determined.
September 30 (Saturday) 10 am to 12 pm - Minocqua Winter Park - exact meeting place to be determined.
🎃 OCTOBER 🎃
October 1 (Sunday) 10 am to 12 pm Yellowstone Lake State Park in Lafayette County WI - exact meeting place to be determined.
Also October 1 (Sunday) 2 pm to 4 pm - Madison Mycological Society Foray: Lost Lake State Natural Area - See Madison Mycological Society's website for any changes or more details.
October 7 (Saturday) 10 am Joint foray with UW-Parkside and Illinois Mycological Association. More details to be added! We are planning a mycological microscopy workshop at this foray. It will be at UW-Parkside. 🔬
October 14 (Saturday) 10 am to 12 pm - Madison Mycological Society Foray: Magnolia Bluff State Natural Area - See Madison Mycological Society's website for any changes or more details.
🌟 October 15 (Sunday) Fungi Fair 2023! - WMS all-day event with speakers, vendors, cooking demos and a short foray in the woods hosted at the Polish Community Center of Wisconsin. It is on International Mushroom Day this year!
October 19 (Thursday) WMS on Zoom presentation TBD - meeting opens 6:30 PM Central, presentation at 7 PM Central.
October 28 (Saturday) 10 am to 12 pm - Texas Island State Woods Natural Area in Jefferson County WI - Joint foray with Madison Mycological Society - exact meeting place to be determined.
🍂 NOVEMBER 🍂
November 16 (Thursday) WMS on Zoom presentation TBD - meeting opens 6:30 PM Central, presentation at 7 PM Central.
☃️ DECEMBER ☃️
December 21 (Thursday) WMS on Zoom presentation TBD - meeting opens 6:30 PM Central, presentation at 7 PM Central.
Check the email you used to sign up as a WMS member for Zoom address links, foray meeting places and additional details necessary for all our events.
Please make sure your email is up to date with us!
And if you are missing emails, check your spam folder and mark all WMS emails as "not spam".
Any questions?
Contact us here
Please make sure your email is up to date with us!
And if you are missing emails, check your spam folder and mark all WMS emails as "not spam".
Any questions?
Contact us here
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If You Suspect a Poisoning
If you suspect you have consumed a poisonous mushroom, contact a physician, the closest hospital ER, poison control center, or dial 911, depending on the severity of the reaction. US Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222 The North American Mycological Association (NAMA) has information that may also be of help. Click here. We do not ID mushrooms through this website.
If you are in need of an ID consider uploading quality photos with multiple views of your specimen and descriptions of your find to Mushroom Observer or iNaturalist including our projects or post in Wild Food Wisconsin or Mushroom Identification Group. If you contact us and provide a way to get back to you, we may be able to provide suggestions for more identification resources you can use. You are always responsible for your own decisions taken on the basis of identification resources. |
Wisconsin Mycological Society
Wisconsin Mycological Society (WMS) is dedicated to the study and enjoyment of mushrooms and other fungi throughout the state of Wisconsin. Education, safety, sustainability, community, and connecting with nature are our goals.
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