California Foraging Calendar

California's far north coast in Del Norte and Humboldt, a temperate rainforest fringe with exceptional chanterelle and hedgehog habitat and spring nettles, miner's lettuce, and wood sorrel.

Northeastern California's volcanic high country around Mount Shasta and Lassen, with huckleberries, boletes, chanterelles, and matsutake in the old-growth and mixed conifer forests.

The Modoc Plateau pine country east of the Cascade crest, where ponderosa forests produce post-fire morels, lobster mushrooms, and summer huckleberries.

Fog-belt oak woodland and chaparral with golden chanterelles peaking in winter, miner's lettuce and wood sorrel from January onward, and manzanita berries ripening through late summer.

Northeastern California's high desert in the Modoc country, with sagebrush steppe and canyon rims carrying serviceberries, chokecherries, and rose hips along the water courses.

One of North America's most botanically diverse corners, with exceptional year-round mushroom flushes, wild berries, and edible plants in its ancient mixed-forest habitat straddling the Oregon border.

Riparian corridors and tule marshes along the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems where cattail, watercress, and elderberries grow in the narrow green margins between agriculture.

High mountain forests producing spring morels, summer boletes and chanterelles in the conifer zone, manzanita berries in late summer, and piñon pine nuts on the drier eastern slope in fall.

Seasonally productive low desert with barrel cactus fruit, mesquite pods, and wolfberries available in the narrow windows between winter cold and summer heat extremes.

The Transverse and Peninsular Ranges with Gambel and canyon live oak producing acorns, manzanita and toyon berries through fall, and prickly pear pads and fruit accessible in the chaparral below.

California's far southeastern desert along the lower Colorado River, with prickly pear pads and fruit, cholla buds, mesquite pods, and wolfberries in the narrow cool-season windows.