Morel Hunting in Michigan: Where to Look (Legally) and When

Michigan is arguably America's best morel state: the season sweeps south-to-north from late April through early June, peaking around Mother's Day in the northern Lower Peninsula. The harder question is where you're allowed to pick — and where the mushrooms haven't already been cleaned out.

When to go

• Southern Michigan: late April – mid May
• Northern Lower Peninsula (Mesick, Boyne, Petoskey country): early May – late May
• Upper Peninsula: mid May – early June
• Watch soil temps: blacks start near 50°F, yellows (whites) follow a week or two behind

Where it's legal

• State forests and national forests: personal-use foraging is allowed — nearly 8 million acres between them
• State parks: allowed in most, but check posted rules (Recreation Passport required to enter)
• CFA commercial forest lands: 2.2 million acres of private timberland open to the public on foot — the most overlooked morel ground in the state
• Private land: the best picking, because it isn't hammered — with the owner's permission

That last category is what WildPass exists for: landowners sell day forage passes with clear harvest limits, so you get unpicked south-facing slopes and they get paid for stewardship. Search Michigan foraging access at wildpass.club/explore — and read the safety rules first: never eat any mushroom you haven't identified with certainty (false morels are in the same woods), and know your limits at wildpass.club/safety.