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Bighorn Mountains Foraging Conditions — ForageIQ

Bighorn Mountains

5,500–13,000 ft · WY🚗 Directions

Bighorn NF. Isolated range with lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce, subalpine meadows. Good king bolete habitat at mid-elevations. Late-season morels in high burns.

Trees:Lodgepole Pine Engelmann Spruce Subalpine Fir

Permit Info →

Updated Jul 13, 4:03 AM MT

AI Conditions Report

AI-generated · verify in field

**Bighorn A-Tier Breakdown** You're looking at a textbook early-summer sweet spot: soil temps at 63°F hitting the mycological goldilocks zone, and seven solid days of sustained moisture above threshold. The full Tier A slate is live—Reishi, Birch Bolete, The Prince, Scaly Wood Mushroom, all the choice edibles and specimens are primed. Even the toxic species (Panther Cap, Coker's Amanita, The Sickener) are nodding, which tells you the substrate conditions are genuinely dialed. The catch: **desiccation risk is high**. You've had only 0.3" in the last week and 0.41" in two weeks—that's spare. The 7-day VWC average of 0.22 is solid, but you're teetering on the edge of evaporative stress, especially at elevation where UV and wind are relentless. This window is *now*—don't wait for the next forecast. Focus on north-facing slopes and riparian zones where soil stays cooler and seepage maintains moisture longer. Expect the open south-facing flats to dry hard by late afternoon. **Hot tip:** Hit the subalpine birch groves (11,000–12,500 ft on north aspects) hard—Birch Boletes, Birch Polypores, and Reishi will fruit heaviest where shade retention meets soil moisture, and you've got maybe 48–72 hours before desiccation collapses the flush.

Generated by Claude (Anthropic) from the structured weather, soil, and phenology data on this page. The LLM can misread edge cases — treat this as a starting hypothesis, not a guarantee. Always verify conditions on the ground before committing to a long drive.

Foraging Potential75/100

✅Moisture

✅Soil Temp

✅No Freeze

✅No Drought

Precip 7d

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Nearby Camping

Within(11)

Shell Reservoir Camping Area

dispersed

USFS~1.3 mi from center

Bighorn National Forest

Reserve →

Ranger Creek Recreation Area

developed

USFS~5.9 mi from centerFee required/night

Bighorn National Forest

Reserve →

Shell Creek Campground

developed

~6.7 mi from center

Upper Paint Rock Lake Campground

developed

~6.7 mi from center

Shell Creek Campground

developed

USFS~6.9 mi from centerFee required/night

Bighorn National Forest

Reserve →

Medicine Lodge Lake Campground

developed

USFS~6.9 mi from center

Bighorn National Forest

Lower Paint Rock Lake Campground

developed

~7.3 mi from center

Lower Paintrock Lake Campground

developed

USFS~7.3 mi from centerFee required/night

Bighorn National Forest

Reserve →

Coffeen Park Campground

developed

USFS~7.8 mi from center

Cabin Creek Campground

developed

~8.1 mi from center

Cross Creek Campground

developed

~9.6 mi from center

⚠ Road Access Notice

Always verify road access is public before following GPS directions to mountain areas. Many forest roads are seasonal, gated, or require 4WD. Dispersed camping follows USFS/BLM rules (typically 14-day limit). Check ranger district offices for current road and campground conditions.