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Catskills North / Mountain Lakes Foraging Conditions — ForageIQ

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Catskills North / Mountain Lakes

800–4,000 ft · NY🚗 Directions

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Northern Catskills around Phoenicia, Tannersville, and the Slide Mountain Wilderness. Northern hardwoods (sugar maple, beech, yellow birch) at mid-elevation transitioning to red spruce-fir on the high peaks (Slide, Hunter, Cornell, Wittenberg). Cool, wet microclimate driven by orographic lift off the Hudson Valley. Spring morels in tulip poplar / disturbed valley flats; chanterelles, black trumpets, and lobster mushroom abundant in summer; chicken-of-the-woods, hen-of-the-woods, and lion's mane on hardwoods through fall; matsutake-candidate Tricholoma magnivelare in spruce-hemlock duff at elevation.

Trees:Sugar Maple Yellow Birch Red Spruce

Updated Jul 13, 4:21 AM MT

AI Conditions Report

AI-generated · verify in field

**Catskills North: S-Tier Saturation** You're in a rare peak window—64°F soil, three inches of rain in the last week, and sustained moisture across all seven days. This is the sweet spot for both saprophytes and mycorrhizals across a genuinely broad palette. The desiccation risk is moderate, not acute, which means you've got a 3–5 day window before July heat starts pulling moisture out of the litter layer. Priority targets: *Chicken of the Woods* and *Black Trumpet* are your anchors—reliable, abundant, and peaking now. *Frost's Bolete* and *Indigo Milk Cap* are dialed in for boletes. Don't sleep on the woody rotters (*Wine Cap*, *Artist's Conk*, *Birch Polypore*) which are in their element. The meadow species (*Parasol*, *Horse Mushroom*) are fully viable too. No real limiting factor yet—you're moisture-locked. The threat is solar exposure and the wind-down beginning around mid-month. Go high elevation (north-facing talus and old-growth hardwood) to delay drying. Hot tip: Hit the north-aspect forest floors and aspen stands before Thursday; that's your peak for black trumpets and frost's boletes before the desiccation ramp accelerates.

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 Potential95/100

✅Moisture

✅Soil Temp

✅No Freeze

✅No Drought

Precip 7d

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Viable Species

Confidence × Primordia state

HIGHPrimed

Chicken of the Woods

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Black Trumpet

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 5/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Frost's Bolete

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Wine Cap

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Giant Puffball

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Turkey Tail

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Witch's Butter

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Aspen Bolete

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Indigo Milk Cap

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Chaga

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Crown-Tipped Coral

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Jelly Ear

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dead Man's Fingers

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Birch Bolete

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Parasol Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Shaggy Parasol

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fairy Ring Champignon

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Artist's Conk

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Birch Polypore

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Tinder Fungus

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Bird's Nest Fungus

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Cinnabar Chanterelle

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Berkeley's Polypore

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Red-Capped Scaber Stalk

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Old Man of the Woods

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Horse Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Mica Cap

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Two-Colored Bolete

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Smooth Chanterelle

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Caesar's Amanita

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Weeping Milk Cap

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Green-Gill Lepiota

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Bitter Bolete

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Green Cracked Russula

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Peppery Milk Cap

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Coker's Amanita

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fool's Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Alcohol Inky

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fairy Inkcap

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Yellow-Stainer

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Red-Belted Conk

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Thin-Walled Maze Polypore

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Mossy Maze Polypore

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

False Turkey Tail

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Northern Tooth

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Snow Fungus

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Wood Ear

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Green Elfcup

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Ivory Funnel

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Aspen Oyster

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Wolf's Milk Slime

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dog Vomit Slime Mold

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fluted Bird's Nest

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

King Alfred's Cakes

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dung Bird's Nest

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Oak Mazegill

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Ovoid-Spore Psilocybe

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Blue-Foot Psilocybe

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Willow Shield

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Ravenel's Stinkhorn

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 6/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Elegant Stinkhorn

All conditions met (soil 64°F, sustained 6/7 days above threshold, today 0.21 VWC, 7d avg 0.26 — moisture sustained)

Primordia readiness: Cold = mycelium dormant. Activating = soil warming, primordia building. Primed = 5+ sustained warm days at species threshold; fruiting imminent if moisture cooperates. Based on Schmidt 1983 / Mihail 2007.