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800–2,500 ft · PA🚗 Directions
Ridge-and-valley terrain of central Pennsylvania across Rothrock, Bald Eagle, and Tuscarora State Forests. Oak-hickory ridgetops and tulip poplar-ash-elm in valleys. Abundant old apple and cherry orchards near abandoned homesteads. Limestone soils in Happy Valley and Penns Valley are premium morel ground. Stream bottoms along Penns Creek and Pine Creek flush early.
Updated Jul 13, 4:10 AM MT
# Central PA Ridges – S Tier | July 13, 2026 You're in a perfect convergence: sustained soil warmth (75°F), consistent moisture (0.25 VWC 7-day average), and seven straight days above threshold. This is the rare mid-summer window where the ridges unlock their full fruiting potential. Every edible and medicinal worth your time is live—chanterelles, boletes, chicken, wine caps, and the polypore suite are all pushing fruit simultaneously. There's no limiting factor; you're constrained only by boots on ground and basket space. Moisture will be your stability metric over the next 72 hours; any sharp drying spikes the dial downward fast. Watch for explosive stinkhorn and slime mold activity—they're reliable first-signal indicators of regime shift. **Hot tip:** Target north-facing ravine systems where canopy moisture lingers longest—Chicken of the Woods and Black Trumpets will still be pristine while south-facing slopes start to cup and dry.
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.
Precip 7d
Log your find on iNaturalist to help the community and get expert ID assistance. Photos, location, and habitat notes all help with identification.
⚠ 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.
1.95"
PRISM 4km · thru 07-11
Precip 14d
Observed precipitation from PRISM 4km gridded analysis, sampled at the region centroid through 2026-07-11. Used when no SNOTEL/SCAN station is mapped to this region.2.60"
PRISM 4km · thru 07-11
Soil Temp
75°F
SWE
Snow Water Equivalent — how much water is in the snowpack vs. normal. Declining SWE means snowmelt is adding moisture to the soil.0%
Drought
None
Snowmelt
complete
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 75°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.23 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — 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.