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5,500–8,500 ft · CO🚗 Directions
Front Range gateway zone. Mixed ponderosa and spruce-fir above 7,500 ft. Accessible from I-70. First Front Range zone to flush after moisture events.
Updated Aug 27, 4:01 AM MT
Clear Creek is locked in **Tier A limbo**—moisture is present and the trigger's met, but soil temps are running 2–12°F below species minima with zero days of sustained warmth. You've got 37 viable species on paper, but they're all sitting in a holding pattern waiting for a thermal push. The boletes, milk caps, corals, and russulas are your best bets because they tolerate the cooler end of the range, and the 1.74" over 14 days has built real substrate moisture. Woody species (conks, jelly antlers, angels wings) don't care about soil temp anyway—those fruit regardless. Stinkhorns and Cauliflower are the weakest plays; they're sulking at 48°F. Soil temperature is your sole limiting factor. You need sustained warmth above 50°F to flip these from "viable" to "actively fruiting." Desiccation risk is moderate but manageable given recent precip—not the constraint here. Watch the next 5 days closely. A warm spell (even a 48-hour window above 55°F at soil level) will trigger simultaneous flushes across the bolete and russula guilds. If temps stay stalled, you'll see token fruit but nothing heavy. **Hot tip:** Work north-facing shaded pockets and riparian zones where sustained moisture compensates for cooler soil—they'll flush first when the thermal window opens.
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.
3 sites
Group campground off I-70, good for foray groups.
Multiple pulloffs along FR 275. No services. Pack in/pack out.
Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests Pawnee NG
12 sites
Closest developed camp to Clear Creek foraging. Spruce-fir zone.
Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests Pawnee NG
Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests Pawnee NG
⚠ 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.
0.17"
PRISM 4km · thru 08-25
Precip 14d
Observed precipitation from PRISM 4km gridded analysis, sampled at the region centroid through 2026-08-25. Used when no SNOTEL/SCAN station is mapped to this region.1.74"
PRISM 4km · thru 08-25
Soil Temp
48°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
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 58°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 55°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 55°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 50°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 55°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 60°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 60°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.25 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (48°F vs 55°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.30 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.