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Hoosier NF / Brown County Foraging Conditions — ForageIQ

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Hoosier NF / Brown County

500–1,050 ft · IN🚗 Directions

S

Hoosier National Forest and Brown County State Park in south-central IN. Mature oak-hickory and tulip poplar on rolling hills. Old-growth remnants and dying ash provide reliable morel habitat. Nashville, IN is an unofficial morel capital.

Trees:Tulip Poplar White Oak Hickory

Updated May 29, 4:09 AM MT

AI Conditions Report

AI-generated · verify in field

**Hoosier NF / Brown County – S Tier | 29 May 2026** You're looking at a textbook spring fruiting window: soil temp just broke 71°F with a solid 4.2" in the last 14 days and sustained VWC holding at 0.30–0.31. This is why you're S-tier—nearly every saprobe and deadwood specialist is active across both wood-decay and ground-dwelling guilds simultaneously. Wine caps, dryad's saddles, turkey tail, jelly ears, and the full constellation of cup fungi and maze polypores are all synchronized. The only throttle is moderate desiccation risk over the next week—typical late May pattern for the region. Watch soil moisture closely; if we don't see rain by early June, the ephemeral cups and inkcaps will crater fast, though the polypores and turkey tail will persist. The half-free morels should still be producing at marginal densities if you've missed them; focus north-facing slopes and ash/elm zones where soil temps lag slightly. **Hot tip:** Hit your oak and maple deadfall *now* for green elfcup and eyelash cup before the surface dries—48 hours makes the difference between a productive walk and finding empties.

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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Nearby Camping

Within(45)

Campsite 12

backcountry

~0.6 mi from center

Campsite 11

backcountry

~0.7 mi from center

Campsite 14

backcountry

~0.7 mi from center

Campsite 9

backcountry

~0.7 mi from center

Campsite 13

backcountry

~0.7 mi from center

Campsite 15

backcountry

~0.8 mi from center

Campsite 10

backcountry

~1 mi from center

Campsite 16

backcountry

~1.7 mi from center

Campsite 1

developed

~1.8 mi from center

Campsite 6

developed

~1.8 mi from center

Campsite 24

backcountry

~1.8 mi from center

Campsite 20

backcountry

~1.9 mi from center

Campsite 22

backcountry

~1.9 mi from center

Campsite 21

backcountry

~1.9 mi from center

Campsite 17

backcountry

~1.9 mi from center

Campsite 7

developed

~2 mi from center

Campsite 23

backcountry

~2 mi from center

Campsite 8

developed

~2 mi from center

Campsite 19

backcountry

~2.1 mi from center

Campsite 18

backcountry

~2.3 mi from center

Campsite 5

backcountry

~2.5 mi from center

Campsite 2

developed

~2.7 mi from center

Campsite 3

backcountry

~3 mi from center

Campsite 25

backcountry

~3 mi from center

Blackwell Horse Camp

dispersed

~3.1 mi from centerFree/night

Blackwell Campground

developed

USFS~3.1 mi from centerFee required/night

Hoosier National Forest

Monroe Causeway Campground

developed

~3.3 mi from center

Campsite 4

backcountry

~3.3 mi from center

Ransburg Scout Reservation

developed

Boy Scouts of America - Crossroads of America~4.3 mi from center

Midwest Trail Ride RV Horse Campground

developed

~4.8 mi from center

Primitive Campground

developed

~5 mi from center

Paynetown

developed

BOR~5.1 mi from center

Tent Area E

developed

~5.1 mi from center

Hardin Ridge

developed

~5.1 mi from center

Tent Area C

developed

~5.2 mi from center

Tent Area B

developed

~5.3 mi from center

Hickory Ridge Horse Camp

developed

~5.8 mi from center

Pine Loop campground

developed

Cradle of Forestry Concessionaires~6 mi from centerFee required/night

40 sites

Hardin Ridge

developed

BOR~6.3 mi from center

Harden's Horse Camp

developed

~6.5 mi from center

Hoosier Horse Camp

developed

~6.9 mi from center

Stone Creek Campground & Trails

developed

~7 mi from center

Horseman's Camp

developed

~8.9 mi from center

Raccoon Ridge Campground

developed

~9.3 mi from centerFee required/night

Buffalo Ridge Campground

developed

~9.6 mi from centerFee required/night

⚠ 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.

Viable Species

Confidence × Primordia state

HIGHPrimed

Wine Cap

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Turkey Tail

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dryad's Saddle

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Witch's Butter

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Jelly Ear

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dead Man's Fingers

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fairy Ring Champignon

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Artist's Conk

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Birch Polypore

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Tinder Fungus

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Devil's Urn

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Mica Cap

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fool's Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fairy Inkcap

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Red-Belted Conk

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Thin-Walled Maze Polypore

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Mossy Maze Polypore

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

False Turkey Tail

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Half-Free Morel

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Eyelash Cup

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Snow Fungus

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Wood Ear

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Black Cup

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Green Elfcup

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Aspen Oyster

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Wolf's Milk Slime

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

King Alfred's Cakes

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Oak Mazegill

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Ovoid-Spore Psilocybe

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Banded Mottlegill

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Willow Shield

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dune Stinkhorn

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Lantern Stinkhorn

All conditions met (soil 71°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.30 VWC, 7d avg 0.31 — 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.