Loading conditions…
Loading conditions…
600–1,400 ft · OH🚗 Directions
Wayne National Forest in SE Ohio. Rolling Appalachian foothills with oak-hickory, dying ash, and scattered old orchards. Largest contiguous forest in Ohio. Early-season morels on south slopes, then ridgetops later.
Updated Oct 11, 5:07 AM MT
Wayne NF at 600-1,400 ft grades Excellent on sustained soil moisture (0.18 VWC, flat across the 7-day average) with no drought and the moisture trigger met, even though the last two weeks brought only 0.07" of rain. Soil is at 56.5°F, so temperature is the real gatekeeper: the high-confidence species are Honey Mushroom, Hedgehog, Red-Belted Conk, Tooth Jelly, Jelly Antler, and Angel Wings, all with 5-6 of the last 7 days above their thresholds. Most of the rest of the list, including Hen of the Woods, Lion's Mane, Oak Milk Cap, and the oysters, is still in the "mycelium activating, primordia not yet established" phase, so expect scattered or early flushes rather than reliable ones. Chicken of the Woods, Black Trumpet, and the stinkhorns (Ravenel's, Elegant) sit furthest from their 60-62°F minimums with 0 days above, so skip them for now. Watch soil temperature over the next several days: if it holds or climbs past 58°F, the marginal group (puffballs, parasols, inkcaps, waxcaps, meadow and horse mushrooms) should start crossing the line, but with only 0.07" of rain in two weeks, you're relying on stored soil moisture, and a cold snap would stall the second wave. Hot tip: Work hardwood stands for Honey Mushroom and Hedgehog first, and check standing dead conifer and hardwood stumps for Red-Belted Conk and Angel Wings, since those are the species with confirmed, established conditions.
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.
Log your find on iNaturalist to help the community and get expert ID assistance. Photos, location, and habitat notes all help with identification.
No campgrounds within 10 mi. Try widening the radius.
⚠ 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.
Precip 7d
0.07"
PRISM 4km · thru 10-09
Precip 14d
Observed precipitation from PRISM 4km gridded analysis, sampled at the region centroid through 2026-10-09. Used when no SNOTEL/SCAN station is mapped to this region.0.07"
PRISM 4km · thru 10-09
Soil Temp
57°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 (57°F vs 60°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 62°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
All conditions met (soil 57°F, sustained 5/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained)
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
All conditions met (soil 57°F, sustained 6/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained)
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
All conditions met (soil 57°F, sustained 6/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained)
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
All conditions met (soil 57°F, sustained 6/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 57°F, sustained 6/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained)
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
All conditions met (soil 57°F, sustained 6/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained)
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 60°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil temp marginal (57°F vs 60°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — moisture sustained
soil warming up (57°F today, only 2/7 days above threshold — mycelium activating, primordia not yet established), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.18 — 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.