Picking Mushrooms, Acorns and Berries in the Coast Redwoods.

Mushrooms & Berry Picking ... No & Yes

About picking in the Redwood National and State Parks

Continued from: Coast Redwoods

by Mario Vaden

The scoop about picking in the coast redwoods, is it's okay to pick berries, but not okay to pick mushrooms. Feel free to double check with the rangers or park visitor centers, but that's the information I heard.

A couple of years ago, I was at Prairie Creek taking photos of a ranger and visitors. When the ranger saw a child picking red huckleberry, he told the group that berry picking was okay.

Red huckerberry have very small leaves, deciduous, and red or oranger berries about 1/4 inch. There are also evergreen huckleberry with dark berries that look blue or black.

You will probably find books or information at the visitor centers about berries, but I'll share don't eat any white berries. Snowberry is white and you do not want to eat those poisonous berries.

I called one of the visitor centers to double check about mushrooms, and was told that mushroom picking is not allowed in Redwood National and State Parks.

That would apply to any mushrooms, whether Bolete, Chanterelle, Oyster, Chicken of the Woods, etc..

Exceptions & Acorns

While photographing the nearby middle fork Smith River in autumn, The abundance prompted my question about could someone gather acorns in redwood parks, for those who understand how to prepare the acorns.

I found an information guide online from Redwood National and State Parks

It stated that disturbing, defacing, or collecting plants, animals, rocks, historic or archaeological objects without a permit is prohibited. Exceptions on national (NPS) parklands only:

> Apples (five per person per day);

> Acorns (ten gallons per person per day);

> Berries, hazel nuts and unoccupied seashells (one gallon per person per day).

Exception on state (CDPR) parklands only: berries (five pounds per person per day).