Mycophiles expect “bumper year” for mushrooms thanks to rain on the Front Range

When Jon Sommer is selling real estate, his mantra is “location, location, location.” But when Sommer, who also serves as president of the Colorado Mycological Society, is looking for mushrooms, his mantra is “rain, rain, rain.”

The Front Range received more than its fair share of precipitation this year, accumulating near-record amounts of rain in May and June. While that led some to expect a prodigious year for hunting mushrooms in the mountains, Sommer said the season, which usually runs June through August, is off to a slow start thanks to cooler temperatures at altitude.

“Right now is the peak of the season typically, but we are about three to four weeks behind. We’re finding the diversity, but not the quantity of mushrooms,” So...