The Halloween Matsutake Experience is a guided mushroom foray in the forests of Mount Shasta on Saturday, October 31, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Local guides from Shasta Forage lead the search for matsutake, one of the world's most prized wild mushrooms, and you are back in time for trick-or-treating.
Flyer: Shasta Forage, via Discover Siskiyou.
When is the Halloween Matsutake Experience?
Saturday, October 31, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, per the Discover Siskiyou listing. To join, choose October 31 on the Shasta Forage booking calendar. Book ahead.
Where is it and how do you get there from Etna?
The foray takes place in the forests around Mount Shasta, and the meeting point is shared when you book. From Blossom, plan on about 1 hour 15 minutes.
Go over Gazelle: take Gazelle-Callahan Road from Callahan to Gazelle, then on toward Mount Shasta. It's only a touch longer, but you see gorgeous land and Lovers Leap rock, and it's a nice cell-phone-free drive (there's no service), so save your meeting directions before you leave. Come back through Yreka on I-5 and Highway 3. With a 3 PM finish and sunset just after 6, you can be home in daylight. Check Caltrans QuickMap before you go.
What should you know before you go?
Why go guided: the guides teach matsutake habitat, how to identify them and how fungi and forest depend on each other. Wild mushrooms have toxic lookalikes, and this time of year we only recommend heading into the forest with an experienced guide, which makes this the right way to do it.
Price: see the booking page for current pricing and details.
What to bring: waterproof boots, warm layers, a rain shell, water and lunch. Ask the guides about baskets and knives when you book.
Kids: age rules aren't listed, so ask Shasta Forage before booking for children.
Questions: write to info@shastaforage.com.
After the forest
Back in Etna by late afternoon, you still have Halloween evening on Main Street. See it all on our full events calendar.
Blossom Sanctuary is a private house in Etna for one to four guests, with a full kitchen if your guides send you home with ideas for dinner. See open dates and prices.
