Mushroom Madness Weekend set at Mingo Creek Park
The Washington County Department of Parks and Recreation in conjunction with the Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club will host the 10th Annual Morel Madness Weekend at Mingo Creek Park on Saturday and Sunday. Check in at the Henry House, near Shelter 9, will begin at 11?a.m. The program begins at noon.
At noon a morel mushroom slide show will be presented by John Plischke III, a nationally recognized mycologist, in Shelter 8. The slide show will highlight morel mushroom identification, habitat preferences of morel mushrooms and poisonous morel mushroom “look a-likes”. The remainder of the afternoon will be spent searching for morel mushrooms. Join a group of experienced morel hunters or strike out on your own in search of tasty morel mushrooms. Collection and identification tables will be setup to share mushrooms gathered by the returning mushroom hunters at Shelter 8.
?After a brief recess for dinner, another morel foray will depart from Shelter 8 at 6?p.m. At 8?p.m., John Plischke the III will present his widely popular “Wild Edible Mushroom” slide show at Shelter 8. Social time around the campfire will follow.
On Sunday morning a morel mushroom hunt will be held beginning at 9?a.m. The group will meet at Shelter 8. The Morel Madness Weekend will conclude at noon on Sunday.
Pre-registration for this program is required. Call the Washington County Department of Parks and Recreation at 724-228-6867 to make reservations. There is a $5 fee per person for this program.
Overnight camping will be offered to participants on Saturday, April 30 only. Tent camping will be permitted in the areas near Shelters 7, 8 and 9. Those wishing to camp in RV’s or Pop-Ups may do so only on the paved parking areas. Electricity is available in the shelters, but there are no electrical hookups for RV’s or Pop up campers. Firewood and water will be available. A $5 fee per campsite will be charged for those wishing to camp.
Comfortable walking shoes or boots, weather appropriate clothing, collecting baskets or mesh bags, a walking stick, and a knife are recommended.
Mingo Creek County Park is located 12 miles cast of Washington, PA, off of Route 136. A map of Mingo Creek County Park and directions to the park are available on the Washington County website at www.co.washington.pa.us.