"Due to exponential increase of Covid-19 cases from a new variant, we are regretfully cancelling the 16th annual Point Reyes National Seashore Fungus Fair. It just doesn't seem safe at this time." - Bay Area Mycological Society
The Sixteenth Annual
BAMS / Point Reyes National Seashore
Fungus Fair
Sunday, January 9, 2022
10 am to 4 pm
Fungi Collecting Day on Saturday, January 8, 2021
Ever wonder about all those mushrooms you've seen in the grasslands and forests at Point Reyes National Seashore? The Fungus Fair is a perfect opportunity to see them up close and learn more about them.
Since 2005, fungi have been gathered by volunteers who collect, identify, and catalog mushrooms for an ongoing study at the Point Reyes National Seashore.
Precautions Due to COVID
Due to continuing COVID restrictions, the Bay Area Mycological Society (BAMS) and Point Reyes National Seashore are having a somewhat modified Fungus Fair in 2022. The public is invited to help us to collect mushrooms in good condition from the Point Reyes Peninsula on Saturday, January 8, 2022. Our Fair on Sunday, January 9, 2022, will feature a number of indoor displays in the Visitor Center, but there will be no talks this year in the auditorium due to spacing issues and public safety. Roving fungal ambassadors will be available to answer your questions, both indoors and out. As always, this is a free event, open to all.
Following the latest science and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Park Service (NPS) requires visitors, employees, and contractors to wear a mask inside all NPS buildings and in crowded outdoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status or community transmission levels.
Please continue to practice physical (aka, social) distancing consistent with CDC guidance in all locations. Put six feet of distance between yourself and people who don't live in your household. Some people without symptoms may be able to spread virus.
Fungi Collecting Foray
Saturday, January 8, 2022
10 am to 2 pm
10 am: Park visitors and the mushroom curious are invited to gather at 10 am on Saturday, January 8, 2022, (rain or shine) at the Bear Valley Visitor Center for instructions on how to collect fungi for Sunday's Fungus Fair. Bring bags or buckets or baskets and ways to keep collections separate (paper or wax-tex works best). A pocket knife or trowel can help you to get entire mushrooms. Please document your collections, by noting habitat and location. Collecting labels will be provided. We cannot promise guided forays, and this is NOT about collecting edibles. In fact, we'd like to see any mushrooms, edible or not, donated for displays in our Fair. Experienced collectors are welcome to go out on their own at any time—just be sure and bring your collections to the Red Barn before 2 pm.
Noon to 2 pm: Bring your mushrooms to the Red Barn. We will ID your finds, and select the most beautiful and interesting and unusual examples for our Fair the next day.
Fungus Fair
Sunday, January 9, 2022
10 am to 4 pm
During the Sixteenth Annual Fungus Fair on Sunday, January 9, 2022, wild mushrooms collected at the park will be on display on the south porch of the Bear Valley Visitor Center and mushroom-related exhibits will be displayed inside the visitor center. Bay Area Mycological Society (BAMS) Roving Mushroom Ambassadors will be available to answer your questions! Feel free to bring in any wild mushrooms that you are curious about.
Directions
For directions and a map to help you get to the Bear Valley Visitor Center, visit our Directions page.
Parking
To help reduce traffic congestion in the paved parking lot adjacent to the Bear Valley Visitor Center, please park your vehicle(s) in the gravel, trailhead/picnic area parking lot on the left (east) side of the access road close to the Bear Valley Trailhead. Parking is free. Download the Bear Valley Area Map (504 KB PDF), which shows the location of the trailhead parking lot relative to the Bear Valley Visitor Center.
There are specific legal guidelines for mushroom collecting. Please visit the Collecting section on the Park Regulations page.
Please note: employee housing as well as park administrative, maintenance, operations, and storage facilities, including, but not limited, to access roads, outbuildings, grounds, and docks, are closed to public use.
Mushroom Poisonings
No mushroom should be eaten unless it can first be positively identified as edible. Learning to identify mushrooms in their many guises takes time, and reliable resources. The best way to learn about mushrooms is through local field guides and mushroom societies. Visit the Bay Area Mycological Society's Mushroom Poisonings page for more information on identifying the three most deadly mushrooms in California.
415-464-5100
This number will initially be answered by an automated attendant, from which one can opt to access a name directory, listen to recorded information about the park (i.e., directions to the park; visitor center hours of operation; fire danger information; wildlife updates; ranger-led programs; seasonal events; etc.), or speak with a ranger. Please note that if you are calling between 4:30 pm and 10 am, park staff may not be available to answer your call.
