How to Identify Chanterelle Mushrooms in Minnesota: A Summer Foraging Guide
- Mike Kempenich | Gentleman Forager
- Jun 24
- 7 min read
🟡 What Are Chanterelles?
The chanterelle mushroom — I even like the way it rolls off the tongue! With July comes the emergence of one of the most prized edible mushrooms in the world: Cantharellus, better known as chanterelle mushrooms. In Minnesota, they mark the true beginning of summer foraging season. This guide focuses specifically on identifying chanterelles in Minnesota, where conditions and companion trees narrow your search to just a few reliable scenarios.
After morels, many foragers hit a dry spell, wondering what’s next. Most skip the oddball finds of June — puffballs, crown-tip coral, chicken of the woods, white jelly fungus — and wait it out. But when the 4th of July hits, it’s time to lace up again. Chanterelle season has begun in earnest — morels are for the masses, but the rest? That’s for you and me.
📍 Where Chanterelle Mushrooms Grow in Minnesota
Cantharellus, like the morel, is a mycorrhizal mushroom, meaning it forms a symbiotic relationship with certain vascular plants. If you're hunting for chanterelle mushrooms in Minnesota, knowing which trees they associate with is key. In the southern half of the state, that usually means white oak. But north of the St. Cloud region, where white oak is scarce, chanterelles are more likely to be found in mixed conifer forests.
In southern Minnesota, where oak is more common, you’ll rarely find chanterelles in areas without them — it’s not impossible, but it’s not worth your time to hunt in oakless woods.
🎣 Think Like a Forager (or a Fisherman)
When beginners ask where to find mushrooms like chanterelles, I suggest they shift their mindset a little. Think of it like fishing. If you were after sunfish on a lake you’d never visited, you might ask around and get a few decent tips. But if you asked where the walleyes were, you’d get more vague answers.
And even if someone gave you one great walleye spot, that won’t help much if they’re not biting there that day. Experienced anglers don’t rely on specific spots — they understand the habits and habitats of the fish they’re after. Same goes for chanterelles. The key is to understand what they prefer. 🌲 What Habitat Do Chanterelles Prefer?
Chanterelles like it cool and moist. That eliminates at least half of the forest right away — avoid areas with open sun, dry soil, or exposed slopes.
In Minnesota:
Central and southern regions: Focus on white oak stands with filtered light.
Northern regions: Target mixed conifer forests that retain moisture and stay shaded.
Understanding what chanterelle mushrooms in Minnesota prefer — cool, damp soil and filtered sunlight — will instantly narrow your search area. Even then, chanterelles won’t grow with every oak or pine. Just like walleyes aren’t on every rocky point, chanterelles aren’t under every tree. The key is developing an eye for nuanced habitat clues — things like slope, leaf cover, and soil dampness. The more of those subtle signs you can read, the better your odds.
🍳 How to Identify Chanterelle Mushrooms (and Avoid Mistakes)
Positive ID is essential when foraging chanterelle mushrooms in Minnesota. While they’re one of the easier mushrooms to recognize, look-alikes exist — and a few can make you sick. Let’s get this out of the way first: Never eat any wild mushroom you’re not 100% confident identifying. If you’re unsure — toss it. Your health isn’t worth the risk.
That said, chanterelles are among the easier wild mushrooms to learn, once you know what to look for.
Key Identification Features:
Grows from the ground, never from wood.
No true gills — instead, chanterelles have false gills: shallow, ridged folds that run from the cap down the stem.
Gills are uneven and often extend irregularly down the stem.
Color: deep egg-yolk yellow to pale yellow, sometimes slightly peach-toned.
Firm and solid throughout — not flimsy.
Fruity aroma, often described as apricot-like.
Grows singly or in small groups, not dense clusters.
I feel compelled to remind you that reading my words should not serve as a blessing to consume ANYTHING that you are not certain of for yourself. If you find yourself contemplating any aspect of its positive identification, throw it out. You do not risk permanent injury or death to eat any other food—mushrooms should be no different. Having said that… Though chanterelles are relatively easy to identify, compared to many others, they do have a few look-alikes—one in particular with is poisonous. Let’s begin by stating that a chanterelle will be growing from the ground NEVER from or on wood. The second obvious indicator would be its gills—or lack thereof. Chanterelles have what many people refer to as
“false-gills”. This means the gill is really not something you could grab and pull off; rather it is a slight ridge that runs the length of the cap, from the outer edge of its margins all the way down to the stem and actually extending down the stem to some degree—usually not uniformly. The color is egg-yolk yellow—though it can be a more buff and lighter shade and I even pick one species that is actually slightly peach colored.
Mushrooms like most living things have many slight (and rarely wildly) variations to shape size and color. The smell will be fruity. Many people liken their aroma to that of apricots and I agree —especially when you can put your nose in a large number of them in a basket! This smell is a very good indicator providing you have checked off the other issues above. They are solid and firm throughout. They can grow singly or in small (2-3) clusters or groupings.
✅ Chanterelle Identification Recap
Grows from the ground — never on wood
Has false gills, not true gills
Gills run unevenly down the stem
Egg-yolk to pale yellow or peach in color
Fruity apricot-like smell
Solid, firm, white flesh inside
Never grows in tight clusters from a single base
⚠️ Toxic Look-Alikes to Avoid
The most talked about chanterelle look-alike is the Jack-o’-lantern or Omphalotus olearius, a very beautiful fungus that actually glows in the dark. Secondary metabolites and waste products produced by this fungus enable its gills glow an eerie green! Consuming this mushrooms will result in sever cramps, vomiting and diarrhea. It will not kill you, but it may make you wish you were dead.
While it can certainly appear chanterelle like —under MOST circumstances there is a deal killing difference in that it grows on dead wood and NOT from the ground as do chanterelles. Memorizing this fact is important —you will never, ever find a chanterelle growing from dead wood. The problem comes in that, on occasion, the Jack-o’-lantern can be growing from wood that is buried under ground! For this reason you can ALWAYS rule out a suspected chanterelle that is growing from wood, but you cannot automatically rule out Jack-o’-lantern because it is growing from the ground.
You must move to another of the identifying characteristics to ensure this. The easiest one would be that the Jack-o’-lantern has true gills. The kind of gills you can easily grab and pull out. Another factor is color—they are typically a much deeper shade that boarders on orange more than yellow. A third factor would be that they grow in true clusters. There are typically many mushrooms (sometimes a dozen or more) that will all emanate from the same central point. The last factor would be smell—they do not smell fruity or like apricots at all. The smell is peasant, but definitely not fruity.
How to tell it apart from a chanterelle:
Grows from wood, though buried wood can mislead you
Has true gills — sharp, blade-like, and removable
Orange hue — more intense than chanterelle yellow
Grows in dense clusters from a single point
No fruity smell
Recap:
Grows on dead or buried wood
True gills
Orange outside, orangish interior
No fruity smell
Clusters from a central base
The second look-alike is typically called a “false chanterelle” like we refer to false morels —its name is Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca. The resemblance to Chanterelle is fleeting as this mushroom, like the Jack-o’-lantern has true gills AND the gills are forked—a very distinguishing difference on two counts. It is roughly the same shape but the color is more of an orange/brown—not nearly as yellow. As it ages the center of the cap becomes browner and the edges of the cap usually appear more orange/yellow than does the center. It is also a much more flimsy mushroom, not solid and firm as a chanterelle and it does not have any fruity component to its smell. The gills do run a bit down the stem, but are repeatedly forked —a dead giveaway.
This mushroom will not kill you and some field guides actually say it is of questionable edibility, but the flavor is unpalatable. This is a look-alike that will not kill you; however, Hygrophoropsis contains high levels of a sugar alcohol called arabitol. Sugar alcohols can produce bloating and diarrhea which is why you should avoid this mushroom.
Avoiding look-alikes is one of the most important skills for anyone hunting chanterelle mushrooms in Minnesota.
How to tell it apart from a chanterelle:
Has true gills, and they are often forked
Color is orange/brown, not yellow
Texture is flimsy, not solid
No fruity smell
Recap:
Forked, true gills
Orange-brown cap
Flimsy structure
No fruity smell
The Chanterelle grows from July through the end of October here in Minnesota, typically. I hope you will all grab some bug-spray and a buddy, or your kids, and venture out to give it a shot. We are really lucky to have so much beautiful forest available to us here in Minnesota, and much of it gives out free delicious food!! I hope this helps you feel more confident as you head into the woods to search for chanterelle mushrooms in Minnesota this summer. I’m looking forward to seeing your posts and hearing about your successes! Tag @GentlemanForager in your photos — we love seeing your finds!
And if you're new to this or want to sharpen your ID skills, check out our upcoming Summer ID class on July 13th!
Mike–
Comments