"There's a lot of places people can look for morels. Southeast Minnesota has so much public forest land, so much access to the kind of habitat you need for morels. Elms are their preferred host plant. Morels will grow around aspens, oaks and apple trees. But if you focus around elms as your priority, you're really more likely to find morels. In our state parks you can pick fruits, berries, nuts and mushrooms for personal consumption. But if you have access to private land — maybe you know someone who owns a farm or an orchard — you're more likely to find them, just because you're not competing with everyone else."

Sara Grover, interpretive naturalist, Whitewater State Park