Perched on the hip of the Olympic Peninsula, the historic Lake Quinault Lodge is famous for stunning vistas, soaring evergreens, and its verdant rain forest setting. The lodge is also known for special events like its annual Quinault Mushroom Festival. Set for October 21 – 23, this year’s festival is brimming with a wide variety of taste and instructive opportunities for fungi fanatics and anyone who wants to savor the unique world of flavorful fungi.
“The Quinault Mushroom Festival is in its 14th year,” says Sandra Miller, Activities Manager for the lodge.
This year’s festival will serve up are a variety of indoor and outdoor events as well as educational opportunities. Explains Miller, “We have field trips, big mushroom displays to view and the possibility of picking mushrooms. Mushroom guides determine where people will go to pick mushrooms according to where the mushrooms are. We have sign up sheets available so people can sign up for a field trip in advance.”
“People come because they’re mushroom enthusiasts. They’re primarily from the Pacific Northwest,” says Miller who expects the largest crowd on Saturday, October 22. While some visitors come just for the day, others make a weekend out of it, enjoying mushroom talks, displays, and guided field trips hunting for elusive chanterelles. Enthusiasts who stay through Sunday get an added bonus. Says Miller, “The lodge chef does a cooking demonstration on Sunday as part of the event.”
An important part of the ecosystem in and around Olympic National Park, mushrooms are the reproductive structures or fruit of certain fungi. According to the Washington National Park Fund, mushrooms and truffles are important wildlife food consumed by deer, elk, bear, small mammals and mollusks. Read more here: http://www.graysharbortalk.com/2016/09/29/mushroom-festival-lake-quinault-lodge/