About Mycotours

Mycotours offers guided  foraging with expert guides in beautiful locations across the United States. On these tours, guests learn to identify and use wild mushrooms and plants, all while  exploring outdoor locations. These hikes usually range from a walk in town, to a strenuous hike through the mountains, with an emphasis on the ecosystem’s flora. We also offer cook and tastes and lunch on a private chef basis.

Mycotours expert guides are known by many as the most extreme mushroom hunters anywhere, and have an obsession with anything fungi. With many years experience between us, we have traversed many different places. From the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, to the deciduous forests of the Midwest, we are always in search of choice edible mushrooms. Although mushrooms and fungi are our main interest, we also are knowledgeable about many of the edible or medicinal plants. Many of us are avid fishermen as well. All of us have learned much in the way of mushroom identification; through our many opportunities to work with top mycologists in North America. We share a passion for food with culinary skills to match, as many of us have worked in the food service industry. We also have knowledge of local organic ingredients that we integrate into our dishes.

James Wieser is owner and operator of AmateurMycology.com and Mycotours.com. He also attended Paul Stamets introductory and Mycoremediation seminars in 2010. He has over 35 years of varied agricultural growing experience with dozens of species of plants. The last 3 years have been focused on mycological pursuits. Combining his agricultural background, with new mycology skills and biomimicry, James has developed a cultivation method we are calling “Forest Floor Cultivation”. This gives the plants in association with the mycelium/substrate 6 specific benefits to the plants/cultivator. Amateur Mycology has been developing an extensive culture library of local and native species of mycelium using a portable inoculation chamber/clean room.  James has a zero post consumer paper waste policy at his home and office and has not thrown out any paper in the last 1 ½ yrs! As James says, “It’s perfectly good mushroom food!”

2016  mycoTour expeditions

Everyone here at Mycotours hopes that you are all having a great year so far. 2014 has been an exciting year for us, and we are pleased to announce our dates that are scheduled for this year’s mushroom season. As always, if you cannot make the scheduled expeditions, or would like something a bit more private, click here and we can schedule a date for you.

All scheduled expeditions include a cooking demonstration and snacks at the end of the hunt. We meet at 8 am and will be out in the forest for approximately 4 hours (weather permitting). Price is $35 per person per hunt, unless otherwise noted. To reserve a spot on one of our trips click on the contacts link.

Colorado rocky mountain Porcini expeditions

The Colorado Rocky mountains is world renowned for it’s abundance of this choice edible mushroom. Here, forests produce not only Boletus edulis (The King, Porcini, Cep) but also the extremely rare White Porcini (Boletus barrowsii) that is known by some mycologists to be one of the most delicious mushrooms around. The season for Porcini in the Rocky Mountains varies year by year, but is usually sometime between June thru late August. We have scheduled some forays during the most prime time of year for these prized edibles. All Porcini forays will be located somewhere in the mountains near Denver, Colorado Springs, or Boulder. To RSVP, please visit our booking page here.

Colorado’s Late Summer Mushrooms

Chanterelles and Matsutake are known the world over as some of the best edible mushrooms. Colorado is lucky enough to have abundant habitat that is perfect for these particular mushrooms, and during the late summer, you will find many people looking in the forest for these elusive mushrooms. But beyond the most well known mushrooms, Colorado has many different types of edible mushrooms that fruit during the late summer months. Mycotours provides expert guides to help you find them and take you to some of the most beautiful locations anywhere in the Rocky Mountains. To reserve a spot on this tour, visit our booking site here.