Free Mushroom Map Soil, weather & burn data
Most “free” foraging tools give you just enough to be frustrating — a teaser map with no real data, or a paywall the moment you try to check conditions.
Forayz works differently. A free account — email and password, no credit card — unlocks the core condition layers: soil temperature and moisture at two depths, the past week of rain, snow cover, wildfire smoke, active fires, historical burns, ecoregions, and rainfall normals. These are the same layers I use to decide whether a trip is worth the drive.
What’s Free in Forayz
The free tier includes the condition layers that matter most, at regional scale. These are the conditions that drive mushroom fruiting, and having them in one place saves hours of checking weather stations, soil databases, and SNOTEL sites individually.
Soil Temperature
The single most important variable for timing morel hunts. Studies elsewhere put morel fruiting onset in the mid-40s°F (43°F for a European morel, Buscot 1989); there is no Pacific Northwest study, and none for burn morels. The map shows where the ground has warmed that far across the Pacific Northwest and Western US — instead of guessing from air temperature or elevation. Readable at the surface (0–3 in) or down in the root zone (3–11 in), which lags the surface and tracks fruiting better. Free accounts see it at regional zoom; Pro lets you zoom in to a single drainage.
Soil Moisture
Moisture is the second half of the equation. A warm burn site that hasn’t seen rain in three weeks isn’t going to produce. This layer helps identify areas with enough water in the ground to support fruiting — especially important later in the season when exposed slopes dry out fast. Also available at both surface and root-zone depth, with the same regional zoom on the free plan.
Precipitation: Past 7 Days
How much rain has fallen in the last week. The 7-day view catches a single storm that just soaked one valley, which is often the signal you’re waiting for. Pro adds 14- and 30-day windows that show whether the season has been wet enough overall — chanterelle and bolete hunters lean on those in the fall.
Snow Coverage
In spring, snow coverage tells you which burns and high-elevation sites have melted out and which are still buried. No point driving three hours to a site under two feet of snow. Updates regularly so you can watch the melt line climb. (Pro adds a Recent Melt mode showing where snow came off in the last two weeks.)
Ecoregions
Ecoregion boundaries help you understand the landscape at a glance — what kind of forest you’re looking at, what elevation band you’re in, and what species are likely to grow there. Useful when planning trips to unfamiliar areas.
Wildfire Smoke & Forecast
Near-surface smoke right now, plus where it is forecast to peak 24 and 48 hours out. In late summer this is the layer that decides whether a trip is worth making at all. A blank map means clear air.
Active Wildfires & Historical Burns
Current NIFC fire perimeters so you know what to drive around, plus 25,000+ older burn perimeters across the West going back to 2005 — enough to find long-cold burns that still produce.
Public Lands, Roads & Trails
Federal, state and provincial public land across the US and Canada, the numbered USFS road network, maintained trails, and recreation sites like trailheads and campgrounds. Answers “am I even allowed to pick here, and can I get there?”
Rainfall Normals
Long-term precipitation averages by area. Is this spot generally wet or dry? Combined with the recent-precipitation layers, you can identify areas running wetter or drier than usual — which can mean better or worse conditions than the map suggests alone.
Check conditions before your next trip
Make a free account, turn on soil temperature and moisture, and see what’s happening at your target spots right now. No credit card.
What Forayz Pro Adds
The free layers are enough for general foraging — checking conditions, timing trips, understanding the landscape. If you’re specifically hunting burn morels or doing serious backcountry scouting, Pro unlocks the layers that matter most for that work.
Recent Burn Maps
Wildfire and managed-burn perimeters from the most recent fire seasons across the entire Western US. Free accounts can explore one older sample year; Pro opens the newest years. First-year burns are where the big morel fruitings happen, and having every burn mapped on one screen saves an enormous amount of research time. 2026 burn maps are live.
Timber Harvest Maps
Recently logged and thinned forest areas. These are underrated morel spots that most foragers overlook — timber harvests create similar conditions to burns, but with less competition because fewer people are looking at harvest data.
Area Fruiting Calendars
Open a town or mountain pass and Forayz shows which species typically fruit there in which months, built from years of observation data for that specific area — alongside its ecoregion, the forest composition around it, and 30-year climate normals. Useful for somewhere you have never foraged.
Tap the Map for Conditions
Long-press anywhere in the apps, or click empty map on the web, and a pin drops with the conditions at that exact point: elevation, soil temperature and moisture, snow, recent rainfall, and the dominant tree species there. One tap instead of toggling five layers.
Tree Species Maps
22 species mapped by live tree density — Douglas-fir, cottonwood, the firs and hemlocks, ponderosa, oak, madrone, redcedar and more. Find the host trees your target species associates with before you drive out.
Offline Map Downloads
Download map areas to your phone for use without cell service. Essential for backcountry foraging where you’re miles from a tower. Download your target areas at home, then navigate in the field without worrying about signal.
How Foragers Use the Free Map
Fall chanterelle scouting: Check soil moisture and the past week of rain for your usual spots before making the drive (Pro adds the 14- and 30-day windows for the season’s total soak). If the ground is dry, save the gas.
Spring morel timing: Watch soil temperature maps in March and April. When your target elevation band warms into the mid-40s°F and there’s been recent rain, it’s go time.
Planning a trip to a new area: Use ecoregions and rainfall normals to understand what kind of forest and moisture regime you’re headed into. Cross-reference snow coverage if you’re heading to higher elevations, and wildfire smoke if it’s late summer.
General mushroom scouting: Soil moisture, temperature, and precipitation together tell you whether conditions are favorable for fruiting in any area, for any species. These are the fundamentals.
Free vs. Pro: Which Do You Need?
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Soil moisture & temperature | Regional zoom | Full zoom |
| Precipitation: past 7 days | ✓ | ✓ |
| Precipitation: 14 & 30-day windows | — | ✓ |
| Snow coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ecoregions & rainfall normals | ✓ | ✓ |
| Wildfire smoke + 48-hour forecast | ✓ | ✓ |
| Active wildfires & historical burns | ✓ | ✓ |
| Public lands, roads & trails | ✓ | ✓ |
| Waypoints & track recording (iOS & Android) | — | ✓ |
| Recent burn maps (Western US) | 1 sample year | ✓ |
| Timber harvest maps | — | ✓ |
| Tree species maps (22 species) | — | ✓ |
| Tap-the-map condition readout | — | ✓ |
| Area fruiting calendars | — | ✓ |
| Offline map downloads | — | ✓ |
| Price | $0 | $15–$19.99/yr |
If you’re foraging casually or hunting species that don’t depend on burn data — chanterelles, boletes, hedgehogs, lobster mushrooms — the free tier is a complete tool. Start there.
If you’re chasing burn morels, want offline maps for backcountry use, or want the tree species and fruiting calendars, Pro pays for itself on your first trip that would’ve been a bust without the data.
Try It Now — Free, No Credit Card
Make a free account, turn on a few layers, and check conditions somewhere you know. Available on web, iOS, and Android.