Every year, the Peck Foray unites lovers of mushrooms and other fungi for a weekend of collecting and identification. It’s been hosted since 1954 by a different volunteer host each Fall, usually somewhere in New York. Dr. Kathie T. Hodge (Cornell University) is the Peck Coordinator.
The Peck Foray is open to all who are interested in fungi. Attendees traditionally include professors and their students, talented nonprofessional mycologists, and curious amateurs. There is typically no formal education program, only the joint collecting and sharing of interesting mushrooms and other fungi, and an intriguing evening lecture Saturday night.
The Peck was developed years ago as a way for graduate and undergraduate students to practice their fungal identification skills. This event is run by professors, so it has a pedagogical slant: we hope you’ll WORK on your finds and learn by discussing them. This focus on students also means we try to keep the foray inexpensive to encourage student participation, and, depending on the facility, we may prioritize student registrations.
Learn more about Charles Horton Peck.
Past Pecks
Due to pandemic, the Peck Foray has been on hiatus since 2019. Peck worked in Albany, NY for most of his career; most Peck Forays have been in New York State. But sometimes we have headed to Ontario, Quebec, or Pennsylvania. Thanks to Dr. June Wang for keeping this list all these years
1954 – Warrensburg, NY (Pack Demonstration Forest)
1955 – Croghan, NY near Belfort
1956 – Warrensburg, NY (Pack Demonstration Forest)
1957 – Newcomb, NY (Summer)
1958 – Rideau Lakes near Chaggey Locks, Ontario
1959 – Warrensburg, NY (Pack Demonstration Forest)
1960 – Paul Smith, NY
1961 – Salamanca, NY (Allegany State Park)
1962 – Dorset, Ontario
1963 – Oneonta, NY
1964 – Salamanca, NY (Allegany State Park, Spring)
1965 – Saranac Lake, NY
1966 – Kingston, Ontario
1967 – Lewis, NY (SUNY Plattsburg Science Camp)
1968 – Lewis, NY (SUNY Plattsburg Science Camp)
1969 – Warrensburg, NY (Pack Demonstration Forest)
1970 – Van Etten, NY (Arnot Forest, Cornell University)
1971 – Warrensburg, NY (Pack Demonstration Forest)
1972 – Ashokan, NY (SUNY New Paltz Science Camp)
1973 – Lac Lapeche, Gatineau Co., Quebec
1974 – Star Lake, NY (SUNY Potsdam Camp)
1975 – Millbrook, NY (Bennett College)
1976 – Raquette Lake, NY (SUNY Cortland Camp)
1977 – Crooked Lake, Rensselaer County, NY
1978 – Warrensburg, NY (Pack Demonstration Forest)
1979 – Brocton, NY (Machie Memorial Camp)
1980 – Ashokan, NY (SUNY New Paltz Science Camp)
1981 – Star Lake, NY (SUNY Potsdam Camp)
1982 – Warrensburg, NY (Pack Demonstration Forest)
1983 – Rensselaerville, NY (Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve)
1984 – Salamanca, NY (Allegany State Park)
1985 – Van Etten, NY (Arnot Forest, Cornell University)
1986 – Raquette Lake, NY (SUNY Cortland Camp)
1987 – Rensselaerville, NY (Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve)
1988 – Wanakena, NY (SUNY ESF Ranger School)
1989 – Frost Valley (YMCA Forstmann Conference Center)
1990 – Pawling, NY (Holiday Hills YMCA Conference Center)
1991 – Feura Bush, NY (Brauer Geological Field Research Station, SUNY Cortland)
1992 – Warrensburg, NY (Pack Demonstration Forest)
1993 – Van Etten, NY (Arnot Forest, Cornell University)
1994 – Raquette Lake, NY (SUNY Cortland Camp)
1995 – Cleveland, NY (Vanderkamp Center)
1996 – Salamanca, NY (Allegany State Park)
1997 – Star Lake, NY (SUNY Potsdam Camp)
1998 – Ashokan, NY (SUNY New Paltz Science Camp)
1999 – Vanderkamp Center, Cleveland, NY
2000 – Van Etten, NY (Arnot Forest, Cornell University)
2001 – Salamanca, NY (Allegany State Park, Camp Allegany)
2002 – Newcomb, NY (SUNY ESF, Adirondack Ecological Center)
2003 – Bethlehem, NY (SUNY Cortland, Robert Brauer Memorial Field Research Station)
2004 – Brocton, NY (SUNY Fredonia, College Lodge)
2005 – Van Etten, NY (Arnot Forest, Cornell University), Sept 30-Oct 2 (species list as doc or pdf)
2006 – Cranberry Lake, NY (SUNY ESF, Cranberry Lake Biological Station), Sept 15-17 (species list as doc or pdf)
2007 – Lock Haven, PA (Sieg Conference Center of Lock Haven University), Sept 21-23 (species list as doc or pdf)
2008 – Selkirk, NY (SUNY Cortland, Brauer Education Center), Sept 19-21
2009 – Huguenot, NY (YMCA Greenkill Retreat Center, Huguenot, NY), Sept 25-27
2010 – Painted Post, NY (Watson Homestead, Painted Post, NY), Sept 17-19
2011 – Cranberry Lake, NY (SUNY ESF, Cranberry Lake Biological Station), Sept 16-18
2012 – Lock Haven, PA (Sieg Conference Center of Lock Haven University), Sept 14-16
2013 – Sandy Lake, PA (McKeever Environmental Center), Sept 20-22
2014 – Cleveland, NY (Vankerkamp Retreat Center), Sept 12-14
2015 – Painted Post, NY (Watson Homestead, Painted Post, NY), Oct 2-4
2016 – Huguenot, NY (YMCA Greenkill Retreat Center) Sept 23-25
2017 – Newcomb, NY (Adirondack Ecological Center) Sept 22-24 (species list as xlsx or pdf file)
2018 – Lock Haven, PA (Sieg Conference Center of Lock Haven University) Sept 21-23. (species List as xlsx or pdf file; iNaturalist records)
2019 – Huguenot, NY (YMCA Greenkill Retreat Center) Sept 27-29.