Morel mushroom season is arriving in the New Glarus area, bringing with it one of Wisconsin’s most anticipated spring traditions. As the ground warms and the woods begin to wake up, local foragers are starting to watch hillsides, timber edges and old tree lines for the first signs of the prized wild mushroom.

For many in southern Wisconsin, morel hunting is as much a rite of spring as trout fishing, gardening and the first stretch of mild weather after a long winter. Around New Glarus, the season offers another reason to get outdoors and explore the landscape as April turns toward May.