Mushroom picking in Czechia: 14 areas and when to go

A military zone closed to the public until 2016, now the best-known mushroom ground within an hour of Prague. Boletes and bay boletes from late June, peak in September.

Oak and beech woods in a UNESCO biosphere reserve. Penny buns and oak boletes after warm rain, July to October.

Sandy pine forest between the sandstone rocks — slippery jacks and pine boletes, often the first flush of the season in June.

Blueberry undergrowth and spruce; bay boletes here are often clean of maggots thanks to the altitude. August to October.

Quiet forest on the German border, less picked over than the Prague-side woods. Boletes and chanterelles, July to October.

Flat pine woods between the fishponds, easy walking and reliable in a dry year. Pine boletes, slippery jacks and birch boletes, July to October.

Spruce forest below the national park, where chanterelles come early and spruce boletes follow. July to October — the park's core zones are off limits.

Mixed mountain forest above the Wallachian valleys. Honey fungus covers the stumps in October, after the boletes are done.

Oak and hornbeam hills above the Moravian wine country — oak boletes after August storms, and a good excuse to end the day in a cellar.

Spruce ridges above the Divoká Orlice valley, reliable in wet summers when the lowlands stay empty.

Spruce plantations around the peat bogs are saffron milk cap country, best in September and October.

Thinly populated border forest, one of the least picked regions in the country. Boletes from July, russulas all summer.

Birch and spruce on the ridge above the spa towns — birch boletes and milk caps, late July into October.

High spruce country on the Bohemian-Moravian ridge; later and cooler than the lowlands, so the season runs well into October.