The Albarracín mycological park is one of the top mushroom-picking destinations in Aragon. It covers more than 60,000 hectares of pine forest, oak woodland and mountain meadow in the Sierra de Albarracín, where you can pick mushrooms legally with a simple, inexpensive permit and a set of rules designed to keep the forest productive season after season.
This guide covers everything you need to plan your trip: how the mushroom picking permit works, how many kilos you can take, which rules apply, which mushrooms grow in each season, where the picking areas are and where to stay so the forest is right on your doorstep.
To pick mushrooms in the Parque Micológico de la Comunidad de Albarracín you need a picking permit. According to the park’s official website, the visitor permit costs €5 per day, €10 per week or €60 per year and allows up to 5 kg per person per day. You can buy it online, at local town halls and at participating businesses. Autumn is usually the best time to go, while spring is the season for morels and St George’s mushrooms.
What is the Albarracín mycological park?
The Parque Micológico de la Comunidad de Albarracín is a forest area where mushroom picking is regulated. According to its official website, it is made up of 40 public forests belonging to 21 local authorities, covering around 60,455 hectares of the Sierra de Albarracín in the province of Teruel.
Don’t picture a fenced park with an entrance gate. It is a network of regulated forests, signposted on the ground, where you need a permit and must follow a few rules to pick mushrooms. The money raised from permits pays for managing the resource, patrolling the forests and improving the park.
The legal basis is Decree 179/2014 of the Government of Aragon, which regulates the picking of wild mushrooms on forest land. The list of regulated forests can change, so check the park’s website and look out for the signs before you start picking.
Why the Sierra de Albarracín is so good for mushrooms
The sierra is part of the Montes Universales range and packs very different soils into a small area: the red sandstone of the Rodeno, the quartzite and slate of the Tremedal and limestone plateaus. On top of them grow Scots pine, maritime pine and black pine forests, Pyrenean oak and gall oak woods, juniper woodland and pastures. Each combination of soil, altitude and vegetation suits different species, which explains the huge variety of mushrooms.
How the Albarracín mushroom picking permit works
You cannot pick mushrooms in the regulated forests without a permit. Visitors can choose between three visitor permits, all with the same daily limit. These are the figures the park has published for the 2026 season:
| Permit | Valid for | Price | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day | One calendar day (until 23:59) | €5 | 5 kg/day |
| Week | 7 consecutive days from the date you choose | €10 | 5 kg/day |
| Annual | Current calendar year (until 31 December) | €60 | 5 kg/day |
If you are staying more than one day, the weekly permit pays for itself straight away: two outings already cost the same as two day permits. Residents and property owners in the park’s municipalities have their own permits, issued through the town halls.
Permit conditions
- It is personal and non-transferable. Carry it with your passport or ID card and show it if forest rangers or the authorities ask for it.
- It is for recreational use only. You may not sell the mushrooms you pick.
- Children under 14 do not need a permit, as long as they are with an adult who has one and is responsible for them.
- All the mushrooms you carry are deemed to have been picked in the regulated forests.
Where to buy the permit
The easiest option is the official website of the mycological park (in Spanish): choose the type of permit and the date, then pay online. It is also sold at town halls and participating businesses around the sierra. For questions, the park’s phone number is +34 605 67 75 81.
Mobile coverage is patchy in much of the sierra. Buy your permit in advance and keep it on your phone or printed out, especially at weekends in autumn.
Mycological park rules: what to know before you go
The park’s picker’s guide (in Spanish) sets out the basic rules. They are straightforward, and almost all of them come down to looking after the forest.
Minimum sizes
| Mushroom | Minimum size |
|---|---|
| Boletus edulis group (ceps) | 4 cm cap |
| Saffron milk cap, king oyster and St George’s mushroom | 3 cm cap |
| Morel | 5 cm long |
| All other species | 2 cm |
How to pick
- Use a basket. Plastic bags and buckets are not allowed: a basket lets the mushrooms breathe and scatters spores as you walk.
- Cut with a knife the stems of saffron milk caps, king oysters, St George’s mushrooms, slimy waxcaps and grey knights. This is compulsory.
- Don’t disturb the soil or the pine needles, and don’t use rakes, sickles or hoes.
- Leave old boletes in the forest, the ones with green pores. Picking them is prohibited.
- Don’t pick closed eggs of Amanita caesarea (Caesar’s mushroom), and only take parasols once the cap has opened.
- No picking at night, no litter and no fires outside designated areas.
- Don’t destroy mushrooms you don’t know or that aren’t edible: they all play a role in the forest.
Driving: forest tracks and parking
Motor vehicles are not allowed off the tracks, and the permit does not entitle you to drive on restricted-access forest tracks. Park in designated spots or lay-bys without blocking the way. In peak season, a badly parked car on a track can hold up rangers or emergency vehicles.
Big-game hunts take place during the autumn mushroom season. While an authorised, signposted hunt is under way, picking is not allowed in that area. The date and time are posted at the forest entrances, and the town halls publish the calendar. The park recommends wearing high-visibility clothing.
Which mushrooms grow in the Sierra de Albarracín?
The park highlights a dozen or so main edible species. They don’t all appear at the same time or in the same type of forest, so this table shows what to look for in each season. The dates are only a guide: rainfall and altitude shift them a lot.
| Mushroom | Scientific name | Typical season | Where it grows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saffron milk cap (rebollón) | Lactarius deliciosus | Autumn | Pine forests across the sierra |
| Cep or penny bun (porro blanco) | Boletus edulis | Late summer and autumn | Scots pine and oak woods at higher altitudes |
| Bronze bolete (porro negro) | Boletus aereus | Late summer and autumn | Oak woods and Rodeno pine forests in wet years |
| Chanterelle (rebozuelo) | Cantharellus cibarius | Summer and autumn | Pine and oak woods on acidic soil |
| Caesar’s mushroom (huevo de rey) | Amanita caesarea | Summer and autumn | Oak woods and rockrose scrub |
| King oyster mushroom (seta de cardo) | Pleurotus eryngii | Autumn and early winter; sometimes spring | Pastures and open land with field eryngo |
| Slimy waxcaps (babosas) | Hygrophorus gliocyclus and H. latitabundus | Autumn | Pine forests |
| Grey knight (negrilla) | Tricholoma terreum | Late autumn | Pine forests and pastures |
| March mushroom (marzuelo) | Hygrophorus marzuolus | Late winter and spring | Scots pine forests at higher altitudes |
| Morel (colmenilla) | Morchella spp. | Spring | Pine forests on the limestone plateaus |
| St George’s mushroom (sanjuanera) | Calocybe gambosa | Spring | Pastures and valley floors |
Only pick species you know well. Folk tests for telling whether a mushroom is edible don’t work. If you feel digestive or neurological symptoms after eating wild mushrooms, go to A&E (in Spain, call 112) and take some of the leftover mushrooms so they can be identified.
Picking areas: the park’s collection zones
To manage such a large territory, the park is divided into six collection zones (known locally as cuarteles). Each has its own altitude, soil and vegetation, and therefore its own typical mushrooms. Understanding this zoning is the best way to swap “where are the mushrooms?” for a more useful question: “which habitat does the species I’m after need?”.
| Zone | Area | What it’s like | Key mushrooms |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Puerto | 13,410 ha | The highest zone, with Caimodorro peak (1,963 m). Acidic soils and Scots pine | All four ceps, March mushroom, chanterelle, trumpet chanterelle, morel |
| El Rodeno | 11,679 ha | Red sandstone ridge from Tormón to Albarracín, below 1,450 m. Maritime pine forest | Saffron milk cap in autumn; bronze bolete, Caesar’s mushroom and chanterelle in wet years |
| Muelas Centrales | 15,113 ha | Cabriel and Blanco river basins, between limestone plateaus | Saffron milk cap in autumn, morel in spring, St George’s mushroom and king oyster |
| Muelas Meridionales | 10,194 ha | Sierra de Javalón, limestone, Scots and black pine | Saffron milk cap, slimy waxcaps, king oyster |
| Muelas Occidentales | 9,820 ha | Muela de San Juan and the headwaters of the Tagus and Guadalaviar; almost 1,000 mm of rain a year | Saffron milk cap, morel, St George’s mushroom, king oyster |
| San Ginés | 237 ha | Small forest in the north, on the slopes of San Ginés hill | Saffron milk cap, slimy waxcaps; occasionally Caesar’s mushroom and ceps |
The park’s website also has a mushroom forecast viewer with estimated yields by area, and during the season it runs mobile mushroom information points. Check them before deciding where to go.
Your base for mushroom picking in the Sierra de Albarracín
Stay a 15-minute walk from the old town and head out to the forest early. Heated bungalows with a kitchen, pitches, and open all year round.
When to visit the Albarracín mycological park
What you find depends on accumulated rainfall, temperature and altitude, so no two years are the same. As a rough guide:
- Autumn: the main season. With well-spread rain and cool nights, saffron milk caps, ceps, chanterelles, slimy waxcaps and king oysters appear. It is also when the forests are busiest.
- Spring: quieter and very rewarding if you know what to look for. It is the season for morels, St George’s mushrooms and, as the snow melts, March mushrooms.
- Summer: it all depends on thunderstorms. Ceps and chanterelles can appear at higher altitudes, but it is the least predictable season for first-timers.
- Winter: cold and often snowy, although king oysters and grey knights can still turn up early in the season.
If it’s your first time, autumn is the safest bet. Look at how much rain has fallen in the previous weeks, not just the forecast for the day: a sunny weekend after a wet week can be excellent.
Guided beginner mushroom walks
If you don’t know the area or can’t yet tell species apart with confidence, start with a guided walk. The park itself runs beginner walks lasting about two hours, where a mycology guide explains how to recognise the habitats and the edible and toxic species of the sierra.
According to the information published for this season, they take place on autumn Saturdays and Sundays, starting from Orihuela del Tremedal, Bezas and Frías de Albarracín, in small groups, and the price includes the picking permit for the day. You must book at least 24 hours in advance. Dates and meeting points may change, so confirm them on the park’s website, and ask about the language of the walk when booking.
Tips for your first mushroom foray
- Go to learn, not to fill your basket. Getting to know the terrain and its habitats pays off more in the medium term than rushing around the forest.
- Start early. Mushrooms are easier to spot in the morning light, and the forest is quieter.
- Bring a basket, a knife and a brush to clean the mushrooms on the spot so they don’t dirty the rest.
- Hiking boots and layers. Autumn mornings are cold, and the sierra lies above 1,000 metres.
- Save your parking spot on your phone and download an offline map: it’s easy to lose your bearings in a pine forest.
- Eat what you pick soon. Mushrooms spoil quickly and shouldn’t be kept in the fridge for days.
How to get to the Sierra de Albarracín
A car is the most practical way to get around the park: the regulated forests are spread across the whole sierra and public transport between villages is very limited. These are approximate driving times to Albarracín, useful if you are flying in from abroad:
| From | Approx. driving time | Note for international travellers |
|---|---|---|
| Teruel | About 35–40 minutes | Nearest train and bus station |
| Valencia | About 2 hours | International airport with many European connections |
| Zaragoza | About 2 hours 15 minutes | Airport and high-speed rail station |
| Madrid | About 3 hours 30 minutes | Spain’s main international airport |
From Albarracín, the villages where the guided walks start and most of the park’s forests are less than an hour’s drive along mountain roads. Allow plenty of time if you want to be in the forest first thing in the morning.
Where to stay for mushroom picking in Albarracín
To make the most of the mushroom season, stay a few days in the sierra and combine the weekly permit with outings to different areas. Camping Ciudad de Albarracín is on the Camino de Gea, about a 15-minute walk from the old town and close to the Rodeno ridge, one of the park’s collection zones.
Bungalows with a kitchen and heating
The campsite’s bungalows sleep 4 or 6 people and have heating, a fully equipped kitchen, a full bathroom and two bedrooms. In autumn it’s great to come back from the forest to a warm place and cook what you’ve picked right there. Some bungalows accept dogs, subject to availability.
Pitches for tents, caravans and motorhomes
If you are travelling by motorhome or with a tent, there are pitches with electricity in a shady wooded area and a motorhome service point for fresh and grey water. You’ll find all the details on the camping page.
Handy facilities after a day in the forest
- Free hot showers, plus a washing machine and laundry sinks for muddy clothes.
- Bar-café for breakfast before you set off or a drink when you get back.
- Children’s playground, fronton court and barbecue area.
- Electric vehicle charging point.
- Open all year round, including the mushroom season.
See all the facilities, the rates and how to get here on the location page.
What else to do in the Sierra de Albarracín
If mushrooms fill your morning, the afternoon is free. A few ideas to round off your trip:
- Walk among the red sandstone of the Pinares de Rodeno, a few minutes from Albarracín.
- Explore the Albarracín-Gea-Cella Roman aqueduct and its galleries carved into the rock.
- Visit the Cathedral of Albarracín and the Plaza Mayor.
- See the Molino de San Pedro waterfall.
- Discover the Montes Universales and the source of the Tagus.
- In winter, follow the Teruel Truffle Route.
- Try the local mountain cooking: lamb caldereta stew or ternasco de Aragón roast lamb.
Frequently asked questions about the Albarracín mycological park
Do you need a permit to pick mushrooms in Albarracín?
Yes. In the regulated forests of the Parque Micológico de la Comunidad de Albarracín you need a permit to pick mushrooms. Children under 14 are exempt if they are with an adult who has one.
How much does the Albarracín mushroom picking permit cost?
According to the park’s official website, the visitor permit costs €5 per day, €10 per week and €60 per year. It’s worth checking at the start of each season.
How many kilos of mushrooms can you pick?
The visitor permit allows a maximum of 5 kg per person per day, whether it is a day, weekly or annual permit.
Which mushrooms grow in the Sierra de Albarracín?
The most sought-after are saffron milk caps, ceps, chanterelles, king oyster mushrooms, slimy waxcaps, morels, March mushrooms and St George’s mushrooms, among many others.
Where can you buy the permit?
On the official website of the mycological park (micologiaalbarracin.es), at town halls and at participating businesses in the Sierra de Albarracín.
When is the best time to go?
For most mushroom pickers, autumn is the most popular and productive season. Spring can also be very good for morels, St George’s mushrooms and March mushrooms if the rain cooperates.
Are there guided walks for beginners?
Yes. The park runs beginner walks of about two hours with a mycology guide at weekends in autumn, with the day permit included. They must be booked at least 24 hours in advance.
Where to stay for mushroom picking in Albarracín?
Camping Ciudad de Albarracín, on the Camino de Gea, has bungalows for 4 or 6 people with a kitchen and heating, as well as camping pitches. It is open all year round and a 15-minute walk from the centre of Albarracín.
- The Albarracín mycological park regulates mushroom picking across some 60,455 hectares of the sierra.
- You need a permit: €5 per day, €10 per week or €60 per year, with a limit of 5 kg per person per day.
- Follow the rules: basket, knife, minimum sizes and no disturbing the soil.
- Autumn is the best season; spring brings morels and St George’s mushrooms.
- Stay at Camping Ciudad de Albarracín and head out to the forest over several days without rushing.
Planning a mushroom-picking break in Albarracín?
Book your bungalow or pitch and have the forest, the old town and the sierra’s hearty cooking right on your doorstep.
