Wild Foraging: Four Fall Foods to Discover

A friendly heads-up: Foraging is wonderful, but it’s also serious business. Never eat anything wild unless you’re absolutely certain of your identification—when in doubt, leave it out. This guide shares our experiences, but every forager needs to do their own research, be sensitive to personal allergies, and take responsibility for their choices. Start small, be safe, and enjoy the journey.

For our family, autumn is a season of quiet abundance. Along the trails and under the trees, the land offers foods families have gathered for generations. When we step into this practice with care, we not only taste what the earth provides—we also connect to a rhythm much older than ourselves. I often forage with our kids: slow walks, full baskets, and lots of questions. Below are four fall foods—Dock Seeds, Crawdads, Chestnuts & Acorns—we love to notice and, when we’re confident in our ID, thoughtfully bring into the kitchen.

Dock Seed

Curly dock (Rumex crispus) and western dock (Rumex occidentalis) are common sights in fields and along waterways. By fall, their once-green stalks turn rust-red and heavy with seed. Dock sits in the buckwheat family, and—much like buckwheat—you can toast and grind the seeds for a robust flour. My flow: strip dry seed heads into a paper bag, toss the debris, then winnow by pouring seeds between two bowls in a light breeze (or in front of a fan on low) to lift off the chaff. Finish in a coffee grinder or Vitamix for a fine meal. I mix dock flour 1:1 with another flour to make cracker dough—earthy, nutty, and perfect with soup. A note on safety: dock seeds (like the leaves) contain oxalic acid, though generally in lower concentration; as with spinach or buckwheat, enjoy in moderation. For ID photos and range, see USDA PLANTS (curly dock), OregonFlora (curly dock), and OregonFlora (western dock). A handy comparison of the two is here.

Crawdads (Crayfish or Crawfish)

Follow a creek’s bend or tip up a smooth stone and you may spot a crayfish—known variously as crawdads or freshwater “lobsters.” They thrive in cool, rocky streams across Oregon and California, and the “hunt” (very gentle, very mindful) is half the fun for kids. But not all crawdads are the same. Our native signal crayfish (leave these alone) share waterways with invasive species like red swamp crayfish and rusty crayfish, which can disrupt stream life. Regulations sometimes encourage harvest of invasives while limiting pressure on natives—so check local rules before you collect, take only what you’ll cook that day, and return the rest to the shadows.Remember to follow basic wading protocol—have an adult scout for sudden drop-offs, avoid strong rapids and swift currents, and keep a throw rope or rescue device within reach. Set boundaries so the supervising adult stands furthest out in the stream while kids remain between that adult and shore. Keep one adult on shore or in the shallows, standing and scanning to make sure all kids are safe. For extra safety—and because so many crayfish hide right along banks and under edge rocks—the best family crawdadding can happen in calm water at or below knee height. For species identification and rules, start with ODFW’s crayfish page.

Chestnuts (October)

Come October, sidewalks and park lawns begin to glimmer with glossy brown chestnuts spilling from their burrs. Sweet chestnuts (Castanea spp.) grow in densely spiny husks—needle-sharp, like a tiny hedgehog. Horse chestnuts (Aesculus spp.), which are toxic (DO NOT eat), fall from burrs that are knobbier and bear just a few short, blunt prickles. Another quick clue: sweet chestnuts often appear in clusters inside the burr and each nut typically has a pointed tip with a small “tail,” while horse chestnuts are usually single, larger, and smoothly rounded. Street trees and old yard specimens are common in many urban area; if you gather, wear gloves to avoid the spines or use my old trick when missing gloves by rolling the husk under your shoe to make the chestnut pop out. For cooking, score the shell and roast, boil, or steam until the cut opens and steam escapes—then peel while warm for that classic, sweet aroma of fall. For tree info and ID, see MSU Extension and your city’s tree guides.

Acorns

Few fall foods feel more timeless than acorns. In Oregon, I gather Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) because it’s dominant where we live—its acorns are typically lower in tannins than red-oak types, so leaching is faster. In the Bay Area, start with white-oak mainstays: valley oak (Quercus lobata) and blue oak (Quercus douglasii). If I had to choose one for beginners, pick valley oak—bigger acorns, widely planted, and usually quicker to leach. Collect firm, intact acorns; shell, grind, and leach the meal in repeated cold-water baths until the bitterness fades. Pro Tip: Float test in plain water—floaters usually mean rot or weevils. Keep the sinkers, but crack a few to confirm quality before milling. White-oak acorns (valley, Oregon white) usually leach faster. If your local oaks are higher in tannin, plan on more water changes and a longer leach. For a clear step-by-step on leaching (including when to use cold vs. hot methods), see Hank Shaw’s fantastic guide (BTW, Hank Shaw is incredible for all manner of wild foods advice). Good ID references: OregonFlora (Oregon white oak) and Wikipedia (valley oak).

Foraging with Care

Foraging offers both nourishment and responsibility. Always double-check identifications with multiple trusted sources, and never eat anything you are not absolutely certain about. Bring kids into the search and the storytelling, but reserve the final “yes” for adults who have done the homework. A few favorites to study from: Douglas Deur’s Pacific Northwest Foraging; Mia Andler & Kevin Feinstein’s The Bay Area Forager (longtime friends of Trackers); and Portland’s own John Kallas (also a Trackers friend) of Wild Food Adventures—his deep-dive book Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods From Dirt to Plate is perfect.

Try the Gleaning Map

Urban neighborhoods hold surprising fruit trees and herbs. The community-powered Gleaning Map (Falling Fruit) helps you discover public-facing or publicly accessible plantings added by local foragers—think figs, plums, loquats, and more. Pins include notes from the community; read carefully, respect private property and posted signs, and harvest lightly so others can share the bounty.