MST 2024 Cain Foray, Sept. 27-29, Lumina Resort, Muskoka

The Cain Foray is the MST's annual weekend of mushrooming in the wilderness. Named after founding member Dr. Roy Cain and first held in 1975, this year will be the 46th Cain Foray.

In 2024 the Cain Foray will be held at the Lumina Resort east of Huntsville in the District of Muskoka. The resort is surrounded by woods with walking trails that are suitable for collecting mushrooms, and nearby are extensive forests that have more areas for mushrooming.

How it Works

The Cain Foray starts with your arrival on Friday night, when an MST volunteer will help you check in and give you your welcome package. On Friday evening there is a welcome orientation and barbecue dinner where we can meet our fellow foragers and swap mushroom stories.

There will be 12-18 separate forays over the course of the weekend, on Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. Participants can read the descriptions of each foray and decide which ones they want to attend. Signup for Saturday forays begins on Friday evening, and signup for Sunday forays begins on Saturday evening. When each foray group returns, they can work on identifying the species found during the foray. Our experts work through the weekend helping to identify specimens and checking participants' identifications.

After dinner, Saturday evening will feature a talk and/or workshop, and all mushrooms that were collected during the day will be displayed. Sunday morning will provide more opportunities to foray or to study the many specimens on display.

The Cain Foray wraps up after Sunday morning forays and clean-up.

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Who can Attend the Cain Foray?

The Cain Foray is an intermediate-level event which requires some knowledge about mycology and how to begin identifying species.

In the past, new members and those who are new to species identification have found it difficult to participate in the Cain, because:

• Experts and more experienced members are very busy identifying the huge numbers of mushrooms found at the Cain, and aren't able to teach beginners at the same time
• The Cain Foray is hard and confusing if you don't have the right equipment and guidebooks, which beginners usually don't have yet
• Beginners don't yet know which species are common and will already have been brought back to the sorting tables, which means a lot of extra effort and a lot of mushrooms going in the trash when they should have been left in the forest

For these reasons, participation at the 2024 Cain Foray is limited to members who are eligible to attend Introduction to Field Identification walks and Intermediate Field Identification forays.

To become eligible for these walks and forays and to register for the Cain Foray requires attending a Welcome to Mycology walk and completing a short online test.

You can see which levels you have reached, how many more walks you need and which tests you need to take on the Your Walk and Foray Options page.

More information on MST Walk and Foray levels is available on our help page.

Cain Foray Prices

A deposit of $200 will be added to each registration (per transaction, not per person). The deposit will be refunded after September 29th, subject to the Cain Foray cancellation policy. Refunds may take up to 7 business days to appear on your credit card statement. 

Accommodation charges from Lumina Resort will be subject to 13% HST plus a 6% resort fee. Lumina Resort accepts debit, Visa, Mastercard, personal cheques or cash.

What's Included?

For both on-site and off-site participants, all meals will be taken in the Lumina Resort dining room.

Registration Deadline

Registrations will be accepted until September 19th, 2024 at 8:00pm, if tickets and suitable accommodations are still available.

Cancellation Policy

Cancellation fees will be charged as follows (deposit included):

To request a cancellation or to make a change please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you don't receive a confirmation within 48 hours, please follow up to be sure your message was received.

Accommodations

Various types of accommodations are available at Lumina Resort. Please see http://luminaresort.com/cottages-lodge for details and photos.

All on-site accommodation charges must be paid separately to Lumina Resort on arrival, during check-in. See Cain Foray Prices for details.

Accommodations are allocated ahead of time to suit families and individuals as well as possible.

Accommodations for groups and families will be in cottages or in 1-4 bedroom chalets with several configurations of living room, fireplace, kitchen or fridge, and washrooms. If you're participating in the Cain as a single person, you'll be assigned either a private room in the main lodge (with your own washroom) or your own room in a cabin shared with others (and a shared washroom).

Your specific accommodations will depend on the number and grouping of registered participants, and will not be finalized until the registration closing date. If you have special needs, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and let us know.

The MST will try to honour specific accommodation requests, but cannot guarantee a specific room or cottage.

Off-Site Participant Option

We encourage people to register for the weekend package; however, members may wish to participate in the activities of the Cain Foray as "off-site" participants.

In order to maintain the character of the Foray, and to ensure forays and other activities are not overcrowded, the number of off-site participants is limited to 10 places, so please register early if you wish to take advantage of this option.

The registration fee for off-site participants includes all Cain Foray programming through the weekend, and all meals.

Selection of forays for Saturday is done at Lumina Resort on Friday evening, so off-site participants should plan to attend the Friday evening reception. It is also an opportunity to get to know other members.

Requests for off-site participation will be accepted on a first-come first-served basis, so don’t delay and risk being disappointed.

Children at the Cain Foray

The Cain Foray doesn't include children's programming. The event is a busy environment and the MST has a very limited number of volunteers. For those reasons, and in order to ensure a smooth event for all participants and volunteers, the number of children at the Cain Foray is limited to:

• Children 9-12 years: 5 children total for the Cain Foray
• Children 8 years and under: 5 children total for the Cain Foray

Tickets for children are available on a strictly first-come first-served basis.

Children and anyone under the age of majority attending the Cain are entirely the responsibility of their attending parent or guardian.

What Do I Need to Bring?

Some things are essential to bring to the Cain Foray. Your participation will be very limited without these items:

• Your mushroom basket
• A field guide; the MST recommends Mushrooms of the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada by Timothy Baroni

Also strongly recommended:

• A whistle for each person
• Loupe or hand magnifying glass
• Sharp knife
• Insect repellent for ticks and mosquitoes
• Paper bags or waxed paper
• Clothing appropriate for the weather
• Footwear appropriate for the woods: hiking boots or shoes, not sandals
• Waterproof footwear and rainwear

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I attend the Cain Foray for one day only?

  No, the MST is not able to offer a single-day or partial ticket price.

• Can I bring my dog?

  No, unfortunately pets are not permitted at Lumina Resort.

• Are there meal options for those with special dietary requirements (eg. vegetarian, food allergies)?

  Yes. Email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before the deadline of 8pm September 17th and let us know what you need. Please do not call Lumina Resort.

• I have a question that isn't answered here

  Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please do not call Lumina Resort with bookings, inquiries, special requests, cancellations or changes to your registration.

Registration