The Mushroom Express launches at Rapla railway station

On Saturday, 29 August at 11:00, the Mushroom Express — running throughout September — launches at Rapla railway station, guiding those interested to Estonia's best mushroom forests, exhibitions and events.

In September, the train once again makes it easy to reach mushroom exhibitions across Estonia and, under the guidance of mushroom experts, the state forests located near railway stations. For this year's mushroom season, Elron, RMK, the Estonian Museum of Natural History, the University of Tartu Natural History Museum and the Tartu Nature House have put over 30 mushroom forests, exhibitions and events on the Mushroom Express map.

The Mushroom Express opens this year on Saturday, 29 August at 11:00 at Rapla railway station, where, under the guidance of Estonian Museum of Natural History mushroom expert Asta Tuusti, visitors can get acquainted with local species at a free pop-up exhibition and receive advice on identifying and picking mushrooms.

"For those travelling from Tallinn to the opening event, the morning train is the best option — it departs from Balti Jaam at 9.59 and takes just 51 minutes to reach Rapla railway station directly," said Elron marketing specialist Mirjam Nõmm. "In September, seven more guided mushroom hikes will take place across Estonia, which can be found on the Mushroom Express online map."

At Rapla railway station, from 11:00 to 16:00, you can ask for advice on both identifying and picking mushrooms, and you can also have mushrooms you have brought with you identified on site. For identifying mushrooms, it is worth picking whole fruiting bodies and gently twisting them out of the ground. The lower part of the mushroom stem is important for identifying the species.

"Knowing mushrooms is literally a matter of survival, but not only because we must be able to distinguish edible mushrooms from poisonous ones. Mushrooms keep nature's cycle of matter going, they are important partners of plants and decomposers — the functioning of ecosystems and, very directly, all life on Earth depends on them," said Asta Tuusti.

"The Mushroom-Picker's ABC offers both essential basic knowledge for the beginning mushroom picker and an opportunity for experienced mushroom lovers to refresh their knowledge. On site you can see which mushrooms can currently be found in the forest and ask about everything that raises questions when out mushrooming — whether it be an unknown species, mushroom picking or moving safely in the forest," she added.

The Mushroom Express map, the schedule of mushroom events and the exhibitions can be found at www.elron.ee/seeneekspress

The Mushroom Express in brief:

Mushroom exhibitions

• 1–30.09 RMK Aegviidu Visitor Centre mushroom exhibition
• 10–20.09 Estonian Museum of Natural History "Mushroom Exhibition"
• 11–13.09 University of Tartu Natural History Museum and Botanical Garden "Mushroom Exhibition"
• 15–19.09 Tartu Nature House "Mushroom Exhibition"

Events and mushroom hikes

• 29.08 Mushroom-Picker's ABC at Rapla railway station
• 5.09 Mushroom hike starting from Klooga railway station
• 5.09 Mushroom-Picker's ABC mushroom hike in Aegviidu
• 12.09 Mushroom hike starting from Taevaskoja railway station
• 13.09 Mushroom hike starting from Tõravere railway station
• 19.09 Mushroom-Picker's MUSHROOM DAY in Aegviidu
• 26.09 Mushroom hike starting from Saku railway station
• 26.09 Mushroom-Picker's ABC mushroom hike in Aegviidu

Elron (AS Eesti Liinirongid) is a state-owned operator company that organises passenger rail traffic on the railway owned by AS Eesti Raudtee and AS Edelaraudtee. In 2025, 7.66 million journeys were made on Elron trains.