THE SWEETEST TIME OF THE YEAR - MAPLE SUGARING TIME
It’s almost Maple Sugaring time, the sweetest time of year in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Western Maine…
IMPORTANT DATES:
New Hampshire Maple Weekend is March 18-19, 2023
Maine Maple Weekend is March 25-26
As we’ve been hunkered down all winter, a sure sign of Spring to come is when the taps appear on the maple trees and the smoke rises from the chimneys of the sugar houses tucked away in the woods. When the snow starts to wane, the days get longer and warmer, and the nights are still cool, the sap begins to rise, and sugar season begins!
During this intense period of six weeks or so, maple producers make syrup and other maple delights, and pancakes taste better than you've ever dreamed they might. The state celebrates New Hampshire Maple Month every March. More than 90 sugarhouses in New Hampshire open their doors to show visitors the maple-sugaring process in full swing. The New Hampshire Maple Producers Association has a complete online directory of participating sugarhouses and their offerings, from tastings and horse-drawn wagon rides to pancake breakfasts and the chance to make old-fashioned sugar-on-snow. Maple sugaring is a centuries-old tradition in the White Mountains. The entire month of March is declared Maple Month.
Black Mountain Sugar House, 266 Black Mountain Road, Jackson NH 03846 603-986-6111
Open for Maple Weekend on March 18-19, 11a - 3 p
Brooks Family Sugar House, 427 Eaton Road, Freedom NH 03836 , 603-539-2153
Open Weekends throughout March
The Brooks family has been making Maple Syrup in the town of Freedom, NH since the 1930s. Through painstaking dedication, they gather and produce high-quality pure NH maple syrup. Please visit during Maple Month but especially during Maple Weekend! They will be giving tours (small group tours to continue to ensure everyone’s safety), showing the steps it takes to go from sap to syrup. They will have samples of syrup available as well as their Homemade Maple Ice Cream.
Mac Hill Maple, 370 Gardner Hill Rd, Tamworth NH 03886 6034-323-6091
Visit on Saturday, March 18 & Sunday, March 19 for the annual Maple Open House. Open 10-3 each day with lots of special maple treats
Mooney Hill Maples, 493 High Street, Silver Lake NH 603-662-2775
Open 10-3 Maple Weekend, March 18-19, or by appointment during the month of March. Mooney Hill Maples is a small hobby farm operation that produces some of Mother Nature’s sweetest treats! Made with a little help from family, friends, and the dogs, Kali, Nala, and Lyla of course! This fun little side business started as a hobby. When your young son asks you if you can tap some trees and make maple syrup, you say- YES, of course, we can! Growing up in New Hampshire, many things such as making maple syrup are passed on from generation to generation…they hope to continue this tradition and teach others about the process of making this sweet treat! Come visit their little sugaring operation at Mooney Hill Maples hobby farm. The canine kids and oxen love visitors!
Nate & Kate’s Maple 2102 Green Hill Road, Chatham NH (603) 662-9506
Nate & Kate’s Maple Syrup is for sale at the Sugar house along with Maple Cream and Maple Sugar. Their syrup is made on a wood-fired evaporator.
They keep the syrup stand open and well stocked where you can buy syrup 24-7-365 days a year at the honor system stand.
The Rocks Estate 2 Christmas Tree Lane Bethlehem NH 03574, 603-444-6228
Maple Month at The Rocks Estate in Bethlehem NH begins March 11. Tours begin on Saturday and run on weekends through April 1. Take a wagon ride and learn how to tap a maple tree! Housed in a 1906 building at The Rocks in scenic Bethlehem, with stunning views of the White Mountains, The New Hampshire Maple Experience is a hands-on educational experience that includes a visit to a working sugar house and an interactive museum comprising maple artifacts from the extensive collection of legendary sugar maker Charlie Stewart of nearby Sugar Hill.
Turkey Street Maples 673 Turkey Street, Chocorua NH 03886, 603-323-9320
Open Maple Weekend March 18-19, 10-3
Turkey Street Maples invites you to visit as they boil sap into syrup. Help collect sap and learn about the process from “Tree to Table!” Experience the atmosphere of a true wood-fired dooryard sugar house. See the process of making liquid gold in person. Roberts Farm will be on site with beef jerky & maple cotton candy as well. Stop by to pick up your favorite flavor of jerky, maple syrup, and delicious cotton candy.
Maine Maple Sunday weekend is March 25-26, 2023. Most sugarhouses offer maple syrup samples and demonstrations on how pure Maine maple syrup is made. Many farms offer games, activities, treats, sugarbush tours, music, and so much more.
Maine Maple Sunday is always the fourth Sunday in March although some sugarhouses are offering events for both Saturday and Sunday. Please be sure to read the description of each sugarhouse to know what times they will be open and the activities they offer.
Gray Farm Maple, 30 Hilton Road, Denmark ME 04022, 978-790-1902
Gray Farm Maple will be open for tours of sugar bush and sugar house. They will be making syrup all day with plenty of syrup for sale at great prices. Gray Farm Maple is a maple syrup producer located in the western lakes and mountains region of Maine.
Weston’s Farm, 48 River Street, Fryeburg ME 04037 207-935-2567
Weston’s is an old-fashioned operation with a small, old but charming sugar house. They only use buckets and still gather the sap by hand. Weston’s has a wood-fired evaporator and and they are licensed. Maple syrup, maple candy and other maple products are sold, as well as many other Maine products at the farm stand. Their maple syrup adventure is run mostly by family members from tapping the trees, gathering the sap, boiling, and bottling the syrup.
