We all love maple syrup for our pancakes, but have you ever wondered how and where we get our favorite breakfast condiment?! With sap flowing between mid-February and March, the perfect ‘tapping’ times are upon us!  Help tap the trees this winter and stock up on maple syrup for home.

Maple’s Sweet Story @ Kensington Metropark (Milford)

Sunday, February 28th + Saturdays and Sundays in March

Take a guided walk through the farm’s sugar bush. Learn how to pick the right maple tree, then watch how maple trees are tapped and sap is collected. Stop by the French and Native camp to hear and see how these techniques have changed through the years. Then visit the sugar shack to see and smell the sap being boiled down into maple sugar. Real maple sugar products will be available for purchase. Tours begin every half hour, last approximately one hour, and are entirely outdoors. Participants will walk approximately a ¼ mile over uneven ground. Face coverings are required. Cost: $3 per child 3 and older; $5 per adult

Making Maple Syrup Tour @ Maybury Farm (Northville)

Saturdays & Sundays in March

This engaging tour begins with a wagon ride to the sugar bush where you’ll learn the amazing way sugar maple trees produce sap, why sap flows, how to tap and collect sap from the tree. The wagon will then take you to the Sugar Shack where you’ll learn how the sap becomes delicious maple syrup by watching the process in action! You’ll even get to try a sample of the finished product! Cost: $9 per person, children 2 and under are free

Maple Sweetness @ Wolcott Mill Metropark (Ray)

Saturdays and Sundays in March

It’s maple syrup season! Join us for Maple Sweetness and learn the history of one of the first crops harvested each year. Join us for a short hike to the woods where participants will learn how to identify and tap maple trees. Then visit a wood-fired evaporator and discover how maple sap becomes maple syrup. Maple items and kits will be available for purchase. Tours begin every half hour, last approximately one hour and are entirely outdoors. Participants will walk about half a mile over uneven ground. Face coverings are required. Cost: $3 per child 3 and older; $5 per adult

Journey to the Sugarbash @ Hudson Mills Metropark (Dexter)

Saturdays and Sundays in March 

Take a journey across a field to the Sugar Bush and experience how maple syrup has been made over the years. Watch how to tap a tree, and then visit the evaporator to see the sap being boiled into syrup. There is no better way to finish out the cold days of winter and get ready for spring. Each participant will get a take-home craft too.  Read-to-eat meal kits available for $6 per kit. Cost: $5 per person, children 2 and under are free

Maple Sugaring @ Stony Creek Metropark (Shelby Township)

Saturdays in March 

March is sugaring month! Join us to learn all about maple sugaring and maple syrup. Explore the history of sugaring and how to identify and care for maple trees. We will hike a half-mile on our nature trails, into the spring woods, to tap a maple tree and afterwards, return to the campfire and learn the process of boiling the sap into rich maple syrup. You will see how you could set up your own backyard evaporator system. This program is entirely outdoors, lasts approximately an hour and a half and runs every two hours. Face coverings and social distancing are required. Cost: $5 per person, children 2 and under are free

Maple Syrup Time @ Stage Nature Center (Troy)

Saturdays in March 

Take a guided hike through the sugar bush of the Stage Nature Center! Discover how maple trees make sugar and people through the ages have harvested it. This outdoor, interactive program highlights natural and local history of our region. Learn how people processed maple sugar in the past and see similarities in the collecting, boiling and drawing off maple syrup today. Cost: $9 per adult, $6 per child ages 4-12 

Maple Sugaring @ Dinosaur Hill Nature Preserve (Rochester Hills)

Sunday, March 7

Maple sugaring season is one of our favorite times of year at Dinosaur Hill. This program will focus on the history of maple sugaring and will also include a tapping demonstration. Take a tour of our historic “little house” and find out how early settlers and Native Americans used maple syrup and sugar. We’ll have some authentic treats to taste as well. Cost: $7 per person (non-members); $5 per person (members)

Maple Sugaring Through the Ages @ Oakwoods Metropark (New Boston)

Sunday, March 7 & Saturday, March 13

Come see the methods used to collect maple sap and learn how the maple tree helped sustain early Americans during this fun program. We will be learning about the history of maple sugaring as we visit three sugaring “camps.” Cost: $3 per child 3 and older; $5 per adult

Maple Sugaring In Your Backyard @ Heritage Park (Farmington Hills)

Sunday, March 7 & 21

Discover the basics of making maple syrup from your own Maple tree. Learn to identify and select a maple tree. Witness the ancient process of collecting the sap, then boiling it down to syrup. We will finish with a PURE maple syrup treat! Michigan maple syrup products will be exclusively available to participants for purchase. Dress for the weather. Register early, this program fills quickly! Cost: $7 per person, children 2 and under are free

Maple Sugaring Sweet Science @ Indian Springs Metropark (White Lake)

Saturday, March 13 & 20

In March, maple sugaring is everywhere in Michigan, but at Indian Springs Metropark we explore the science behind the tradition. Join us as we travel out to the woods to see the tapping of maple trees, sap collection, and visit the evaporator to learn about the boiling of maple sap. This program is entirely outdoors and runs every hour. You can expect to walk about one-mile on gravel nature trails. Social distancing and face coverings are required. Cost: $3 per child 3 and older; $5 per adult

Maple Tapping + Pancake Breakfast Kits @ MSU Tollgate Farm Children’s Garden (Novi)

Order Online

Make your own syrup for your pancakes or waffles. Everything is better with syrup on it! This kit contains the tools you will need for taping six trees for sap, plus, a list of a few items you will need to use from your tool set and a bucket to catch your sap. Instructions are included. Once purchased, kit can be picked up every Thursday starting February 25 through March 12th from 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM.  Support the farm by purchasing a pancake breakfast kit that includes MSU Tollgate syrup, Sunflour Bakehaus pancake mix, and locally sourced sausage. Suggested educational activities to learn more about maple syrup production are also included.

Photo credit: Facebook

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