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)
Saturdays and Sundays in February 25th – March 30th
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 American camps 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. Participants will walk approximately a .25 mile over uneven ground. Cost: $3 per child 3 and older; $5 per adult
Journey to the Sugarbash @ Hudson Mills Metropark (Dexter)
Saturdays and Sundays in February 24th – March 17th
Take a journey across a field to the Sugar Bush and experience how maple syrup has been made over the years. Learn 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. This program takes place off trail, walking through an unlevel field. Destinations close to the paved paths can be selected if needed. This program is predominantly outdoors, portions of the program may be held inside dependent on weather. Read-to-eat meal kits available for $6 per kit. Cost: $3 per child 3 and older; $5 per adult
Maple Sweetness @ Wolcott Mill Metropark (Ray)
Saturdays and Sundays in March
It’s that time of year again, maple syrup season! Visit the wood-fired evaporator and discover how to turn sap into the sweet treat we all know and love, syrup! Our staff will be on hand to answer questions and tell you all about the process of harvesting, collecting, and processing maple sap into syrup. A self-guided hike along the nature trails will also be available for those wishing venture out into the sugarbush. Pre-registration is not required.
Maple Sugaring: Sap Happy @ Johnson Nature Center (Bloomfield Hills)
March 3rd, 9th & 16th
Discover how to identify and tap the perfect sugar maple tree and enjoy the sights, smells, and tastes of the sweet syrup-making process in our Sugar Shack and Log Cabin. Self-guided tours begin every half hour from 9:30a – 2:30p with numerous activities available at your own pace. Explore the log cabin, experience tree tapping, work on your tree identification skills, and much more with our staff and volunteers there to engage you in the joys of the season along the way. Cost is $12 per person ages 3 and older.
Maplefest @ MSU Tollgate Farm Children’s Garden (Novi)
March 9th + 10th
Identify and tap a maple tree, tour the sugar shack, explore fun maple-themed activities, take a wagon ride, taste maple sap, syrup, and sugar, and explore maple tools and technology. Enjoy a pancake celebration in the historic 19th-century barn. Pancakes, sausage, coffee, cocoa, and of course, real maple syrup will be provided! Limited space, pre-registration required and cost is $17 per person.
Making Maple Syrup Tour @ Maybury Farm (Northville)
Saturdays and Sundays in March
This engaging tour begins with a wagon ride to the forested area of Maybury Farm. There you will walk into 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: $11 per person, children 2 and under are free
Maple Syrup Time @ Stage Nature Center (Troy)
March 2nd, 9th + 16th
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: $10 per adult, $7 per child ages 4-12
Maple Sugaring Through the Ages @ Oakwoods Metropark (New Boston)
Saturday, March 2nd + 9th
Come see the methods used to collect maple sap and learn how the maple tree helped sustain early Americans. We will begin indoors learning about the history of maple sugaring before heading outside to visit three sugaring “camps.” While visiting these camps we will discover how maple sugaring has changed, and in many ways stayed the same, throughout history. Cost: $4 per child 3 and older; $6 per adult
Maple Sugaring In Your Backyard @ Heritage Park (Farmington Hills)
Sunday, March 3rd + 17th
Celebrate Spring! 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 around a cozy campfire. We will finish with a PURE maple syrup treat! Michigan maple syrup products & sugaring supplies will be exclusively available to participants for purchase. Cost: $7 per person, children 2 and under are free
Photo credit: Facebook
