Maple Sugaring
From Tree Tapping to Pancake Breakfast - Learning About Maple Syrup
Bear Branch Nature Center, Hashawha Environmental Center, 300 John Owings Road, Westminster, MD 21158 Phone: 410-386-3580 Website: http://ccgovernment.carr.org/ccg/recpark/hashawha/ All Nature Center programs require preregistration, unless otherwise noted
Homeschool: Tapping Maples & Collecting Sap, February 10 & 17 OR February 15 & 22, Two sessions Fridays from 1-3pm OR Wednesdays from 10am – noon. It’s that time of year again! Help them get ready for our Maple Sugarin’ Festival coming up the first Sunday in March. Tap the trees the first week and then come back and collect the sap the second week. Learn all about the process; from tapping the tree, to boiling down. Get a chance to taste the finished product! You will be hiking to the trees and carrying equipment, so please wear sturdy shoes and appropriate clothing. You MUST be able to attend both days when registering. For ages 7-12. Fee $7.
Backyard Tapping, Saturday, February 18, 1-4pm. Learn more about the process of tapping maples and how to make real maple syrup in your own backyard! Take a hike to the trees and see the whole process from beginning to end. For all ages. Fee $5.
Magic of Maple for Preschoolers, Thursday, February 23, 10:30am, for ages 4-6. Preschool-aged children will enjoy a morning of stories about the beautiful maple tree and all of its gifts before heading outside to tap a tree! Make a fun craft to take home. Fee $5.
Maple Sugarin’ Festival, March 4, 10:30am – 4pm. Pancake breakfast brunch, crafts, children’s area, hay rides, demonstrations of boiling down the sap.
Brookside Nature Center, Wheaton Regional Park, 1400 Glenallan Ave, Wheaton, MD 20902. Phone: 301-962-1480. Website: www.montgomeryparks.org/nature_centers/brookside/ Registration is required unless otherwise noted. Register at ParkPaSS.org.
Marvelous Maples, February 16, 1:30pm for ages 3-5. Tour our Sugar Bush and taste some home-made maple syrup, then visit our log cabin to see what life was like when settlers relied on maples for food and shelter. $5
Maple Sap Collecting, February 22, 4pm for ages 3 and up. Find out how we tap our maple trees and help us collect maple sap for our boiling pan. $5. Brookside Tot Times: Maple Syrup! February 23, 10:30am, for ages 2-3. Maple sugaring just for toddlers (or, "What is that sticky stuff and where does it come from?") $5
Maple-iscious Day, February 25, 1-4pm, Drop in and learn all kinds of cool things about maple syrup and maple trees at our indoor discovery stations. Trace a maple leaf, sample some maple sugar, make a mukluk, listen to the story of how the “Tree Eaters” (Adirondack Indians) were taught to tap maple trees, and much more! Registration appreciated, but not required. Please register at ParkPASS.org. A $2 donation per person at the door will be very much appreciated.
Maple Syrup Festival!Sunday - February 26 10 am - 4 pm. Stop by to see an American Tradition! Watch from start to finish. See sap drip from the trees and taste it, watch us boil it down into sweet maple syrup, and then sample a sweet treat! Maple crafts, games, and stories, Local history, blazing campfire. Fee is $5 per person. Register at ParkPASS.org (#168899)
Cunningham Falls State Park, 14039 Catoctin Hollow Road, Thurmont MD 21788 Phone: 301-271-7574 Website: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/western/cunningham.asp
Maple Syrup Program, March 10-11 and 17-18. This annual March event features a continuous working demonstration of the traditional maple syrup making process. Park staff present regular talks explaining the syrup making process and history. Kids can enjoy free games, stories and crafts in a large heated tent. Visitors can warm themselves beside a roaring fire while listening to live music in the lakeside pavilion. Please dress appropriately as most events are held outdoors. A minimum per person donation is requested. Proceeds benefit the Friends of Cunningham Falls and Gambrill State Parks. A sausage and pancake breakfast is served from 9:30am until 2:30pm for an additional charge. Maryland made maple syrup, maple candy, and related souvenirs will be available for sale. A sign language interpreter is scheduled for demonstrations on each Sunday. Please leave all pets at home as pets are prohibited during this event.
Irvine Nature Center, 11201 Garrison Forest Road, Owings Mills, MD 21117 Phone: 443-738-9200 Website: www.ExploreNature.org
Maple Magic! Saturday, February 18, 1 – 2:30 p.m. OR Sunday, February 19, 1 – 2:30 p.m. OR Saturday, February 25, 1 – 2:30 p.m. OR Sunday, February 26, 1 – 2:30 p.m There’s magic in the trees! Walk through Irvine’s woods in a quest to make delicious maple syrup. Learn how to identify maple trees, properly tap a tree to collect its sugary sap, and convert the sticky fluid into syrup using Irvine’s enormous evaporator. It’s the perfect way to follow up a great pancake breakfast! All ages. Free for members, $10 non-members
Ladew’s Maple Magic, February 19, 2-4pm, Ladew Topiary Gardens, 3535 Jarrettsville Pike, Monkton MD 21111. Can you smell it in the air? It’s maple sugaring time when maple tree sap begins to flow freely and we can make one of nature’s sweetest treats---maple syrup. Come experience the process of maple sugaring as you head out to Ladew’s Nature Walk to identify trees, observe tapped maple trees and collect some sap. Learn how to boil down the sap to make yummy, golden brown syrup. Tasty maple snacks will be provided. Admission is $10 Adults, $8 Seniors (62+), $8 Students and $5 Children (ages 2-12). Please call (410) 557-9570 to register. For more information see www.ladewgardens.com
Locust Grove Nature Center, Cabin John Regional Park, 7777 Democracy Boulevard Bethesda, Maryland 20817 Phone: 301-765-8660 Website: www.montgomeryparks.org/nature_centers/locust/index.shtm
Maple Syrup Valentine's Treat, February 14, 11am –noon and 1-2pm, for ages 1 and up. Have an extra sweet Valentine's Day as you learn about, and taste maple syrup. We'll visit our tapped maple trees, boil sap in the evaporator and sam-ple different kinds of syrup. $3. Registration required.
Meadowside Nature Center, 5100 Meadowside Lane (located in Rock Creek Regional Park) Rockville, MD 20855. Phone: 301-258-4030 Website: www.montgomeryparks.org/nature_centers/meadow/index.shtm
Maple Sugaring, Saturday, February 11, 9:30am-10:15am. Learn about this fun American tradition. Find out how maple syrup is made, from tree to bottle, then take a delicious syrup taste test! For ages 4 and up. $5. Registration required.
Season for Sugar Snow, Thursday, February 16, 4-5:30pm. For ages 6-11. The sap is running in the maple trees and that means it's maple sugaring season. Come with your grandchild to learn about maple trees and the process of maple sugaring. Then taste some sweet syrup and make a maple craft to take home. Fee $8. Registration required.
My First Little House Books: Sugar Snow, February 23, 10:30am for ages 3-5. Laura and the Ingalls family look forward to late winter for maple sugaring! Learn about the process of maple sugaring through Laura's eyes, then experience it first-hand at Meadowside. End with a sweet taste of maple syrup! Fee is $5. Registration required.
Oregon Ridge Nature Center, 13555 Beaver Dam Road, Cockeysville MD 21030. Phone: 410-887-1815 or visit www.oregonridge.org
The Full Sap Moon Night Hike, February 10, 6-8pm, for ages 6 and up. Find a sweet treat by moonlight as we tap a tree! Then warm up by the fire and make s’mores. Fee is $3 ($2 for Members)
Maple Sugar Weekends, February 18, 19, 25 and 26, 10am – 4pm. It could have been the ancestor of this endangered fox squirrel that first lapped up the tasty liquid oozing from a maple tree. You, too, can take a sip. Meet at the Sugar Shack, snow or shine, between 10 am and 4 pm, for an invigorating hike to the sugar bush to learn to identify a maple tree and tap the sap. Once back at the Sugar Shack, watch as they make sweet syrup from the collected sap. It’s all free. Syrup can be purchased in the gift shop. Kids crafts and face painting take place in the Nature Center.
Pancake Breakfast, March 3 and 4, 8am – noon . Celebrate the end of maple sugar season with their annual Pancake Breakfast at the Lodge. You can buy your tickets at the door: $7/adults, $3/children (2-8). Enjoy a stack of hot cakes drizzled with real maple syrup and served with grilled sausage, OJ, milk/coffee. After you’ve had your fill, sit back and enjoy the fun raffles, live music and old friends. Don’t forget to buy some flowers and gifts to take home, or have your face painted. On your way out, renew or become a new member of the Council.
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