Have you tried maple sugaring? This sweet family-friendly event is only around for a few months of the year when evening temps are below freezing and the day’s temps are above freezing. At most of these spots, you’ll learn how to tap a tree, collect the maple sugar water and then get a lesson on how that is turned into the delicious syrup you can pour on your pancakes. Make sure you check dates, times and weather before you head out.
The New Weis Center for Education, Arts & Recreation
150 Snake Den Rd., Ringwood
973-835-2160
Kick off maple sugaring season on January 28, when Tree Tapping & Foraged Tea gives you a behind-the-scenes look at how senior staff members drill the holes, set the spiles, and hang the buckets in preparation for the maple sugar programs on weekends in February and March.
Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Reserve in Pennington
31 Titus Mill Rd., Pennington
Head to the Watershed Center on February 7 or 21 and you’ll learn about the science and history behind maple sugaring. There are three different time slots. This event is for ages 5 and up.
Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center
247 Southern Blvd., Chatham Twp.
973-635-6629
Programs include Toddler Trek: Maple Sugaring (January 21 and 27), maple sugaring demos (January 25, February 1, 8, 15 and 22), Maple Sugaring Through History (February 14), and the Maple Sugar Festival on March 7.
Happy Day Farm
102 Iron Ore Rd., Manalapan
732-977-3607
Happy Day reopens in the early spring for its maple sugaring event. Help Farmer Tim tap the trees the “old-fashioned way.” You’ll take a tractor ride around the 130-acre property before arriving at Olivia’s Sugar Shack to help with the process. Feed the farm animals, too! Dates are TBD.
Reeves-Reed Arboretum
165 Hobart Ave., Summit
908-273-8787
Come for the huge Maple Sugaring Fest on March 1, where you can sample the fruits (or sap) of your labor. Bundle up so you can help turn tree sap into maple syrup and participate in the Maple Sugaring Challenge. Have a cup of hot cocoa after hiking the trails. Vendors will be on site, too.
Echo Hill Park
42 Lilac Dr., Flemington
908-782-1158
On February 9, you and the kids will visit the sugar bush to see sap collection in action. Get hands-on experience with sap buckets and learn about modern sap collection systems. Then, on March 15, come by for the Maple Sugaring Living History Open House, where an American frontiersman will show you how to tap the trees, and talk to you about the Native American process of discovering maple sap.
Howell Living History Farm
70 Woodens Ln., Hopewell Twp.
609-737-3299
Tap the sugar maples on February 1 by joining Howell Farm’s experts for a lesson in how to tap a backyard maple tree and make syrup at home. Then on February 8 and 22, come back for more collecting sap in the woods, making syrup in the sap house, and tasting of whole wheat pancakes.
NJ State Forest Nursery
370 East Veterans Highway, Jackson
See a demonstration of tapping trees to collect sap, boiling down maple sap to make syrup. There’s also a demo on how to tap trees. You’ll learn interesting facts about this part of nature. Following the demo, there is the option of a 45-minute walk with Duffy along the tree products trail. The event will be outside, rain or shine, and registration is free. Dates are 10 am, 12 pm and 2 pm on February 8 and 15.
Batsto Village Historic Site
31 Batsto Rd., Hammonton
It’s maple sugar season, and Maple Sugaring Day is February 15, complementing Valentine’s Day weekend, where you can sit by the warm fire amongst the red maple trees and smell the fresh Pine Barrens maple syrup being made.
Tenafly Nature Center
313 Hudson Ave., Tenafly
Sap to Syrup (Maple Sugaring) takes place on Sundays, January 18 to March 15, so you can learn about how sap becomes syrup, and which local trees can be tapped for their own unique flavors. You’ll stay outside to identify trees, learn how sap flows, and practice using real tapping tools.
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