Discover Maple Sugaring in New Jersey
Your Guide To The Best Places In New Jersey To Experience
The Process of Maple Sugaring in 2024.
New Jersey offers a number of locations where visitors can experience the process of maple sugaring.
These programs typically include a guided walk through a maple grove, a demonstration of tapping and sap collection, and a presentation on the boiling process that turns sap into syrup. Visitors often have the opportunity to taste fresh syrup and other maple products.
This is an excellent winter family or kids group activity. In New Jersey, the maple sugaring season runs from late January until mid-March.
Maple sugaring has a history in New Jersey that began centuries ago with the Native Americans Indians and colonists.
While the maple sugaring process was started by native American Indians, it later evolved in the mid nineteenth century by farmers who began to use metal spikes, metal buckets, and metal tanks for sap collection and storage.
There are still many places in New Jersey that are open to the public where visitors can get to experience and become involved with the nineteenth century process of tapping trees by hand and making maple syrup. The process begins with the tapping of Maple trees, collecting the sap, and then producing the syrup by boiling over an open fire and evaporating it down to the final product of Maple syrup. It takes 35 to 80 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup.
Note: Sometimes conditions require cancellations or changes of dates, times and location which are not reflected in the original schedule. Before planning a trip to visit one of the listed events, it is suggested that you call the event sponsor to confirm the event schedule or for additional information on the event.
Maple Sugaring in Northern Jersey
Maple Sugaring Demo & FestivalMonday, January 1, Saturdays and Sundays, January 20, 21. 27, 28, February 3, 4, 2024
Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center .
247 Southern Boulevard
Chatham, NJ
Cost: $6 per person
Preregistration is required. For more information, 888-311-4737
Website/Registration
Learn how to identify and tap maple trees, collect sap, and make real maple syrup over a wood-fired evaporator. Finish with a syrup taste test! This program will be held entirely outdoors, so dress for the weather. Syrup will be available for purchase, while supplies last.
Reccomended for ages 6 and up.
Maple Sugaring
Sundays, January 21, 28, February 4, 11, 18, 25, March 3, 10, 17, 2024 (10am, 11:30 am & 1pm)
Visitor Center
Tenafly Nature Center
313 Hudson Ave.
Tenafly, NJ
Website/Pre-registration
Cost: Member $8.00, Non-member $ $12
This is a great, family outdoor winter experience. Learn how to identify a maple tree. Discover the history of syrup making and how technology has changed the way we gather sap over the centuries. The group will check Tenafly Nature Center's tapped tree and boil down sap to make fresh, warm maple syrup, a sweet treat for all to taste. All ages are welcome.
Maple Sugaring at The New Weis Center
The New Weis Center for Education
Weekends February 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, March 2, 3, 2024
150 Snake Den Rd.
Ringwood, NJ
973-835-2160
Registration
Cost: $18/person
Participate in their 90-minute program as attendees will learn about the process, history, and ecology of maple sap & syrup. There will be a short hike to learn about winter tree ID, sap ecology, and tree biology, with a discussion on the history of tree tapping and some of the many things sap is used for. Attendees will visit tapped trees where they will learn how to tap, collect and taste the sap, then see how the evaporator works. Finish the 90 minutes with a blind syrup taste test in the covered pavilion (with heaters)!
Tap That Tree!
Friday, February 2, 2024, 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Reeves-Reed Arboretum
165 Hobart Avenue
Summit, New Jersey
(908) 273-8787
Website
Cost: Member Price: $10.00, Non-Member Price: $20.00 (The cost is per child. Registration is required
Families learn the hows and whys behind tapping trees. They will also get first-hand experience actually helping us do it!
Maple Sugaring at the Environmental Education Center
Saturdays & Sundays, February 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18. 24, 25, 2024
190 Lord Stirling Road
Basking Ridge
Visit Site
Please note: In inclement weather, please call 908-722-1200 ext.5002
Cost: $6 per student/senior $7 per adult (Walk-in ticket sales only. Tickets for Maple Sugaring will be sold the day of the program inside the EEC building)
Visitors will learn how trees are tapped, view sap-collecting methods past and present, and see the boiling process that produces delicious New Jersey maple syrup. This 60-minute, outdoor program is conducted at our Sugar Shack, a ½-mile hike from the EEC. Please arrive at the EEC 30-40 minutes before the program start time to purchase tickets and hike to the Sugar Shack to meet your Naturalist. Please dress appropriately for the weather conditions. Boots are recommended as the trails can be wet, muddy, and/or covered by snow.
Lorrimer Sanctuary's Maple Sugaring
Saturday. February 10, 2024; 3pm - 4pm
Lorrimer Sanctuary
790 Ewing Avenue
Franklin Lakes, NJ
Website/Tickets
Cost: $8 members, $10 nonmembers - All participants require a ticket for this event.
This workshop is an all-ages program.
This even will introduce attendees to the delicious world of maple syrup. Here you will discover the fascinating process of making maple syrup and learn about the trees that produce this golden treat.
Attendees will also get the chance to satisfy their sweet tooth and enjoy a fun-filled afternoon in nature. s
Maple Sugaring at the Hermitage
Saturday, February 17, 2024: (The rain or heavy-snow date for this event Sunday, February 18th.)
Hermitage Museum
335 North Franklin Turnpike
Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ
Website/Tickets Family tickets are $35
Learn how to tap maple trees for syrup, like the indigenous Leni Lenape tribes may have done on this land.
They have 15 Maple Trees, five per session. Also includes one kit per family of tap and tube and instructions for you to follow in your own backyard!
Maple Sugaring at the Van Fleck House
Saturday, March 2, 2024: 2:30 pm - 5:00 pm (rain date March 3rd)
Van Vleck House & Gardens
21 Van Vleck Street
Montclair, NJ
(973) 744-4752
On-line Registration - Registration required
Cost: $25/family for Members; $35/Family for Non-Members.
Looking for a super sweet activity the whole family will love? Don't miss Van Vleck House & Gardens' annual Maple Sugaring event! Families are invited to learn how to identify a sugar maple tree, discover the steps for turning sap into syrup, and visit a tapped sugar maple tree in the Van Vleck Gardens. This program is indoors and outdoors, so please dress for the weather. Each tour will last approximately 1 hour, plus additional time for self-guided exploration (optional), with some tasty treats along the way!
Maple Sugaring Demonstration
Saturday, Sunday, March 2, 3, 2024; Three sessions @ 9:30am, 11am, & 1pm (rain or shine)
Schiff Nature Center
339 Pleasant Valley Road (Use 339 Schiff Dr in your GPS)
Mendham, 07945
Registration
973-543-6004
Cost: This program is FREE to Schiff members. Non- member fee is $8 per person.
The public is welcome to come to Schiff to experience an educational presentation that will explain the history of maple sugaring, the seasonal life cycle of the sugar maple tree, and how 100% real maple syrup is made starting with identifying a maple tree through tapping the tree. Following the educational program we will see the wood-fired evaporator in action turning the sap into the final sweet product. The best part is tasting fresh syrup made from Schiff maple trees. The day includes a Maple Baked Goods Sale so bring some cash to buy some treats in support of Schiff! An optional two-mile field walk to the working maple grove will be offered to see the taps and collection operation.
Maple Sugaring Fest
Sunday, March 3, 2024, 1pm & 2pm (This event is held rain or shine)
Reeves-Reed Arboretum
165 Hobart Avenue
Summit, New Jersey
(908) 273-8787
Website
Cost: Member Price: Free, Non-Member Price: $5.00
Enjoy a brisk winter afternoon learning the steps involved in turning tree sap into delicious maple syrup. The whole family will enjoy spending the day outdoors, hiking our trails, and partaking in our Maple Sugaring Challenge activities! Also enjoy hot chocolate, some vendors, and more. It's going to be a sweet day!
Maple Sugaring Demonstration & Educational Program
Saturday, March 23, 2024 (weather permitting)
Lusscraft Farm
50 Neilson Road
Wantage, NJ
973-288-2760
Website
Donations recommended.
Come see how maple sugar is made from Sap!
Volunteers educate visitors on how they tap the trees, collect the sap, and make the delicious maple syrup. Syrup will be for sale while supplies last. Proceeds from the syrup sales go to funding the Maple Sugaring Project and restoration of Lusscroft.
Maple Sugaring in Central Jersey
Maple Sap CollectionJanuary 28, February 4, 18, March 9, 2024
Echo Hill Park
42 Lilac Drive
Flemington, NJ
(908) 782-1158
Registration
Ages: 6 through Adult. An account setup is required for this activity
Cost: $8/family
Ages: 6 through adult (children must be accompanied by an adult)
You will take a short walk to the Echo Hill Park Sugar Bush where you will learn how to identify a sugar maple and learn how to tap a maple tree while getting hands-on experience with sap buckets and sap collection systems.
Tap the Sugar Maples
Saturdays, February 3, 17, 24, 2024:
Howell Living Farms
70 Wooden's Lane
Lambertville, NJ 08530
Website
609-737-3299
Cost: Free admission & parking; Please reserve your space for tree tapping
Learn about what is sap and why is it in the tree? And can you tap any tree to make syrup? Visitors will enter the sugarbush areas to tap trees, collect sap, and learn about the different modern and historic sugaring methods used in the woods. At the sugar shack, see a working evaporator and learn how the final steps in the process have changed in the last century.
Maple Sap Collection
Sundays, February 4, 18, 2024: 1:00Pm - 2:30Pm
42 Lilac Drive
Flemington, NJ
(908) 782-1158
Registration
Ages: 4 through 8 recommended (children must be accompanied by an adult)
Cost: $8/family
Collecting the sap is a crucial step of the maple sugaring process! You will visit the Sugar Bush to see sap collection in action. Get hands-on experience with sap buckets and learn about modern sap collection system
Maple Sugaring
Saturday, February 10, 2024; 10 am - 11 am & 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
The Watershed Center
31 Titus Mill Road
Pennington, NJ 08534
609-737-3735 ext. 42
Website/registration
Cost: $10.00 per Adult; $10.00 per Child (5 years and up)
Ages 5 and up.
Discover the history, folklore, and science of maple sugaring. Visit their maple trees, find out how they tap them using drills and spiles, and try a sample of sweet maple sugar. Learn about the evaporation process and how sticky sap transforms into sweet maple syrup. The operation of our outdoor evaporator is dependent on the amount of sap the trees produce and the weather. It may not be running during all program sessions.
Maple Sugaring at the Forest Resource Education Center Shack
Saturday, February 17th, 2024 @ 11am (rain or shine)
Forest Resource Education Center
370 East Veterans Highway
Jackson Township, NJ
Reserve a Spot
Free Admission
Come out and 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 and learn interesting facts about this amazing part of nature. Following the demonstration, there is the option of a 45-minute walk with Duffy along our tree products trail that is guarenteed to entertain and educate.
Sugar Shack Demonstration
mid-March, 2024
Happy Day Farm
106 Iron Ore Rd
Manalapan, NJ
Website
(732) 977-3607
Cost: $18 per person. Children 1 and under Free. Cash only!
Tours will take place at select times (10am, 11:15am, 12:30pm, 1:45pm & 3pm). Last tour at 3pm. Tickets will be sold at the door only, no reservations are required
This is a great outdoor winter experience where attendees will take a tractor ride of their 130-acre farm. Pancakes and maple syrup will be available to purchase. Visitors will then see their 'sugar bush', find out what equipment is needed to collect sap, learn first hand how to identify maple trees, and lend Farmer Tim a hand in the tapping process. ? In Olivia's Sugar Shack, visitors can see how sap is finally produced into our delicious maple syrup. The sap is boiled and evaporated in a wood-fired evaporator. They have over 700 maple trees and it takes about 80 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. Goats and chickens will be available to feed?
Maple Sugaring in South Jersey
Maple Sugaring in Rancocas Nature CenterSunday, February 18, 2024; 12:30pm to 3:30pm. Start times are staggered
Rancocas Nature Center
794 Rancocas Rd.
Westampton, NJ 08060
Website/registration
Cost: Member -$9 per person, $30 per family (limit 5 people). Non-Members: $11 per person, $40 per family (limit 5 people). Pay upon arrival on 2/18/2024
What a tasty way to spend a winter afternoon! Bring the whole family and enjoy a program about maple sugaring, the oldest continuous industry in North America. On this self-guided hike, you'll follow a map and visit multiple interactive stations along the Rancocas trails. Learn about the Sugar Maple tree and the history of maple sugaring, observe a tapping demonstration, and enjoy a maple syrup tasting. To ward off the chills, we'll have an old-fashioned campfire burning.
