Maple Sugaring in New Jersey

Discover The Best Places In New Jersey To Experience
The Process of Maple Sugaring.

Maple sugaring has a history in New Jersey that began centuries ago with the Native Americans Indians and colonists.

This is an excellent winter family or kids group activity. In New Jersey, the maple sugaring season runs early February until mid-March.

New Jersey is at the southernmost region for the maple sugaring and as a result, today there are no commercial maple sugaring farms in NJ. While commercial farms are not available, New Jersey has several parks that conduct maple sugaring programs for education and demonstration purposes.

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 40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup.

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Maple Sugaring in Northern Jersey

Maple Sugaring Demo & Festival
Saturdays, January 23, 30, February 6, 13, 20, 27, March 6, 13, 2021; Times: 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. AND 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center .
247 Southern Boulevard
Chatham, NJ
Cost: $5 per person age 3 & up.Unsder 3 Free
Preregistration is required. For more information, 973.635.6629.
Website/Registration
Learn how to identify and tap maple trees, collect sap, and make syrup over a wood-fired evaporator. Taste-test different syrups at the end.

Maple Sugaring: Tap That Tree!
Saturday, January 30, 2021; 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Reeves-Reed Arboretum
165 Hobart Avenue
Summit, New Jersey
(908) 273-8787
Website
Cost: Members $5.00 | Non-Members $15.00
February marks the beginning of maple sugaring season. Join Director of Children's Education Jackie Kondel as she taps the Arboretum's maple trees in preparation for this season's sap flow. Not only will families learn the hows and whys behind tapping trees, but will also get first-hand experience actually helping us do it! Registration is required. for children ages 5 and up with an adult.

Maple Sugaring
Sundays, February 7 (10am, 11:30 am & 1pm) & Feb 14, 2021 (10am)
Visitor Center
Tenafly Nature Center
313 Hudson Ave.
Tenafly, NJ
Website/Pre-registration
Cost: Member – $8.00 Add additional attendees as guests ---Member-Family – $20.00 up to 6 people Non-member – $12.00 Add additional attendees as guests --- Non-member- Family – $35.00 Up to 6 people
This is a great, family outdoor winter experience. Learn how to identify a maple tree and 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.
Social distancing in effect. Masks required when distance cannot be maintained. Space is limited and pre-registration is required.

Journey of Sap to Syrup
Saturday, Sunday, & Monday, February 13, 14, & 15, 2021: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM (Weather Permitting)
Watchung Reservation
Old Museum
452 New Providence Road
Mountainside, NJ 07092
Website
908-789-3670
Cost: $5 resident, $6 non-resident
This programs is recommended for families with children ages four and older,
Pre-registration is required. Meet at Old Museum. Small groups to permot social distancing
See how 100% real maple syrup is made from the sap of a sugar maple tree. Find out what equipment is needed to collect sap and take part in a taste test to see if you can identify the real thing. Dress for the weather. There will be a short walk

Maple Sugar Trees (Outdoor Adventures) at the Van Fleck House
March 2, 2021: 1:00 - 3:30pm
Van Vleck House & Gardens
21 Van Vleck Street
Montclair, NJ
(973) 744-4752
On-line Registration - Registration required
Cost:Member fee $10, Non member fee $15
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 learn how to identify a sugar maple tree and discover the steps for turning sap into syrup, focusing on a tapped sugar maple tree in Mother's Garden. Program includes a tour and demonstration, and wouldn't be complete without a maple syrup tasting! The tour is inside and outside so please dress for the weather. Tour lasts approximately 1 hour.
Masks are required at all times while on the property. Social distancing protocols will be in place.
to the tapped tree.

Maple Sugaring Open House
Sunday, March 7, 2021; 12:30- 1:15 (rain or shine)
Schiff Nature Center
339 Pleasant Valley Road
Mendham, 07945
Registration
973-543-6004
Cost: Free to Schiff members. Non-member fee is $4 per person or $15 for a family of 4. Seating is first come, first served.
Please register in advance. Seating is first come, first served.
This 1 1/2 hour program features a hands-on demonstration of maple sugar production.
The educational presentation will explain the history of maple sugaring, the seasonal life cycle of the sugar maple tree, and how 100% real maple syrup is made from finding and tapping the tree. Following the educational program, enthusiasts can view the wood-fired evaporator at work and then move on to sampling the final product. Of course the best part is tasting fresh syrup and tasty treats made fromtheir own Schiff maple syrup. An optional two mile field walk to the working maple grove will be offered to see the tapping and collection operation. Please arrive at the Nature Center 15 minutes before the start time and dress appropriately for the weather conditions. Boots are recommended as the trails can be wet, muddy, and/or covered by snow. This program is an all weather event with the exception of icy conditions or extreme wind chill temperature warnings. In the event of a cancellation, advance registration will ensure you receive a weather cancellation notice within 24 hours of the program start time.

Maple Sugaring in Central Jersey

Maple Sugaring Hike
Saturday, February 6, 13, 2021; 10 am - 11 am & 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
The Watershed Center
31 Titus Mill Road
Pennington, NJ 08534
609-737-3735
Website/registration
egallos@thewatershed.org
Cost: $10.00 per Adult $10.00 per Child (5 years and up)
Ages 5 and up. In-person program.
Join Pat Heaney, Assistant Director of Education, and discover the history, folklore and science of maple sugaring. During this hour-long, outdoor program you will visit our maple trees, find out how we 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 evaporators is dependent on the amount of sap the trees produce and the weather. They may not be running during all program sessions. Dress for sitting outdoors and wear your boots! . Sign up for one session – registration and prepayment are required.

Tap the Sugar Maples
Saturday, February 6, 20, 27, 2021: 11:00, 1:30, and 3:00
Howell Living Farms
70 Wooden's Lane
Lambertville, NJ 08530
Website
Hundreds of sugar maple trees line the banks of Moore's Creek and the nearby woods at the foot of Baldpate Mountain. Each year in February farmers begin the annual work of sap collection and maple syrup production.
Visitors can join Howell Farm's expert tree-tappers for a lesson in how to tap a backyard maple tree and make syrup at home. Outside activities include firewood cutting, rail splitting and, if conditions permit, a continuation of ice harvesting operations.
**Please note that all Saturday programs will be modified to encourage social distancing and reflect current State guidelines for public events. Visitors are required to carry masks at all times, and wear them when social distancing isn't possible.

Webinar: Live from Duke Farms - Sugar Maple Ecology
Saturday, February 27, 2021: 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM
(908) 722-3700
Registration
Cost: Free
Join a Duke Farms Educator on an exploration of one of the many sugarbushes found throughout the property to learn all about the complicated relationships between these trees and their fellow flora and fauna, what they need to thrive, and what valuable lessons humans can learn from them.
This webinar is being offered ONLINE through Zoom. Webinar ID and password will be sent out before the start of the class. If you did not receive the webinar information, please check your spam or junk folders.

Maple Sugaring at Washington Crossing State Park
Saturday March 6, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m, Sunday March 7, 1:30 – 3:00 p.m, Saturday March 13, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. & Sunday March 14, 2021, 1:30 – 3:00 p.m
Washington Crossing State Park
Nature Center
355 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road
Titusville, NJ
609-737-0609
Website
All ages.
Pre-registration required, Admission is free.
Visitors will learn and experience the history of maple sugaring by using homemade sumac spiles, crafted in the park. The program starts with an educational slide presentation on the history, folklore, mechanics, and science of maple sugaring. The group then hikes into the forest for a demonstration and some personal practice in sugar maple tree identification and tapping. There are extensive stands of sugar maple trees throughout the state park.

Maple Sugaring in Southern Jersey

Maple Sugaring for Scouts
February 15, 10am - 1pm & February 20, 2021, 12:23pm - 3:30pm
Rancocas Nature Center
794 Rancocas Rd.
Westampton, NJ 08060
Cost: $13 per Scout & Participating Siblings
Website
​Maple Sugaring is the oldest continuous industry in North America. Learn about the sugar maple tree & the history of maple sugaring, observe a tapping demonstration & enjoy a maple syrup tasting! Scouts will receive a keepsake Maple Sugaring badge. To ward off the chills, they'll have a campfire burning. ​Social distancing and masks are required.

Maple Sugaring in Southern Jersey

Maple Sugaring for Scouts
February 15, 10am - 1pm & February 20, 2021, 12:23pm - 3:30pm
Rancocas Nature Center
794 Rancocas Rd.
Westampton, NJ 08060
Cost: $13 per Scout & Participating Siblings
Website
​Maple Sugaring is the oldest continuous industry in North America. Learn about the sugar maple tree & the history of maple sugaring, observe a tapping demonstration & enjoy a maple syrup tasting! Scouts will receive a keepsake Maple Sugaring badge. To ward off the chills, they'll have a campfire burning. ​Social distancing and masks are required.

New Jersey Free
Family Attractions