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.

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.

---

---

Maple Sugaring in Northern Jersey

Maple Sugaring Demo & Festival
Saturdays & Sundays: January 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, and 30, February 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, and 27, March 5, 6, and 12, 2022.
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
Sunday, February 6, 2022 (10am, 11:30 am & 1pm)
Visitor Center
Tenafly Nature Center
313 Hudson Ave.
Tenafly, NJ
Website/Pre-registration
Cost: Member – $8.00 Add additional attendees as guests ---Member-Family – $30.00 up to 6 people, Non-member – $102.00 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.

Maple Sugaring at the Hermitage
Saturday, February 19th, 2022: 1:00 pm – 4:00pm (The rain or heavy-snow date for this event Sunday, February 20th.)
Hermitage Museum
335 North Franklin Turnpike
Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ
Website/Tickets Family tickets are $25 and individual tickets are $15. 
Learn how Native Americans and colonists got their sugar from trees so you can do this at home! We'll be tapping 15 trees and you get your own tap at the end!

The Journey of Sap to Syrup
Saturday & Monday, February 19 & 21, 2022@ 11:30 am (Weather Permitting)
Trailside Nature & Science Center
452 New Providence Road
Mountainside, NJ 07092
Website
908-789-3670
Cost: $5 resident, $6 non-resident
This program is recommended for families with children ages four and older,
Pre-registration is required. Visitors will learn how real maple syrup is made from the sap of a sugar maple tree.

Maple Sugaring at the Environmental Education Center
Saturdays & Sundays, February 19, 20, 26, 27, 2022
190 Lord Stirling Road
Basking Ridge
Visit Site?registration
908-722-1200 ext.5002
Cost: $6 per student/senior $7 per adult
Visitors will get see how trees are tapped, view sap-collecting methods past and present, and see the boiling process that produces delicious New Jersey maple syrup. This 90-minute program is conducted at our Sugar Shack, a ½-mile hike from the EEC.
Please arrive at the EEC 20-30 minutes before the program start time and dress appropriately for the weather conditions.
Boots are recommended as the trails can be wet, muddy, and/or covered by snow.

Maple Sugaring
Wednesday, February 23, 2022 from 1:00 pm to 2:00
Reeves-Reed Arboretum
165 Hobart Avenue
Summit, New Jersey
(908) 273-8787
Website
Cost: Members $10.00 | Non-Members $20.00
February marks the beginning of maple sugaring season. Wonder, respect, and love for the natural world will get a great start in this engaging weekly class. Take nature hikes, read stories, and create a one-of-a-kind project every week. These are wonderful experiences where children can spend time outdoors with our Environmental Educators. Register early since space is limited.

Maple Sugaring at the Van Fleck House
March 5, 2022: 10:00am - 4:30pm
Van Vleck House & Gardens
21 Van Vleck Street
Montclair, NJ
(973) 744-4752
On-line Registration - Registration required
Cost:Member fee $25, Non member fee $35
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 self-guided tour is entirely outdoors and will take you through several learning stations including activity sheets, informative displays and educators along the way.
Registration required – Please note: Register for a 1 hour arrival time slot.  You can arrive anytime during that 1 hour timeframe. Once you begin, the tour will last approximately 45 minutes – 1 hour.

Maple Sugaring Open House
March 6, 2022 (Sunday) 10-11:30 am & 1:30pm - 3:00pm (rain or shine)
Schiff Nature Center
339 Pleasant Valley Road (Use 339 Schiff Dr in your GPS)
Mendham, 07945
Registration
973-543-6004
Cost: Free to Schiff members. Non-member fee is $5 per person ages 3 and up.
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.

Maple Sugar Sunday with Story Time and a Craft
Sunday, March 27, 2022: 2pm - 4pm
Miller-Cory House Museum
614 Mountain Avenue
Westfield, NJ
Website
Email: millercorymuseum@gmail.com
Telephone: 908-232-1776
Cost: Admission is $5.00 for adults and children 13 and older, $3.00 for children ages 3 to 12 & free under age 3.
One of the seasonal tasks of farm life in colonial days was sugar making in the maple woods. Learn about the colonial techniques of maple sugaring, how the maple sap rises and flows, how it is collected using wooden buckets and handmade spiles, and how sugar and syrup are made from the sap. (Please note that no tree will actually be tapped.) Program includes a maple sugar story time and craft for the children. Our cooks will be showcasing open hearth cooking using period recipes and techniques. The grounds will be open for viewing and docents will be offering "quick look" tours of the fully furnished c1740 farmhouse.

Maple Sugaring in Central Jersey

Tap the Sugar Maples
Saturday, February 5, 2022: 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.

Maple Sugaring Hike
Saturday, February 12 & 19, 2022; 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
ahill@thewatershed.org
Cost: $10.00 per Adult; $10.00 per Child (5 years and up)
Discover the history, folklore, and science of maple sugaring. 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 evaporator is dependent on the amount of sap the trees produce and the weather. It may not be running during all program sessions. Dress for both indoors and outdoors and wear your boots. Sign up for one session – registration and prepayment are required.

Nature Kids: Maple Sugaring
Sunday, February 20, 2022: 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Echo Hill Park
1020 State Route 31
Lebanon, NJ
(908) 782-1158
Website
Ages: 4 through 8 recommended (children must be accompanied by an adult)
Cost: $5 per child; accompanying adult attends for free (pre-registration required)
10 participants Learn first-hand the tradition of tapping maple trees and the history of maple sugaring. You'll learn the art of the sugaring process. During this program you will participate in learning how to identify a maple tree, how to tap the tree, and learn what a sugar shack is and how to use an evaporator. Enjoy a Native American story about the discovery of maple sap.
This program includes a story time, nature walk, and craft. Be prepared to be outside for the duration of the program.

Sugar Shack Demonstration
February & March 2022: Dates TBD (weather permtting)
Happy Day Farm
106 Iron Ore Rd
Manalapan, NJ
Website
(732) 977-3607
This is a great outdoor winter experience where attendees will take a tractor ride of our 130-acre farm. Pancakes and maple syrup will be available to purchase. Visitors will then see our '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 our wood-fired evaporator. They have over 600 maple trees and it takes about 80 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup.

Maple Sugaring in Southern Jersey

Maple Sugaring
Sunday, February 20, 2022; 1:30pm – 4:30pm
Rancocas Nature Center
794 Rancocas Rd.
Westampton, NJ 08060
Website
Cost: Rancocas Nature Center members, $8/person, $25/family (limit 5); nonmembers, $10/person, $35/family (limit 5)
Register by emailing info@rancocasnaturecenter.org Pay upon arrival.
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.

New Jersey Free
Family Attractions