10am-4pm each day
Maple News
Visitors watch how maple syrup was
made for hundreds of years.
At the start of 2012, while we were enjoying Mother Nature’s unusually warm winter, New York’s maple producers were hoping for some colder temperatures. Those unusually warm days, including some temperatures in the 60s, led to a decrease in maple syrup production for 2012, down 54% over 2011. New York Maple Producers manufactured more than 360,000 gallons of maple syrup. In the U.S., maple syrup production totaled 1.91 million gallons, down 32% from 2011.
But Maple Weekend Co-Founder and Chairman Greg Zimpfer says 2012’s lower yield won’t put a damper on this year’s event. “Sugar house activities continue no matter what the weather, and this year, 2013, could be a great one for maple syrup production.” Zimpfer Maple Farms in Attica is a founding participant in Maple Weekend, now in its 18th year.
Maple producers have many other activities
going on during Maple Weekend. Here
a machine is sawing a tree into wooden posts.
On March 22-23 and March 29-30, learn how maple syrup is made when more than 100 maple syrup producers across New York State open their sugarhouses to the public. Maple Weekend takes place from 10am to 4pm each day. Learn about tree tapping and boiling and taste some delicious, healthful maple syrup. Admission to the family-friendly event is free.
Producers from Buffalo to Albany, Rochester to Binghamton and Jamestown to Plattsburgh are participating in Maple Weekend. A list of sugarhouses and maps can be found on our Locations page.
Children can pet farm animals at some of
the maple farms during Maple Weekend.
You might want to visit more than one sugarhouse during Maple Weekend. Production techniques from vary from producer to producer. See state-of-the-art maple tapping one day and then traditional tapping the next. And many maple producers offer additional activities, including horse and wagon rides, snowshoeing, and guided walks in the woods.
Start your Maple Weekend adventure off with an all-you-can-eat breakfast, featuring New York’s finest maple syrup. You’ll find a list of pancake breakfast sites on our Locations page.
And remember that maple syrup is much more than just a topping for pancakes! It’s become very popular in cooking, so there are many ways to enjoy the taste and health benefits.
New York maintains a number two ranking among maple syrup-producing states, with a two percent increase in taps from 2011. There were 2.07 million taps in the state.
The USDA’s National Agriculture Statistics Service reports New York State produced almost 19% of all the syrup made in the U.S. All states, with the exception of Maine, showed a decrease in production from 2011 to 2012.
From the first Maple Sunday in Wyoming County in the mid 1990s to today’s state-wide Maple Weekend event, the goal remains the same -- to give the public a first-hand opportunity to see how maple products are produced, from tree to table, along with the chance to taste and purchase maple products.
This year, Maple Weekend takes place on March 22-23 and 29-30 from 10am – 4pm each day. Check our Locations page for a producer near you and to see the dates and times that they’re open. Experience New York State Maple!