Sugarbush safari

At nature centers, learn how to tap maple trees and sample the sweet results.

© Minnesota DNR

Even if it looks like winter outside, you can count on maple trees to know otherwise.

In late February, their sap starts to run, and that's "the sweet good-bye of winter," writes naturalist John Burroughs.

Indigenous people were first to tap trees, inserting hollow reeds, letting the sap drip into troughs and boiling it down over a wood fire. The process isn't much different today, except most people use metal taps, plastic tubing and buckets to catch the sap.

It's still a lot of work; it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. But most people think real maple syrup is worth the effort.

In the awkward time between winter and spring, the promise of maple syrup also gives people a good reason to get outdoors and into the woods.

Festivals across the region offer tours of the sugarbush, nature walks and, often, music and games in addition to tapping tutorials and pancake breakfasts with syrup.

Check your local nature center or state park for programs.

Workshops

Minnesota state parks hold many programs. The "Maple Syruping in Your Backyard'' workshops at Fort Snelling in the Twin Cities is especially popular and fills quickly.

Maple Tree Sap Tapping for Amateurs and for Families at Riveredge Nature Center near Saukville, Wis. Learn how to tap a maple, collect and boil sap, and finish and bottle syrup.

Maple Tree Tapping at Carpenter Nature Center near Hastings, Minn. Reserve a time slot in advance.

© Beth Gauper

Register in advance; many programs fill quickly.

Festivals

Many festivals start early in the day. Costs generally are $5-$10, including breakfast. This year, most events require advance registration .

Sugar Shack Tours at Hartman Reserve Nature Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Visit the Sugar Shack and learn how to make maple syrup.

Festival of the Sugar Maples at Coral Woods Conservation Area in Marengo, Ill. Hike out to the sugar shack and see how maple syrup is made, then sample. Register for a free time slot.

Maple Syrup Saturday at Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve in Appleton, Wis. Go for a tour of the sugarbush and have a pancake breakfast.

Maple Fest at Red Oak Nature Center in Aurora, Ill. Naturalists take visitors into the forest to tap a maple, see how syrup is boiled and taste results.

Maple Sugarin' Shindig at Riveredge Nature Center near Saukville, Wis. Learn how to tap a maple, watch demonstrations, enjoy music and games and visit the Sugarbush House.

Maple Syrup Festival at Indian Creek Nature Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Tap a tree, collect syrup, watch it boil and have a drive-through  pancake breakfast.

Michigan Maple Weekend in southern Michigan. Visit sugar bushes to see how sap is harvested and made into syrup and candies.

Maple Syrup Weekend at Osprey Wilds Environmental Center (formerly Audubon Center of the North Woods) near Sandstone, Minn. Have a pancake brunch, learn how to tap maple trees and turn sap into syrup at this center just off Interstate 35 in eastern Minnesota.

© Minnesota DNR

Maple Madness at Hunt Hill Audubon Sanctuary southeast of Spooner, Wis. At this program for schoolkids and their families, tap trees and make maple candy and a maple seed craft.

Maple Syrup Time at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center in Milwaukee. Learn how to turn sap into syrup, practice tapping and end with a sweet treat.

MapleFest at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minn.  The arboretum in this southwest suburb of Minneapolis holds sugarbush tours and a breakfast, with admission included.

Maple Sugar Days in Franklin, Wis. At Wehr Nature Center near  Milwaukee, visit an old-time sugaring camp, learn how to tap your own maple tree and boil sap, and go home with syrup and a craft kit for kids.

Maple Fest at Covenant Harbor Bible Camp & Retreat Center in Lake Geneva, Wis. This historic camp on the lake usually offers a pancake breakfast, maple syrup tours, children's games and a craft fair. This year, it's an outdoor market.

Michigan Maple Weekend in northern Michigan. Visit sugar bushes to see how sap is harvested and made into syrup and candies.

© Riveredge Center

Michigan Maple Weekend in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Visit sugar bushes to see how sap is harvested and made into syrup and candies.

Maple Syrup Fest in Phelps, Wis. In the northeast corner of Wisconsin, tour the sugarbush, tap trees, make maple taffy in the snow and shop at an arts and crafts fair.

Maple Syrup Festival in Vergas, Minn. Tour the sugar house, eat pancakes and go on a 5K run.

Maple Syrup Festival at the MacKenzie Environmental Center near Poynette, Wis. This center between the Wisconsin Dells and Madison offers guided tours of the sugarbush, demonstrations of tapping and syrup-making, intrepretive talks about how Indians and pioneers made syrup, old-time music and horse-drawn wagon rides.

Plymouth Maple Festival in Plymouth, Wis. This fest in City Park features sap collection, craft vendors, kids' activities and a pancake breakfast.