Maple Sugaring in the Litchfield Hills

Visit local sugarhouses and taste the sweetness of locally made products during the annual two-day celebration of all things maple. Many sugarhouses across the state will be open for tours and demonstrations in addition to selling their wonderful products. It’s a great opportunity to learn about the age old process of collecting maple sap and turning it into delicious syrup, candy, fudge, confections and more!

Don’t miss the Annual Maple Sugaring Demonstration & Pancake Breakfast at Indian Rock Nature Preserve in Bristol on Saturday, March 8th from 8 am-12 pm (dine-in or take-out). Enjoy plain, apple, and chocolate chip pancakes served with pure maple syrup, bacon/sausage, and a choice of beverage. See outdoor maple sugaring demonstrations and learn how to identify a Sugar Maple – even try your hand at tapping a tree. Learn about the different methods Native Americans and colonists used to collect and boil sap to make maple syrup and sugar. You’ll even find out how to make maple syrup in your own backyard. Be sure to visit with the animals (indoors). Maple syrup and maple candy will be available for sale (pre-registration preferred).

“Let the Good Times Boil” at Sweet Wind Farm in East Hartland, as they tap trees and collect sap in time to celebrate the gift of maple during their 19th Annual Maple Festival on Saturday, March 8 and Connecticut Maple Weekend on March 15-16, both from 10 am-4 pm. Enjoy classes, narrated tours, and live demonstrations of tree tapping and sap boiling plus live music, pancakes with maple syrup, and more. Maple products are available to sample and purchase.

Brookside Farm II in Litchfield is a relatively small but very high-quality maple syrup operation, owned by Mark Harran and Kay Carroll since 1999. Each year, they produce about 250 gallons of maple syrup, with a production process that yields 100% pure and basically 100% organic maple syrup. Visitors are welcome (just call ahead). Mark and Kay enjoy teaching folks of all ages how maple syrup is made and the differences in the four grades of syrup. A tour includes a tasting and recipe suggestions.  

Nestled in the woods 100 yards from the entrance to the Fleming Preserve at the Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust in Woodbury stands The Old Sap House, where the Flanders maple syrup tradition began, today drawing about 1,000 visitors each spring. As the demands on the Sap House grew and the aging equipment sagged under the weight of time and use, a new Sugar House was built on the Van Vleck Farm and Nature Sanctuary, and this is where all current maple syrup making takes place. Flanders welcomes small groups to reserve a time to visit the Sugar House as staff and volunteers demonstrate the maple sugar-making process of turning sap into syrup with an entertaining mix of science and humorous storytelling. Saturdays, February 15 & 22 and March 1 & 8; Sundays, February 16 & 23 and March 2 & 9 (registration required). Don’t miss the Annual All-You-Can-Eat Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, March 2 from 8 am-12 pm.

“Making the world a sweeter place, one drip at a time,” the Sugar Shed at The Farm in Woodbury started up in 1982 as a backyard maple syrup-making hobby. Since then, they have grown to produce hundreds of gallons of fine quality maple syrup every year, in addition to many other NON-GMO agricultural products cultivated using old fashioned values and cutting edge technology, providing a new farm experience like no other. Visit them during Maple Sugaring Season for demos and tastings from February 24-March 30, 1:00-4:30 pm (registration required).

Family-owned Lamothe’s Sugar House in Burlington is Connecticut’s largest maple sugar house, with an incredible 5,500 taps and 26 miles of tubing to collect the sap. Learn how maple syrup is made and then pick some up from their country store that also sells maple sugar, jams, honey and more. And don't forget to visit with the rabbits! Tours run from early February through the end of March on Saturdays and Sundays between 1:00 and 4:00.

Come to MapleFest and Bake Sale at the Sharon Audubon Center on Saturday, March 15 from 11 am-4 pm for a fun-filled day of Maple-ishiousness! Enjoy guided, 45-minute tours of the center’s sugaring operation, including a working sugarhouse and a re-creation of Native American and early colonial sugaring methods. Watch as pure sugar maple sap is collected from the trees and turned into delicious maple syrup. Wear warm clothes and boots, as much of the tour is outdoors. Sharon Audubon Center's maple syrup will be available for purchase after the tour, while supplies last. 

The Plymouth Maple Festival on Saturday, March 8th (10 am-12:30 pm) pm at the Plymouth Congregational Church) invites visitors to watch maple syrup boiling on an outdoor fire and learn to do your own backyard sugaring. Enjoy French toast, baked goods, baked beans, and sugar on snow, while listening to the fiddle music of Down Home Frolic. Take a short walk to the new bookstore for fun family activities and explore the secret passageways of the Underground Railroad at the Henry Terry House. Tours are free but reservations are required at [email protected]. There will also be scavenger hunts and self-guided tours of the historic village of Plymouth Center. Maple products for sale; free admission.