Your guide to 2025 New Hampshire Maple Month

It’s finally maple month in New Hampshire. Here’s how to celebrate the season across the state. 

In New Hampshire, this is the beginning of our sweetest season. That’s right: New Hampshire Maple Syrup Month has officially kicked off, and all you need to take it all in is gas money and a pair of good boots.

Each year, from mid-February to mid-April, New Hampshire maple syrup producers turn out 90,000 gallons of the sweet nectar. According to New Hampshire Maple Experience, it takes 40 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of pure maple syrup.

During March, sugar houses all over the state open their doors to visitors who can hike a little through mud and residual snow to steamy, wood-smoke-scented sugar houses to watch the alchemy of clear sap becoming golden syrup. Most of these sugar farms offer samples, and the opportunity to buy fresh maple products. Some also host pancake breakfasts, and if the weather is just right, you might be able to indulge in one of the best New England traditions ever: pouring newly made syrup on fresh snow for an instant treat.

This year’s sticky celebration kicks off with Maple Weekend on March 15 and 16, organized by the 80-year-old non-profit New Hampshire Maple Producers Association. Their motto, “From our trees to your table,” says it all. Head to the association website and grab their map for a full list of the dozens of sugar houses and maple farms open to visitors during Maple Month. You can also download their “Find a Sugarhouse” app, which also includes listings for restaurants, hotels, inns, and other attractions near sugar farms.

You can sample Windswept Maples Farm syrup when visiting their Loudon sugar house in March. (Stacy Milbouer)

Sugar houses & farms celebrating Maple Month 

Scores of sugar houses and farms are participating in Maple Month by putting on events, specials, and more. Here are a few highlights: 

Grand Monadnock Maple Farm

Address: 149 Breed Road, Harrisville

Hours: Saturdays and Sundays in March, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tour the sugar house and sample syrup and other maple products. Visit the gift shop to buy maple goodies to bring home. 

Maple Weekend at Fuller’s Sugarhouse

Address: 2021 Presidential Highway, Jefferson

Hours: March 15 and 16, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

See how sap is converted into pure maple syrup. They’ll serve sugar on snow and samples of fresh syrup. Afterward, visitors can stop in at Fuller’s Country Store (located at 267 Main Street in Lancaster) to shop their collection of pure maple products.

Maple Weekend at the Sugarhouse at Morningstar Farm

Address: 30 Crane Crossing Road, Plaistow

Hours: March 15 and 16, 9:30 to 5 p.m.

In addition to watching sap turn to syrup at the sugar house, visitors can celebrate Maple Sugar Month with a pancake breakfast. Visitors can also sample maple hot dogs and visit the farm store, which carries maple donuts, maple barbecue sauce, maple cream, and, of course, fresh maple syrup.

Chris Hicks, owner of Morningstar Maple Farm in Plaistow, tapping a tree. (Morningstar Farm)

Tamworth Area Maple Sugarhouses Maple Weekend

Address: Town of Tamworth

Hours: March 15 and 16, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Four Tamworth sugar farms are offering tours of their warm sugarhouses, where visitors can see traditional and modern sugaring techniques in action and sample a variety of maple treats. On hand will be maple baked goods, “creemies” (soft maple ice cream), maple cotton candy, and maple sugar. For maps and more information go to the event website.

Connolly’s Sugar House

This family-owned dairy farm and sugar house will host wood-fired boiling demonstrations during the last two weekends in March. A food truck will also be on-site, selling waffles on a stick dipped in maple syrup, hot dogs, hamburgers, and drinks. The farm store will also be open, selling maple ice cream, maple hand cream, and other maple and dairy products.

Address: 140 Webster Highway, Temple

Hours: Weekends in March, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Maple Month tips 

Here are some tips to make the most of Maple Syrup Month in New Hampshire:

• Dress for mud season. You’ll be outside so bring your rubber boots and warm clothing.
• Plan ahead. Many of these small New Hampshire sugar producers are in out-of-the-way locations, so call ahead to make sure they will be open when you arrive. Weather can play a factor.
• Bring cash, enough to pay for this precious-labor intensive treat. These are small operations that might not be willing to take a credit card. Some might take checks too. Remember it takes 40 gallons of sap and hours and hours of time and labor to make one gallon of syrup, and prices can reflect that. But trust us: Nothing tastes as good as real maple syrup. It’s worth it!
• Know your syrup grades. According to New Hampshire Maple Producers, maple syrup is graded based on flavor and translucence. Variations are due to weather, soil, climate, point in the season it was harvested, boiling, and color. Grade A—Golden made from the first sap run, usually has a light, golden color, and a mild taste. Grade A—Amber Rich has a slightly darker hue and a robust flavor. Later in the season, Grade A—Dark Robust has a deeper amber color and a stronger maple flavor. Finally, Grade A—Very Dark has a deep brown color and a strong, deep maple flavor.
• Don’t rely just on your GPS to get there. Grab directions ahead of time. Some of these sugarhouses are in places where you might lose cell phone service.
• Bring the kids. This is a great family activity that gets everyone outside in the state’s early spring woods, with all the wonderful smells, sounds, and sights that they entail. And without even knowing it, everyone gets a lesson in physics, chemistry, and entrepreneurship.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.