Maple Sugaring Season in Lancaster County
It just might be nature's sweetest time of year: maple sugaring season. It's the natural world's signal that winter is transitioning to spring, because collecting maple sap requires a delicate balance between below-freezing nights and warmer days. Here in Lancaster County, maple sugaring season is relatively short, lasting about three weeks between February and March. During this brief window, sap begins to flow throughout maple trees, making it possible for people to collect the sap and turn it into sweet treats like syrup and candy.
The Lancaster County Department of Parks and Recreation has been holding maple sugaring workshops for decades. In fact, it's the park’s most popular program. On select days in late February and early March, park naturalists guide participants through the sugaring process: how to pick which trees can be tapped, how to safely tap the trees, how to collect and cook the sap, and how to make syrup. You'll even get to sample freshly made maple candy.
The early settlers learned about maple sugaring from Native Americans. The sap that comes out of maple trees is mostly water, and the process of turning sap into syrup involves boiling it to remove that water. Because of its water content, it takes 40 gallons of sap to produce just one gallon of syrup! Lancaster County doesn’t have quite the right environmental conditions for large-scale maple syrup production, so local people who make maple syrup typically use it for their own purposes.
Wintertime visitors are invited to come to the sugar bush at Pavilion 11 in Central Park for interactive demonstrations of the syrup making process. Drop-in any time during this free event as park naturalists share the history of production, tap sugar maple trees, boil sap in the sugar shack, finish the syrup and make candy. This program takes place entirely outdoors, so dress accordingly.
“Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.” – Frank Lloyd Wright
