You Can Now Learn How To Make Maple Syrup At Minnesota Parks

With all due respect to Mrs. Butterworth, nothing beats real, homemade maple syrup. I don't often buy it, and when I do it's almost always at some type of local festival or craft show and every time I eat it, I wonder why I took so long to get it again.

Now, thanks to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, we can all go a step further than buying it by learning to make it ourselves.

March is when the sun is higher in the sky, the snow is melting, and plants are getting ready to come back from dormancy, which the DNR says are all indications that tree saps are starting to flow. That means maple syrup season is upon us and there are several great programs to take advantage of.

Learn To Make Maple Syrup At Minnesota State Parks

The DNR announced that five Minnesota state parks are offering programs to introduce people to the history of maple syrup and sugar making and the equipment and procedures used in the process.

Minnesota is home to five native species of maple trees, all of which produce sap that can be made into maple syrup. Sugar maples are the preferred tree for maple syrup as the sap from sugar maple trees has the highest sugar concentration.

Typically, the best time to collect tree sap is between mid-March and mid-April, when temperatures are in the high 30s to mid-40s during the day and below freezing at night. It usually takes 30 to 40 gallons of tree sap to produce one gallon of pure maple syrup.

Now, you can learn how to identify and tap the right kind of tree and how to boil the sap until it is sweet enough to serve on pancakes, waffles, or ice cream.

The maple syrup programs will be offered at the following state parks:

• Fort Snelling State Park: March 9th, 16th, 29th, and 30th
• Lake Bemidji State Park: March 22
• Nerstrand Big Woods State Park: March 15th, 16th, 22nd, 23rd, and 29th
• Whitewater State Park: March 8th, 15th, and 22nd
• Wild River State Park: March 22nd, 29th, April 5th, and 12th. The program on April 5 will feature a Sugarbush Sound Garden put on by the park’s artist-in-residence James Everest. The program will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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The DNR notes that these programs are free but some require advance registration due to space limitations.

Also, keep in mind that vehicle permits are required to enter the parks, which cost $7 for a one-day permit or $35 for a year-round permit. Permits can be purchased online in advance or at the park’s ranger station.

You can click the button above for more information on the maple syrup programs, along with the complete schedule and start times.

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