 Get a taste of Ohio’s sweet heritage
with a trip to the sugar bush
Maple syrup season is a sign that warm weather is on the way. From mid-February through March, the sugar bushes throughout Ohio are buzzing with activity, as freezing nighttime temperatures are met by warmer days, causing the clear sap to begin moving in maple trees.
This also is a great time for Ohioans to get out and visit one of several Ohio State Parks where they can learn how this sweet confection is created from the first step of tapping trees and collecting sap, to boiling then bottling the sweet, thick, amber-colored syrup.
In southwestern Ohio, Caesar Creek State Park will host a maple syrup weekend, February 26 and 27. Warm up with a woodland walk, cocoa and some storytelling, as well as learn how trees are drilled to collect sap for making syrup. A $4 brunch will also be available. Hueston Woods State Park is having its “Maple Syrup Festival” March 5-6 and March 12-13. The maple sugaring methods of past and present will be explored. The park’s annual pancake breakfast also will be available, $5 for adults and $4 for children.
Van Buren State Park in northwestern Ohio will introduce visitors to “Nature’s Candy Store,” with a trip to the local sugar bush. Learn all about making maple syrup during this sweet event on March 5. Malabar Farm State Park in north-central Ohio has one of the state’s premier maple syrup operations, and will host its annual “Maple Syrup Festival” March 5-6 and March 12-13. Horse-drawn wagons will take visitors out to the sugar bush where they can see the sugar making process first hand.
 Hocking Hills State Park is hosting its “Maple Sugaring in the Hills” event March 12 and 13 in southeastern Ohio. Have fun discovering the many methods used to make this tasty goodness then enjoy free samples of maple syrup treats. Those with an appetite can sit down to an affordably priced pancake breakfast at the lodge.
Today, more than 800 Ohio producers bottle between 70,000 to 100,000 gallons of maple syrup each year, according to the Ohio Maple Producers Association. Experts in the maple syrup industry say it takes 31 to 45 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup, and one tree might yield 11 gallons of sap a month.
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