Maple Syrup Season in Ohio!

If you haven’t been to a Maple Syrup Festival put one on your calendar for March! Various farms and parks in Central Ohio, or not too far outside Central Ohio, offer a chance for the public to see the maple syrup making process. This is a fun and educational family activity. From the trees being tapped, the sap being collected, to the process of boiling down the sap for syrup that takes place in the sugar shack…oh, and the taste of the freshly boiled syrup at the end, your kids will see first hand how maple syrup is made before it is brought to the table.

We try to attend Stratford Ecological Center’s Maple Syrup Festival each year. Stratford offers guided tours/hikes for families where they give detailed explanations of how maple syrup is made from the trees. It is very hands-on and your kids may even get to help put the tap into the tree. They also have a pancake breakfast one weekend for $10/adult and $7/child. This year reservations are required for the hikes and the pancake breakfast, more details here: Stratford Ecological Center. You absolutely need to taste syrup hot off the presses…you’re tongue will love you. Check out my past post: Maple Syrup Festival at Stratford Ecological Center in Delaware, OH.

Maple Syrup Festivals or activities semi-close to home that give demonstrations in true pioneer form, offer pancake breakfasts, and walking tours to see the trees tapped and how syrup is made (cost varies):

Slate Run Historical Living Farm

Maple Syrup Weekend at Ceasar Creek About an hour and 15 minutes from Columbus down 71 S.

Stratford Ecological Center Reservations required.

Malabar Farm. The farm is in Lucas, just a bit outside Mansfield, Ohio.

Maple Sugaring in the Hills at Hocking Hills State Park.

If you plan to go:

• Dress for the weather. The end of February and the month of March are still quite cool.
• Wear shoes you can get muddy. I would even suggest bringing shoes to change into for the drive home.
• Bring cash for parking, breakfast, or buying syrup to take home. Many farms take card nowadays, but I like to play it safe.
• Plan to wear baby. The terrain is not stroller-friendly, especially on the hike through the woods.
• Take a bottle of water to share. Your kids will get thirsty.
• Bring your camera!