Canadian culture has some very specific icon images and maple syrup is one of them. Every year in March, you will find a variety of locations hosting Maple Syrup Festivals and Farms. This is why we have rounded up the Best Maple Syrup Festivals in Ontario that you should visit in 2024!
Maple Syrup Neat Facts:
Maple Syrup has been part of Canadian culture as Canada produces over 85% of the world’s Maple Syrup as it is produced in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Maple syrup is Canada’s favourite pancake topper, so why not celebrate with a Sugar Bush visit with the whole family this season and enjoy a pancake breakfast. A visit to a Maple Syrup Farm is one of the fun winter activities our region has to offer.
Maple products are so engrained in Canadian culture that our flag features the Red Maple leaf in the Centre. The Maple tree is an important part of our Canadian landscape as we have forests full of red, black and sugar maples that mixed with the right temperature creates a large supply of maple syrup that can be tapped from the trees.
Did you know that a Maple Syrup Farm is known as a Sugar Bush? Sap is tapped from the sugar maple trees and boiled in the Sugar Shack so it was nicknamed the Sugar Bush. Maple Season runs from Early March to Mid April in Ontario and can be a great outdoor family experience. Don’t miss out on visiting these Maple Sugar Shacks and enjoying all things maple!
When is Maple Syrup Season in Ontario?
Maple Syrup Festivals are an annual event that occurs in late winter (February to March). Winter is the perfect time to enjoy family fun activities like visiting a sugar house and learning more about the gallons of sap that become gallons of syrup each year in Ontario.
Maple Festivals in Ontario Near You:
- Maple Magic – Mississauga
- Maple Town – Milton
- Maple Syrup in the Park – Halton Hills
- Maple Syrup Festival – Orangeville
- Maple Syrup Experience – Erin
- Sweetwater Festival -Milton
- Westfield Heritage – Rockton
- Maple Syrup at the Village – Toronto
- Bronte Creek Maple Festival – Oakville
Why visit a Maple Syrup Farm or Sugar Bush?
Learn all about the process of creating maple syrup and how it transforms into sweet maple syrup that we use on our pancakes. You will enjoy a hike through the forest, watching maple trees become tapped, enjoy maple syrup on pancakes and other maple treats like maple cotton candy, maple lollipops and much more! Maple Syrup Festivals are an annual event that occurs in late winter (February to March).
Map of Maple Syrup Farms and Sugar Bushes Near Me
Ontario Maple Experiences, Events, and Festivals Round Up
***All descriptions were taken from event websites for accuracy purposes.
Maple Magic
The annual City of Mississauga Maple Syrup Festival – Maple Magic – hosted at Bradley Museum, will take place this year over two weekends in March. Enjoy a variety of maple-themed activities for all ages, and learn more about the history and creation of maple syrup. Activities include: Maple Exhibit and Gift Shop at the Anchorage Gallery, with products supplied by Ontario maple syrup producer Voisin’s, Syrup taste testing with pancakes at the Barn, An outdoor guided tour of the maple sap line with museum interpreters, available from 12:15 – 3:30 pm, including a Maple Candy and Taffy demo in the Bradley House, and Neon Animals light display of local wildlife by artist Talia Shewchuk.
Location: Bradley House
Dates:
Cost: 12-4PM
Mapletown at Mountsberg
It’s the sweetest time of year at Conservation Halton with Mountsberg Mapletown! The Mountsberg sugarbush has been producing maple magic for more than 150 years and educating the public for over 40 years. The park will tap about 300 sugar maples this spring and the crystal-clear sap will be magically transformed into sweet maple syrup in the Sugar Shanty. Purchase a delicious pancake meal, maple themed sweets & treats!
The sugar bush will offer park visitors independent exploration and guided tours throughout the park during their visit to Mountsberg (Tours are require a reservation and additional fees apply)
Offered weekends, holidays, and March Break this is one of Conservation Halton’s classic Maple Season offerings. Join us in the sugar bush at Mountsberg and enjoy independent exploration of the various demonstrations, exhibits, and tastings around Maple Town. Of course, don’t forget the pancake breakfast*
Included in your Maple Town Experience:
- Raptor Centre
- Cameron Barn
- Maple Taffy on Snow (additional fee applies)
- Wagon Rides: Additional fee applies, available first come, first served. Purchase tickets at the Discovery Centre or Country Store. Wagon rides are available 10am-2:30pm.
- Candy Cabin: Watch our educators whip up a batch of delicious maple sugar on the woodstove and try a free sample of this tasty treat!
- Pancake House (additional fees apply): What’s maple season without a piping hot stack of pancakes covered in maple syrup! Pick up yours in the pancake house!
- Sugar Shack: The Sugar Shack is where the maple magic happens. Watch our skilled sugar makers turn watery maple sap into sticky sweet maple syrup in the evaporator. Our educators lead formal presentations every twenty minutes.
- Historical Sites: From the first Indigenous sugar makers to pioneer cast iron kettles to the flat pan, this area takes you through the changing technology used to make maple magic over the years.
- Country Store: Pick up a bottle of maple syrup or some maple candies to take home and enjoy!
- Maple Trivia Trail: Take a stroll through the sugar bush and pick up some maple trivia as you check out the 150-year-old maple trees and watch the sap drip into the pails!
- Talons and Tailfeathers (Additional fee applies): If you are looking for a closer encounter with the Mountsberg Raptors, you’ll love Talons & Tailfeathers! This limited group experience offers a meet and greet with some of our birds of prey while learning all about the adaptations that make them exceptional hunters through the exploration of bio artefacts! Each participant must have a ticket to attend ($10/person) Children under 2 are free. Please meet at the Raptor Centre. Dogs not permitted.
Location: Mountsberg – 2259 Milburough Line
Dates: TBA (Weekends, Holidays, and March Break)
Cost: Adult: $12.00 +HST, Senior: $9.75 +HST, Child (5-14): $8.75 +HST, Child 4 & under: FREE
Tip: Rent a Halton Conservation Pass from the Public Library to save!
Maple Syrup in the Park at Terra Cotta Conservation Area
Come out and explore Terra Cotta Conservation Area this spring at our maple syrup event: Discover Maple Syrup in the Park. Enjoy pancakes and real maple syrup, try taffy and tour our maple syrup demonstrations and enjoy free samples. Take a storybook walk with the kids and learn from our Indigenous partners.
Activities include:
- Interpretive tour: Sweetwater Discovery, Settled into Spring, The Tool Shoppe, The Sugar Shack and Changing Seasons
- Scavenger hunt
- Family activities
- Tales on the Trail
- Taffy (additional cost)
- Pancake House (additional cost)
Don’t forget to take some maple treats home with you, available for purchase in our Park Store!
Special Events:
Maple Syrup by Lamplight – Enjoy an interpretive wagon ride through the forest to an illuminated sugarbush. Conversation, good company, a campfire, maple themed food samplers and your choice of one signature maple themed mocktail or cocktail served in a souvenir glass to follow.
Learn about maple syrup production throughout history, sample warm maple syrup, taste maple taffy and learn how to tap a tree.
Advanced reservations required as space is limited. This event is for visitors 19 years of age and older.
Event dates: TBA
Sap to Syrup: A Maple Syrup Making Experience – Do you want to learn how maple syrup is made? Join us for an intimate, hands-on experience in the Sugar Shack. Learn how to tap trees, collect sap and use an evaporator to produce and bottle maple syrup. Take home a bottle of liquid gold.
Advanced reservations required. This experience is for visitors 18 years of age or older.
Event dates: TBA
Tour times: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost
Conservation Rewards:
Bring your own dishes for your maple syrup meal and enjoy a five per cent reward for your conservation efforts. The reward discount will be applied on site when purchasing a meal.
Location: 14452 Winston Churchill Blvd., Terra Cotta
Dates: TBA
Cost: TBA
Credit Valley Parks Passholders are free
Maple Syrup Festival at Island Lake Conservation Area
Come out and explore Island Lake Conservation Area this spring at our Maple Syrup in the Park event. Enjoy pancakes and real maple syrup, try taffy and tour our maple syrup demonstrations. Take a storybook walk with the kids and learn from our Indigenous partners.
Activities include:
- Interpretive tour: Tree Tapping and Measuring, Signs of Spring, Sweetwater Discovery, Settled into Spring, Changing Seasons and the Sugar Shack
- Scavenger hunt
- Family activities
- Tales on the Trail
- Taffy (additional cost)
- Pancake House (additional cost)
Don’t forget to take some maple treats home with you, available for purchase in our Maple Shop!
Location: 673067 Hurontario St, Orangeville
Dates: TBA
Cost: TBA Credit Valley Parks Passholders are free
Maple Syrup Experience at Elliott Tree Farm
Enjoy the 2024 Maple Syrup Experience and maple syrup harvest and explore the sugar bush first hand on Monday, February 20 for family day and then through the following 7 weekends from February 17 – April 7th, with 4 seating’s starting 9:30, 10:30, 11:30 or 12:30.
Embark on your maple journey with our renowned pancake breakfast/brunch in the cozy Horse Barn Canteen. Continue the experience with a delightful 10 to 15-minute stroll along the sugarbush trail, immersing yourself in the wonders of the sugarbush. Explore our sugar shack, inspect sap buckets, and savor the flavors of raw sap, partially cooked sap, maple sugar, and maple toffee against a backdrop of glistening snow.
The Maple sugar shack awaits, welcoming visitors from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm throughout the experience. After your venture in the Sugar Bush, return to our Heritage Barn to explore the Maple Syrup Museum of Ontario. Indulge in the tasting of our Award-Winning Maple Syrup grades, available for purchase alongside an array of maple products, locally sourced gifts, hot chocolate, and coffee.
Reservations through Eventbrite online only.
- Each ticket Includes:
- Free Parking
- Entrance to the Maple Syrup Museum of Ontario
- All you can eat pancakes with pure maple syrup and a side of sausage and bacon with a hot coffee or cider, juice, water inside our warm Horse Barn Canteen.
- Farm entrance and maple sugar trail access
- Learn about the history of maple syrup and maple syrup production.
- Taste raw sap, partially cooked sap, fresh maple sugar and fresh maple toffee from maple syrup.
- Sugarbush and sugar shack experience
- Checking sap buckets in the forest
- Campfire
- Complimentary toboggans for the sugar shack trail.
- *Our pure maple syrup products, local gifts, hot chocolate, coffee, and treats are available for purchase at the Heritage Barn following your experience.
*Maple candy, pure maple syrup and gifts available at the Heritage Barn – Now accepting Cash, Credit and Debit
Location: Elliott Tree Farm – 9467 Erin East Garafraxa Townline, Hillsburgh, ON N0B 1Z0
Dates: Open Family Day Weekend then for 7 weekends / Saturday’s & Sundays from February 18-April 7
Reservations available for : 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, and 12:30
Cost: Adult Admission (13 and up) : $36.50 , Youth Admission (6-12): $19.50, 5 and under: Free (Prices subject to HST or Eventbrite charge)
Maple Syrup at the Village
Discover the old-fashioned skills needed to take this sweet treat all the way from tree to table at Maple Syrup at the Village. Our costumed educators will “spile” the beans on maple’s magic, and teach you the backwoods skills necessary for adventures in the sugarbush. Join in all manner of maple merriment, including sappy stories by a roaring fire. Acquire new skills to take on your next trek into the sugarbush, and learn the secrets of collecting sugar-maple sap. Enjoy the story of Canada’s favorite sweetener at the Marvelous Maple Show, and hunt for the lost pieces of Granny Smith’s secret maple recipe.
Location: Black Creek Pioneer Village
Dates: TBA
Cost: TBA
Westfield Heritage Place
The Westfield Heritage Village Conservation Area stands as a dynamic blend of a living history museum and a vast conservation area. Positioned among Ontario’s captivating historical sites, it showcases an impressive assembly of more than 35 meticulously restored historical structures, set amidst 204 hectares of conservation land adorned with woodlands, meadows, and scenic trails.
While the historical buildings are not regularly accessible every day, visitors have the opportunity to stroll through the Village and partake in hikes throughout the week. On designated special and event days, a curated selection of buildings opens its doors, accompanied by costumed interpreters offering engaging demonstrations and guided tours.
Westfield Heritage Village is offering a special maple program on March 3, 10, 13, 14, 17, 24, 29 & 31.
Due to the popularity of events at Westfield Heritage Village, visitors must reserve a time slot for their visit.
Things to see while visiting:
- Modern sugar shack in operation
- Three kettle method demonstration at the Lockhart House
- Maple information panels
- Maple trivia trail to walk
- Maple Syrup sample tasting
- Pancakes available to purchase in the Ironwood Hall
- General Store and Gift Shop open to purchase maple treats
- Two scavenger hunts to try
- A selection of historical buildings open
Location: Westfield Heritage Place – 1049 Kirkwall Road, Rockton
Dates: Sundays, March 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31; March Break days Wednesday, March 13 and Thursday, March 14; and Good Friday, March 29.
Cost: This event is free for HCA Membership Pass holders, but they will be required to pay a $10.00 reservation fee.
Non-HCA Member Pricing – Reservation Fee: $10.00, Vehicle Fee: $11.00 and Per person Fee: $5.00 per person. Ages 5 and under are free.
Crawford Lake Sweet Water
Learn about how the Indigenous people would harvest Sweet Water (maple syrup) in this interactive exhibit. You can also explore a 15th century Longhouse Village, enjoy the Deer Clan Longhouse gallery, and learn more about the maple sugaring from past to present.
Enjoy a sample of delicious taffy on snow, an Indigenous treat, or try a tasting flight of different grades and types of syrup before heading to the giftshop to pick up a tasty souvenir. Sweetwater demonstrations will run throughout the day where guests can gather by the fire and learn all about the history of maple sugar making. There will also be guided maple syrup tasting flights offered where you can try different grades of maple syrup, similar to a wine tasting.
Location: Crawford Lake
Dates: TBA (Weekends, Holidays, and March Break)
Cost: TBA
Maple Weekend with Sweet Ontario
Bronte Creek Maple Syrup Festival –
Fresh Ontario maple syrup begins flowing at Bronte Creek Provincial Park on the first Saturday in March when the park’s annual Maple Syrup Festival gets under way. The maple syrup festivities are open to the public from 9:30am to 3:00pm every weekend in March and March Break.
Enjoy a guided tour of Maple Lane, where interpreters costumed for the 1890’s demonstrate different historical ways of collecting and making maple syrup. The tour ends in the middle of Spruce Lane Farm where you can learn how to make fresh maple sugar or enjoy a stick of delicious maple taffy before visiting the various farm animals in the yard.
Visit our family activity centre where kids can have fun and play lots of exciting games. Make sure you don’t miss Spruce Lane Farmhouse, a living history museum that recreates life from 1899. Be sure to browse through the maple products and souvenirs available in the Maple Gift Shop and purchase a bottle of syrup to take home. And what’s a Maple Syrup Festival without a pancake meal? Hop on a wagon that will take you to the Pancake House where you can enjoy fresh, hot pancakes and sausages with pure maple syrup.
This year we have expanded our family activity centre with new games. We’ve also installed a new continuous evaporator so that guests can see how maple syrup is made in the modern era. Each year we strive to increase the visitor experience at the park.
Location: Bronte Creek – 1219 Burloak Drive, Oakville
Dates: Every weekend in March and the week of March Break from 9:30am – 3:00pm
Cost: Daily Vehicle Permit $18.00, Senior Permit (65+) $14.50, Disabled Permit (with proof of Ontario Disability Permit) $9.00, Bus Permit $62.50
Checkout the Five Must Try Treats at a Maple Syrup Festival!
Please Note:
We do our best to ensure the information on The Exploring Family is accurate, however information and events are subject to change.
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