DCR March

March is Massachusetts Maple Month and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will host maple sugar days at its parks across the Commonwealth. Join DCR to literally tap into nature and learn how maple syrup is made! Visitors will learn how the sap is collected from maple trees and boiled down to produce pure maple syrup! These events are accessible for all ages.

Please wear sturdy footwear and warm clothing for all maple sugaring programs. All events are free unless otherwise noted. Be aware that seasonal weather and storms affect parks and trails.

Come to the Fells ‘sugar bush’ to tap maple trees at Breakheart Reservation. Meet at the Bothume House visitor center. The visitor center is located at 4 Woodland Road on Spot Pond. This program is free. For more information please call (781) 233-0834.

Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park, 287 Oak Street, Uxbridge
Maple Sugar Days March 2 & 3, 2013

Join the Blackstone Valley Sugaring Association and learn about the maple sugaring process. Please visit www.blackstonevalleysugaring.org for more information or call 508 278-6486.

Brookwood Farm in the DCR Blue Hills Reservation in Milton

Due to inclement weather, the two day maple sugaring event at the Blue Hills is cancelled.

It’s sugarin’ time in the Blue Hills! Join us as we make maple syrup in the traditional way at beautiful Brookwood Farm in Milton. Put on your boots and flannel shirt and join in the outdoor fun! Learn how to identify a sugar maple and see the sap drip into buckets from the trees. Travel along the trail of time and meet costumed characters demonstrating the changes in maple sugaring methods from Native Americans to Yankee farmers to modern day technology. Smell the wood smoke as you watch clouds of steam rise from the bubbling sap. Savor the taste of real maple syrup. Enjoy a free shuttle ride on the Maple Express Trolley. Activities are appropriate for all ages. Program admission is $6 Children under 2 are free. Maple Sugar Days is a joint program of the Department of Conservation and Recreation and Massachusetts Audubon’s Trailside Museum. The program admission fee is charged to benefit the Trailside Museum. This program is wheelchair accessible. For details or more information call (617) 698-1802 or (617) 333-0690

Pancake Breakfast March 17, 2013

Join the Friends of Breakheart Reservation at the Christopher P. Dunne Visitor Center at Breakheart Reservation for their annual Pancake Breakfast. Visitors can eat delicious pancakes and watch DCR staff working in the Sugar Shack to see how syrup is made. There is a $5 admission fee. For more information please call (781) 233-0834.

Learn about the history of maple sugarin’, participate in a tree identification activity, tap a maple, watch the evaporator at work in the Sugar Shack, and best of all taste the results! A $5 admission will support the program, used directly for the equipment you will see in action. For more information please call (781) 233-0834.

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources is also offering a listing of sugarhouses where visitors can purchase maple products including maple syrup and maple candy and enjoy open houses and tours. A complete listing can be found by going to the MassGrown & Fresher website Google map and clicking on “maple”.