Maple Sugaring with Boston Kids: Maple Syrup Festivals and Sugar House Tours

It's February 2023, time for maple sugaring with Boston kids! Maple Sugar collection at Appleton Farms photo courtesy of The Trustees
It's February 2023, time for maple sugaring with Boston kids! Maple Sugar collection at Appleton Farms photo courtesy of The Trustees
2/5/23 - By Tara D

From Mattapan to Sturbridge, February means maple sugaring with Boston kids. One of the sweetest things about living in Massachusetts is being able to experience maple sugaring firsthand. Bostonians don’t have to go very far to enjoy maple sugar festivals, learn to tap maple trees at farms, or watch sap being boiled down in sugar houses. Of course, the best part is tasting the final product!

Read on for the maple sugaring activities and sugar house tours available to families during this year's syrup season, starting in late February and lasting through March. Make the most of the next couple months by checking out our Boston winter fun guide. It's full of great activities that you can combine with a maple sugaring, like the Best Snow Tubing near Boston for families

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Maple Sugaring with Boston Kids - Near Boston

1. Appleton Farms Maple Happenings—Hamilton and Ipswich

Saturdays and Sundays, February 18 - March 26, 2023
Weekends at this farm will have maple demonstrations in their Sugar Shack, located next to the Farmhouse. Find hot sandwiches, seasonal soups, and fresh baked goodies served at the Appleton Farmhouse. Book a fire pit to get toasty or enjoy hiking one of the farm's trails while visiting.

Photo of a maple tap-Maple Sugaring with Boston Kids 
Go tree-tapping with maple sugaring in the City of Boston! Photo courtesy of the Boston Nature Center

2. Maple Sugaring for All at the Boston Nature Center—Mattapan

Saturday, February 18, 2023
​Help collect and boil down sap from the trees found around this urban nature center, and then sample some delicious maple treats. The Nature Center provides families with a genuine maple sugar experience within the city of Boston.

3. Tapping Maple Trees—Waltham

Saturday, February 18, 2023
Come join the farmer and educators as we walk around Gore Place to tap our sugar maples. This program will begin in the Carriage House for an educational portion to learn about trees, tapping, and making maple syrup. You will also be given a sample of maple syrup from a local tapping farm and maple sugar candies! 

4. Sap to Syrup—Lincoln

Saturday, February 25, 2023
Late winter and early spring are tree-tapping season. Learn where sweet maple syrup comes from with a trip out to the sugar bush and an exploration of the science of syrup

Maple Sugaring with Boston Kids - Greater Boston

5. Maple Tree Tap-A-Thon—Southborough

Sunday, February 26, 2023
​Led by a Trustees of Reservations naturalist and ranger, during this event you'll learn how to identify maple trees, and explore the history of tapping. Each participant will have the opportunity to set their own tap. 

Image of actors in period costume making maple syrup in Sturbridge.
See an old-fashioned maple sugar boil down in Sturbridge. Photo courtesy of Old Sturbridge Village

6. Maple Days at Old Sturbridge Village—Sturbridge

Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, February 22 - March 19, 2023
Old Sturbridge Village is celebrating history and the season with their Maple Days happening four weekends in March. Costumed historians are on hand to explain how maple syrup was harvested in the early 19th-century and even cook food made with it from that time period. 

7. Topsfield Maple Sugaring—Topsfield

Saturdays, March 4 - March, 18, 2023 
Attendees will enjoy a naturalist-guided walk and learn how to identify a sugar maple. Observe tapping and sap collection methods, watch the sap being boiled down in the sugar house, and get a sweet taste of the final product. Maple syrup will be available for purchase.

Maple Sugaring with Boston Kids - Festivals

8. Sugaring-Off Festival—Weston

Saturday, March 25, 2023
Celebrate the transition of winter to spring at Land's Sake Farm sugaring-off festival. Activities include free tours, a pancake breakfast, and lots of maple sugar! 

 

 

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