NYS Maple Weekends
NYS Maple Weekends
Get a taste of the sweet, sticky stuff at these local maple farms
Photos / Various
The fun of writing a story like this is researching and talking to the people involved. In speaking with Randy Sprague, owner, with his wife, Antoinette, of Sprague’s Maple Farms in Portville, who has been in the business since he was 12, we in Western New York and Northeastern NYS and Southeastern Canada are fortunate to live in an area where maple trees have been abundant since before our founding days.
The first to discover the magic of that sweet sticky stuff that oozes out of a broken maple branch were the natives who cut v’s into the trees and attached sticks to let it drip out on warm spring days. People drank the maple water and then they found that it could be thickened into a delicious syrup. No, the Northeastern Indians did not drop hot rocks into wooden bowls to boil the syrup. But they did discover the boiling process which hasn’t changed much to this day.
Per Sprague, during a good season, here in NY the second largest maple syrup producing state (Vermont is first), it will take 40 gallons of sap to make 2 gallons of syrup. But there have been not-so-sweet years where it has taken 50 to 70 gallons or more for the same result. (To put that into perspective, a standard-sized bathtub holds 80 to 100 gallons.) Imagine! That’s a lot of boiling down! No longer using pails and spigots for collection, many modern producers have turned to tubing, which can stay up all year, to send the sap to a central collection point.
Today, Sprague taps around 23,000 to 24,000 trees in 8 locations. The trees must be 30-40 years old and can be tapped until they are 100! Isn’t Mother Nature amazing? Sprague officially starting the business in 1983 after he stopped making it over a wood-fed charcoal grill on his family porch as a 12-year-old kid, then graduated to a home hobby kit at 15. Sprague’s now puts out roughly 4,000 to 6,000 gallons of syrup per year, sells it locally at their restaurant/store at 1048 Portville-Obi Road in Portville, online, and internationally mainly to Belgium which then ships to Germany, France and elsewhere. Europeans need to go to Canada or Northeastern U.S. to get their maple syrup fix. We can go to our local farm or store.
In talking or emailing with other local maple producers, it is agreed across the board that the season has changed considerably. In the earlier years, when we still had what is now an “old fashioned winter” (like this year’s), tapping began at the beginning of March. Then it moved to February, and for the last few years, January. This year, however, is one of those old-fashioned winters and folks are just now getting their pans boiling.
Begun in 1995, the Maple Weekend, sponsored by the NYS Maple Producers’ Association was created as one day to have a chance to see the process in action, taste the product at its freshest, and see how different treats are made. Do try maple crème! It is heavenly! Some of the participating producers are offering pancake breakfasts (there is generally a charge) to whet your appetite for the sweet elixir, and generally showcase their own brand of pancake mix. Tours and maple product samples are offered in most areas at no cost. The nice surprise is that some of these vendors also make maple flavored meats (even hot dogs), so pack a cooler in the car in case they have them there to sell. And remember, this is but a small portion of the 110 or so maple producers which can be found at www.Mapleweekend.com.
Maple Weekend is March 22-23 and March 29-30, 2025 from 10:00am-pm - exceptions noted by individual farms. Do yourself a favor and consider the season, whether the sun is shining on a balmy day or wet and cold, remember you are visiting farms and will likely encounter muddy roads or walkways. Even if paths are clear, keep your toes and fingers warm and wear boots and tuck a pair of mittens in your pocket. And always try to buy your maple syrup locally. You will be supporting local producers. That’s a good thing!
Participating this year are the following:
Moore’s Sugar Shack & Pancake House (10444 Galen Hill Road, Freedom) - Watch their evaporator at work and enjoy their all-you-can eat pancakes, www.mooresmaple.com.
Sprague’s Maple Farms & Restaurant (1048 Route 305, Portville) - Sugar on snow, maple cake donuts, and wagon rides to the sugarhouse. Weather permitting, their activities start March 8-9th, March 15-16th, www.spraguesmaplefarms.com.
Sticky Paws (12504 Dredge Road, South Dayton) - Serve yourself, www.stckypawsmaple.com.
Ulinger’s Maple Farm (8835 Crumb Hill Road, East Otto) - Try their samples, www.ulingersmaplefarm.com.
Wright Farms (9166 Laidlaw Road, Franklinville) - Try their Jackwax, www.wrightfarmsmaplesyrup.com.
Durow Farms Maple (11350 Archer Hill Road, Randolph) - Hay rides, Saturday pancake breakfast, goats and calves to pet, www.ddurow@windstream.net.
Maple Glen Sugar House (2266 Gowanda/Zoar Road, Gowanda), www.mapleglensyrup.com or look for them on Facebook.
