ENJOY OHIO’S MAPLE SEASON AND EVENTS
Each year in February the Ohio maple industry begins the process of tapping area maple trees for their sap. Tapping a tree consists of drilling a small hole in the trunk of a sugar maple and inserting a spout. Then attaching a bucket or plastic tubing to the spout where the sap is collected.
The weather plays a big part in the type of maple harvest there will be. Cold freezing nights and warm sunny days help the sap in the trees to thaw. As sap pressure builds up in the tree the sap finds its way out. By tapping the tree, the sap has an outlet. The sap is then boiled to remove the excess water. It takes approximately 40 to 50 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup. Depending on the weather, the maple sugaring season lasts from mid-February through the first part of April.
This year why not experience Ohio’s maple season. Spend a day watching the smoke rise from the sugar houses, sample various products made from maple sugar, and eat pancakes smothered in 100% PURE OHIO MAPLE golden goodness.
Below is just a sampling of some of the maple syrup events happening around Ohio.
(When sharing our list online, please be courteous and include a link back to our website.)
Ohio Maple Madness Driving Tour
Dates: March 4-5, 11-12, 2023
Time: 10 am – 5 pm
The drive-it-yourself tour features sugarhouses across NE Ohio. Each sugarhouse and operation is unique to the maple producer.
“47 Maple operations will be opening their doors for you across the state of Ohio. Sharing their history and, hopefully, influencing our future maple producers.”
See maple syrup being made throughout Ohio. Nearly 40 sugar houses will open their doors and have demonstrations, stuff to do & samples. Come taste the delicious taste of spring in any number of sugar houses an meet the sugar makers. With unique offerings at each stop, you can’t go wrong.
Make sure you dress for the weather. Boots and outerwear a must!
TO LEARN MORE – click here.
Maple Producers of NE Ohio
“HOW SWEET IT IS” Driving Tour
Dates: March 4-5. 11-12, 2023
Time: 10am – 5pm
Location: across Ohio
Admission: Free
Join us in March of 2022 for the drive it yourself sugarbush tour of NE Ohio! Meet the producers, See the process, Learn about Sugarmaking and Taste the products! Click on the producer link below to find out more about their operation and directions! Fun for the whole family!
Open 10-5
For map and additional details CLICK HERE.
More Maple and Pancake Events
ASHLAND COUNTY
Cooke Family Wildlife Conservation Park – Ashland County Park District
Dates: March 5, 2023
Time: 11am-4:00pm
Location: Cooke Family Wildlife Conservation Park
4774 State Route 13, Shiloh, OH 44878
ashlandcountyparks.com
Come out to Cooke Park from 11am to 4pm to learn the process of maple sugaring including how to identify a maple tree and tapping the tree. A wagon ride will be given every 30 minutes or soe. Warm up in the lodge and enjoy all you can eat pancakes with fresh local maple syrup, free syrup sampling, and free sample jars for the first 50 people. This year we will also be running an evaporator to show how the maple syrup is cooked down. Donations appreciated and syrup will also be available for purchase.
Fitch Pharm Farm Maple Days
Dates: March 7-8, 114-15, 2023
Time: 10am-5pm (Sat) 1pm-5pm (Sun)
Location: 1591 Township Rd 1353, Ashland, OH 44805
800.956.2753
website | Facebook event page
Tractor drawn hayrides. Tap your own tree. Tasting table.
ASHTABULA COUNTY
Bissell Maple Farm
Date: March 4 & 11, 2023
Time: 10am-2pm
Location: 82 West Ashtabula Street, Jefferson, OH 44047
440-563-3263 | website
“Please come by and enjoy a free pancake breakfast and tours!”
Local Visitor Bureau
BUTLER COUNTY
57TH ANNUAL MAPLE SYRUP FESTIVAL
Hueston Woods State Park
Dates: March 4-5, 11-12, 2023
Time: 8am-1pm – pancakes | Noon – 4pm Mapley Syrup Tours | 10am-6pm Tour Nature Center
Location: Hueston Woods State Park
6301 Park Office Rd, College Corner, OH 45003
Questions? 513.523.6347 | ohiodnr.gov
Maple Syrup Tours:
Let a hayride take you from the Beach to the top of the trail. A guide will hike with you through the “Big Woods”, a designated State Nature Preserve. You will learn the art of maple syrup production through its cultural and historical importance. Food drink, and maple syrup will be sold throughout the day. No dogs or other pets allowed on the tour.
CUYAHOGA COUNTY
History of Maple Sugaring
Dates: March 4-5, 11-12, 18-19, 2023
Time: 11am-4pm
Location: Cleveland Metroparks Maple Grove Sugar Bush
Maple Grove Picnic Area is located off Valley Parkway in Rocky River Reservation, between Cedar Point Road and Stafford Road in Brook Park, south of Rocky River Nature Center., North Olmsted, OH 44070
website
The Olmsted Historical Society Pancake Breakfasts
Dates: March 12, 19, 26, 2023
Time: 9:00am – 1:00 pm
Location: Events Barn at the Frostville Museum
24101 Cedar Point Rd. Located at the corner of Lewis and Cedar Point Rd. in the Cleveland Metroparks Rocky River Reservation.
or visit the website www.olmstedhistoricalsociety. org.
2023: Adults $10 | Children 10 & under $6 | Takeout available.
GEAUGA COUNTY
BURTON TREE TAPPING CEREMONY
Date: February 11, 2023
Time: 10am – 3pm
Official start of the Maple Syrup Season in Burton. Festivities begin at the Log Cabin on the square.
Learn how to tap a tree and your name will be posted, for the season, on the tree you tap! FREE! Demonstrations, hot chocolate and donuts. Fun for the whole family!
Learn more.
Beginners Backyard Maple Sugaring
Date: February 11, 2023
Time: 10:00 am to 11:30 am
John’s Country Nursery, Inc.
15808 Old State Road, Middlefield, Ohio 44062
johnscountry.net/classes
If you have ever thought about collecting and making Maple syrup yourself, then this is the class you won’t want to miss! Tom Salo, from Salo Maple Products will discuss tapping trees, collecting sap, and making syrup. He welcomes questions and is enthusiastic about sharing his love of making Maple syrup each Spring. Tom will have
products available for purchase, and refreshments made with Maple syrup will be served! $15 per person, you must pre-register, call 440-632-0016
Century Village Museum
Dates: March 5,12,19,26, 2023
Times: 9 am – 2pm
Location: Geauga Historical Society
14653 East Park St., Burton, OH 44021
440.834.1492 | centuryvillagemuseum.org
Pancake Breakfast – Berkshire Athletic Boosters
Dates: March 5, 12, 19, 26, 2023
Times: 8am – 1 pm
Location: Berkshire High School
14510 North Cheshire St., Burton, OH 44021
All you can Eat Pancakes, scrambled eggs and Sausage
For more info visit pancaketown-usa.com
Pancakes and Sausage Breakfast
Dates: March 5, 12, 19, 26, 2023
Time: 9am-1pm
Location: Burton Fire Station, Burton, OH
440.834.4416
SAP’S-a-RISIN’!
Date: March 5, 12, 19, 2023
Location: Geauga Park District – Swine Creek Reservation
16004 Hayes Road, Middlefield Township, OH
(440) 286-9516 | Toll Free (800) 536-4006
www.geaugaparkdistrict.org
Visit Geauga Park District’s sugarhouse, sugarbush and lodge for a sweet taste of how maple sugaring methods have evolved from the Native American tradition to modern methods! Help gather sap in the sugarbush alongside a horse-drawn sap sled, experience the tapping, gathering and boiling methods used throughout history, see sap boiling in the sugar house and taste some maple syrup, then warm up with live music by Mr. Haney String Band and maple treats in the lodge.
Ma and Pa’s Sugar Shack
Dates: March 4 and 11, 2023
Time: 11am – 1 pm
Location: 15161 Main Market Rd. (St Rte 422) Burton (Troy Township, OH 44021
maandpas.com
Free pancakes all day until they run out. View website for updates regarding weather.
The Geauga County Maple Festival 
Date: April 27-30, 2023
Location: Historic Chardon Square, Chardon, OH
The Geauga County Maple Festival, the oldest maple festival in the United States, celebrates the production of pure maple syrup in Geauga County and Northeast Ohio. Join us for four days of fun, food and ‘everything maple’. Events include Arts & Crafts, Bathtub Races, Concessions, Continuous Grandstand Entertainment, Golden Old Timers Luncheon, Historical Display, Invitational Lumberjack Competition, Pancakes in the Park, two Grand Parades. 440-286-3007
Local Visitor Bureau
GREENE COUNTY
SUGAR MAPLE FESTIVAL
Dates: April 21-23, 2023
Time: Fri 5-10pm | Sat 10-10pm | Sun Noon – 5pm
Location: Downtown Bellbrook, Ohio
website
LAKE COUNTY
MAPLE SUGAR WEEKENDS at Lake Metroparks Farmpark
Dates: March 4-5 & 11-12, 2023
Times: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location: 8800 Euclid Chardon Rd. (Rt. 6), Kirtland, OH 44094
Farmpark admission applies
lakemetroparks.com
Visitors take a wagon ride to the Woodland Center to witness the maple production process as sap is collected from our network of tubing and 1,000 taps! After collection, watch as the sap is boiled and turned into maple syrup and candy. Discover how trees are tapped and see the tubing that connects the taps. Sample maple syrup, help gather sap and learn how to make maple syrup in your own backyard! Farmpark’s own maple syrup and candy will be for sale.
CROSS BROTHERS’ MAPLE*
Address: 1330 North County Line Road, Geneva, Ohio 44041
Directions to Sugarbush: 2.5 miles north of Rt. 20 on County Line Road, just south of Cashen Road on the west side of the street.
440-413-3949
Facebook: Cross Brothers’ Maple
We are a family run sugarhouse with 600 taps on vacuum tubing and baskets. We will be offering maple syrup samples and maple products for sale. There is a short walk required to sugarhouse.
LOGAN COUNTY
Maple Syrup Festival – Indian Lake
Date: Mar 18 2023
Time: 8:00 am – Mar 19 2023 2:00 pm
Location: Indian Lake State Park Campground, 13156 OH-235, Lakeview, OH 43331
Enjoy this annual festival to learn how maple syrup is extracted from trees and watch a demonstration of how sap is transformed into true maple syrup. While here enjoy a pancake and sausage breakfast, visit craft vendors, and purchase pure maple syrup to take home and enjoy.
ohiodnr.gov
LORAIN COUNTY
Maple Sugaring – Lorain County Metroparks
Date: February 25-26 & March 4-5, 2023
Sugar Shack Open House: 10am-Non | Naturalist Led Hikes: Noon – 2:30 pm
Location: Carlisle Visitor Center
These programs are free and perfect for all ages. No registration required.
MAHONING COUNTY
Annual Boardman Rotary Pancake Breakfast
Dates: March 18-19 & 25-26, 2023
Time: 8am – 1pm
Location: Lariccia Community Center
Boardman, OH 44512
$7 per breakfast, children 12 and under are free.
Local Visitor Bureau
MEDINA COUNTY
LAFAYETTE TOWNSHIP FIREFIGHTERS’ ASSOCIATION PANCAKE BREAKFAST
Date: April 2, 16, 23 & 30, 2023
Time: 8:30 am – 1pm
Location: Lafayette Township Fire Department
6367 Technology Lane, Medina, OH
Facebook page.
$13 Adults | $10 Seniors (65 yrs), Kids (6-12) and Veterans | $2. Kids (2-5)
CHATHAM TOWNSHIP FIREMAN’S ASSOCIATION PANCAKE BREAKFAST
Dates: Saturdays and Sundays in March
Time: 9am-3pm
Location: Chatham VFW Hall, 6299 Avon Lake Road, Chatham, Ohio
Facebook page.
Local Visitor Bureau
PORTAGE COUNTY
Kent Lions Club Pancake Festival
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023
Time: 8am – 1pm
Location: Stanton Middle School Cafeteria
Adults $8.00, Children 10 & Under $5.00. (Dibe-In, pick-up).
Tickets are available now from any Kent Lion.
You can also contact me, Tony DeLuke, (330) 830-3117.
(Dine-in or pick-up)
Bring your old eye-glasses & hearing aids. FREE Glaucoma Eye Screening.
Cash Farms Pure Maple Syrup
Dates: March 4 and 11, 2023 (Ohio Maple Madness Tour)
Time: 10am – 5pm |
Location: 7057 Virginia Road, Atwater, OH 44201
Facebook page.
Goodell Family Farm
Dates: March 4-5 and 11-12, 2023 (Ohio Maple Madness Tour)
Times: Saturday 10am-5pm | Sunday Noon – 5pm
Location: Shalersville Township
9090 OH 44, Ravenna, OH 44266 (corner of OH 44 and OH 303)
website
PANCAKE BREAKFAST – All you can eat.
Date: March 18, 2023
Time: 8am to 1pm
Location: Shalersville Town Hall
9090 OH-44, Ravenna, OH 44266
Cost$ 10. | $5 kids 4-12 | Kids 3 and under eat free!
Includes: Pancakes, sausage links and your choice of coffee, milk, or juice.
Local Visitor Bureau
RICHLAND COUNTY
MAPLE SYRUP FESTIVAL – Malabar Farm
Richland County NE OH
Dates: March 4-5, 11-12, 2023
12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Location: 4050 Bromfield Rd., Lucas, OH 44843
ohiodnr.gov
Experience the sugar camp at Malabar Farm. Free Event and all are welcome.
SANDUSKY COUNTY
SAP TO SYRUP
Date: March 4, 2023
Location: Sandusky Park District
Creek Bend Farm: Wilson Nature Center, 720 South Main Street, Lindsey, Ohio.
Learn how to tap a tree and make your own backyard evaporator. We will have samples of our syrup available for sampling! There are multiple time slots March 4th, and you MUST be registered to attend. You can view and registration available times at: buff.ly/3u3KLKb.
SUMMIT COUNTY
Hale Farm and Village
Maple Sugar Festival and Pancake Breakfast
DATES: March 4-5, 11-12, 2023
TIME: 9am-5pm (Breakfast served till 3pm)
LOCATION: Hale Farm & Village
2686 Oak Hill Rd., Bath, OH 44264
website
Maple Sugar Festival at Hale Farm & Village provides a unique opportunity for guests to witness how local and national history shaped maple production through three generations of one local family. Explore the science, history, and cultural importance of maple sugar and syrup through interactive activities, ongoing demonstrations, and pop-up talks across our historic grounds and buildings.
Highlights of the event will include tree tapping in our Maple Sugar Bush, ongoing evaporator demonstrations in our Hale Family Sugar House, Native American storytelling of maple traditions, seasonal cooking demonstrations, and sweet tastes along the way–including our annual pancake breakfast.
WAYNE COUNTY
WOOSTER TWP. FIRE AND RESCUE PANCAKE DAY
Date: March 4, 2023
Time: 7am-7pm
Location: Triway High School
Wooster Twp., OH
website
All you can eat pancakes with sides.
Elm Run Farms Annual Farm Tour
Date: March 11, 2023
Time: 10 am – 4pm
Location: 16808 Burkhardt Road, Orrville, OH 44667
Facebook page.
“Visit our farm to watch and learn about the sugaring process, take a hayride to the maple woods, and taste our food (donations accepted). We have 300+ trees and a wood-fired evaporator. There will be kids’ activities, hot drinks, and maple syrup samples.”
Local Visitor Bureau
Article and photos, unless noted by: D. Rock, MyOhioFun.com
Diane Rock is the owner and editor of MyOhioFun.com, NorthernOhioTourism.com and the Tea Cup Rescue Society. She is an avid baker, gardener, Little Free Library owner, who loves to read and travel. She spends most of her days sharing her love of things to do in Ohio, as well as creating destinations and itineraries for group tours and individual travelers.
Editor’s note: Part of this story ran in 2021 & 2022. The dates and additional events have been updated for the 2023 season. Any use of the above article or images without prior permission, will be in violation of copyright laws.
***Disclosure: My Ohio Fun receives compensation from advertising banners. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.***
For more area events click here.
