See how maple syrup goes from tree to table and get involved with the process with these maple syrup events in Minnesota.
The timing on the calendar and the temperatures point to one of Minnesota’s signs of spring. This year, find a day to experience Maple Syrup Season!
If you have not yet experienced this process, it is something you should definitely try. With so many parts to the process, it truly can be a whole family event!
From pancake breakfasts, to tapping trees, collecting sap, and tasting the syrup – our list of maple syrup events has something for everyone!
When Does Sap Run in Minnesota?
If you’re eager to tap maple trees for their sweet sap, timing is everything! In Minnesota, the sap season typically runs from late February to early April, but the exact timing depends on the weather.
Sap begins to flow when temperatures follow a freeze-thaw cycle – meaning the nights drop below freezing (32°F) and the days warm up above 40°F. This temperature swing creates pressure inside the tree, allowing the sap to move up from the roots.
How Does Sap Turn Into Syrup?
Once collected, sap is filtered to remove debris, then boiled to evaporate excess water and concentrate its natural sugars. When it reaches 219°F, it thickens into syrup. After a final filtering, the syrup is bottled and stored. Since it takes about 40 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of syrup, the process is time-consuming but rewarding!
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources provides information to try tapping trees at home. In addition, they have many events happening throughout the Minnesota State Parks.
2026 Minnesota Maple Syrup Events
We are fortunate that there are so many event opportunities throughout our state. Often times, participants can be a part of the maple syrup process.
Below is a list of events we have found so far. When you find a date that works for you, be sure to check out the event page for more information.
Some of these events are free, while others cost money and require registration. Act soon to register for the event you want to participate in!
If you are aware of additional events, please let us know and we will update the list.
March 7: Dayton – Eastman Nature Center – Gaming in the Outdoors: Maple Syrup
Inspired by block world-building video games, we have gamified our maple woods. Use your imagination to harvest maple sap blocks from our trees to make maple syrup. If only it were that easy! Just like in a game, there are so many steps to having a sugarbush: grow maple trees, collect bones, boil the sap blocks and more. This pretend game comes with a real sweet treat at the end. **$6/person.
March 7: West St. Paul – Dodge Nature Center – Pancake Breakfast
Bring your family and friends to enjoy a breakfast of pancakes and pure maple syrup! Following your meal, come explore the Minnesota springtime tradition of maple syruping. On a naturalist-led hike, you’ll learn about the process of maple sap collection and syrup production. This is a free, walk-in breakfast.
March 7 and 22: Henderson – Ney Nature Center – Maple Syrup: Sap to Sugar
Ever wondered if you could make your own syrup? Join us for an immersive tour of Ney Nature Center’s maple syrup operation, where you’ll discover the journey from tree to table! This experience takes you through our syrup process to learn about traditional and modern maple syrup and sugaring methods, as well as the science behind it all. **$5/member, $7/nonmember, free for 2 and under.
March 8: Bloomington – Richardson Nature Center – Free Family Fun Day: Maple Syruping
Learn about the maple syrup process from start to finish at this informal demonstration. Explore different tools used to collect, and hold and boil sap into sweet syrup. Ask questions, learn how to identify a maple tree and sample real maple syrup. Use your newfound knowledge to tap a tree at your home. Syruping kits are available for purchase during the program. No reservation needed; drop in anytime.
March 8: Victoria – Lowry Nature Center – Geocaching for Maple Syrup
Go on a hunt looking for the tastiest treasure of all, maple syrup. You’ll learn how to use a GPS device and about the process to make maple syrup. The class involves walking roughly two miles on mostly flat terrain and tasting a small sample of Lowry’s award winning maple syrup. **$6/person.
March 8, 15, and 22: Eden Prairie – Outdoor Center – Maple Syrup Making
This is the time of the year that maple trees produce sap for making syrup, sugar or candy. Learn the history of maple syruping and sugar. Participants will tap a maple tree to collect sap, see sap boiling in our outdoor evaporator and make a makuk, which is a container for storing small items. Register one family member and bring the entire family. **$12/family.
March 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, and 29: Northfield – Nerstrand Big Woods State Park – Making Maple Syrup
Discover how sap is transformed into sweet, delicious syrup and find out what you need to make it at your own home. You will have a chance to experience tapping a tree, collecting and boiling sap, and sample finished syrup! This program requires registration – check the link for details on how to sign up. **No fee, but all vehicles entering a MN State Park require a park permit ($7/daily or $35/annual).
March 9, 16, and 21: Brooklyn Park – Historic Eidem Farm – Maple Syruping at the Farm
Have you ever wondered where the syrup you put on your pancakes comes from? Join Farm staff to experience the process of collecting sap from maple trees and turning it into syrup! After warmup around the bonfire and enjoy a treat with maple syrup! **$10/person, March 9 –> Homeschool Families; March 16 –> Preschool and Parent, March 21 –> General.
March 10 and 14: Dayton – Eastman Nature Center – Adapted: Every Body Can Learn Maple Syruping
Discover the world of a maple tree in spring. Participate in a traditional syruping program but with a twist: all parts will be offered in the classroom, with the option to venture outdoors to the most accessible maple tree. Identify a maple tree and try tapping tools. Experience the art of sugaring, learn how sap is boiled into syrup and sample the final product. **$6/person.
March 14: Bemidji – Lake Bemidji State Park – Maple Syrup: A Gift from the Trees
Experience the magic of maple syruping with the whole family! Step into the forest and learn how maple trees are tapped, what tools you need, the age-old cultural traditions and more. Discover the history, science and delicious rewards of making maple syrup. Perfect for all ages; come ready for outdoor fun! **No fee, but all vehicles entering a MN State Park require a park permit ($7/daily or $35/annual).
March 14: Dayton – Eastman Nature Center – Maple Syrup: Journey into the Sugarbush
Visit the sugarbush on a small group tour and discover the world of a maple tree in spring. Tap a maple tree, delve into the history of Indigenous people who discovered the art of sugaring, visit the cauldron where sap is cooked into syrup and taste the final product. **$6/person, limited to ages 4 and up.
March 14: Victoria – Lowry Nature Center – Maple Syrup Fest
Join us for one of Minnesota’s oldest traditions, the making of maple sugar and syrup. The tradition of maple sugaring goes back hundreds of years. Learn about its beginnings, observe a tree being tapped along with different collection methods, and finish up with a stop at the Sugar Shack for a taste of the sweet, liquid gold. **$6/person.
March 14, 15, and 29: St. Paul – Fort Snelling State Park – Maple Syruping in Your Backyard
If you have spring fever or sad that winter is leaving, please come join the naturalist for this workshop. Learn how you can make your own sweet maple syrup from your own trees. Find out what equipment are required, how to tap trees, and turn those clear saps into sweet syrup. Pre-registration is required. **No fee, but all vehicles entering a MN State Park require a park permit ($7/daily or $35/annual).
March 14 and 21: White Bear Lake – Tamarack Nature Center – Sap to Syrup
The start of spring brings the drip of maple sap. Join us as we celebrate the season by tapping some trees, boiling some sap and enjoying some maple crafts and treats. The program will consist of a 45-minute guided tour, followed by self-guided exploration of additional activities. **$9/person.
March 14, 21, and 28: Altura – Whitewater State Park – Maple Syrup Making for the Whole Family
This activity will introduce the long history of maple syrup and sugar making, as well as the equipment and procedures used. Participants will tap trees, gather and boil sap and best of all taste pure maple syrup! Reservations are required – check the link for details on how to sign up. **No fee, but all vehicles entering a MN State Park require a park permit ($7/daily or $35/annual).
March 14, 21, and 28: West St. Paul – Dodge Nature Center – Maple Syruping
Celebrate the return of spring by observing the process of turning sap into syrup! Watch a tree-tapping demonstration, collect sap, visit the evaporator, and sample some delicious maple syrup and sugar. **$8/person.
March 14 and 28: Hastings – Carpenter Nature Center – Minnesota Campus – Maple Syruping
Welcome spring by joining the CNC staff in making maple syrup. We will be hiking to CNC’s sugarbush to learn about the structure and function of trees, tap maple trees, watch the process of turning sap into syrup, and sample the final product. It just under a mile walk round trip, both on and off trail. Be ready for spring snow and mud conditions. **$8/person, $5 for “Friends of CNC.”
March 15: Dayton – Eastman Nature Center – Free Funday Sunday: Maple Tapping Demonstrations
It’s maple syrup season and the work has begun. Join staff for a short tree-tapping demonstration out among the maples. Groups will be taken off-trail into the sugarbush to watch the tree-tapping at 1, 1:30, 2 and 2:30 p.m. Drop in at one of those times to observe the process.
March 15: Victoria – Lowry Nature Center – Laura Ingalls Maple Syruping
Hear about Laura’s life in the Big Woods of Wisconsin and how she tapped maple trees. Tap a real maple tree and collect sap if it’s running. Make pioneer maple sugar cakes and eat them with real maple syrup. Program is both indoors and out. Trails may be muddy, slushy or snowy. Wear boots. **$8/person, limited to ages 7 and up.
March 15 and 22: Maple Plain – Baker Outdoor Learning Center – Maple Syruping
Spring is in the air! Discover the art of tapping maple trees in the sugarbush and boiling sap into syrup. See if you can tell grocery store syrup from the real stuff. **$6/person, limited to ages 5 and up.
March 19: Victoria – Lowry Nature Center – Nature Journal Club: Maple Sap & Syrup
Grab your nature journal, pencils and paints, and let’s explore outdoors. Learn the process and tradition of maple syrup and sugar. Visit the sugarbush, check out tapped maples and the evaporator. Explore and sketch on your own. Wrap up with a taste of maple syrup and time to share our questions and journal discoveries! Students and adults welcome. **Limited to ages 8 and up.
March 21: Chanhassen – University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum – Maple Fest
Celebrate the sweetness of spring at the Arboretum’s Maple Fest — with delicious pancakes paired with hands-on maple syrup learning experiences. Guests can enjoy freshly made pancakes, sausage and local maple syrup before or after exploring Maple Fest stations, where educators and volunteers demonstrate how maple sap is collected, processed and transformed into syrup. **Free for members and ages 15 and younger, $20-25/person for nonmembers ages 16 and older.
March 21: Cologne – Baylor Regional Park – Maple Syrup Festival
Experience the entire maple syruping process, from tapping the tree to boiling down the syrup and learn about its ties to Minnesota history. Then taste test the final product with our delicious Maple Syrup Brunch including pancakes, bacon, sausage, oatmeal, coffee, and ice cream! **$15/person in advance, $20/person day-of, free for 2 and under.
March 21: Dayton – Eastman Nature Center – Maple Syrup Festival
Celebrate the start of spring by taking part in a centuries-long tradition at the Maple Syrup Festival! Visit the sugarbush, collect fresh sap, and explore the history and science of maple syrup. Warm up by a steaming cauldron and watch sap transform into syrup (weather permitting). Taste maple syrup, learn how to make maple sugar and enjoy syrup sundaes. Drop in anytime. **$6/person.
March 21: Sandstone – Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center – Maple Syrup Day
Join us at Osprey Wilds for a hands-on Maple Syrup Tour and Pancake Meal! **$10/person, $5/person for under 5. Tours with a Pancake Meal are $20/person, $10/person for under 5. Register online by noon on March 20.
March 21, 24, 26, 31, April 4, and 11: Center City – Wild River State Park – Homemade Maple Syrup
Discover the Minnesota tradition of maple syruping! Learn to identify a sugar maple tree and tap it to collect the sap. We may see the evaporator in action if there is sap to boil, and we’ll certainly taste some finished syrup from Wild River maples. Register in advance – check the link for details on how to sign up. **No fee, but all vehicles entering a MN State Park require a park permit ($7/daily or $35/annual).
March 22: Dayton – Eastman Nature Center – Free Funday Sunday: Maple Sap Collecting
Step into spring and the maple syrup season by helping to collect sap from our maple trees! Visit the boiling cauldron and learn how we turn sap into the sweet syrup that you can taste before you leave. This activity is perfect for all ages. Drop in anytime.
March 28: Collegeville – St. John’s Outdoor University – Maple Syrup Festival
Sap collecting, syrup cooking, demonstrations, and hot maple syrup sundaes await the whole family! **$5/member adult, free member youth, $10/nonmember adult, $5/nonmember youth.
March 28: Lino Lakes – Wargo Nature Center – Maple Syrup Festival
It’s time to celebrate spring! Learn about the tradition of gathering maple sap and cooking it down to make maple syrup and sugar. We’ll go through the syrup process, make maple crafts, participate in a spring scavenger hunt, and best of all, taste award-winning maple syrup. Fun for the whole family!
March 28 and 29: Roseville – Harriet Alexander Nature Center – Tapping Time!
Experience the maple syrup process from tree to table! Participate in a variety of hands-on activities and discover a little more about the science and history behind this sweet treat. Free drop-in event; come when you can and stay as long as you like. Maple syrup and treats will be available for purchase.
March 29: Dayton – Eastman Nature Center – Free Funday Sunday: Making Maple Sugar
Stop by and learn the process of turning maple syrup into sugar. Sample the final result.
March 29: Grand Rapids – Forest History Center – Maple, Music, & Phenology
Come to the Forest History Center and celebrate the late winter ritual of making maple syrup. There will be demonstrations of the maple syruping process, phenology information, some music around the bonfire, and more! **$15/adult, $8/child ages 5-17, under 5 free.
April 12: Loretto – YMCA Camp Ihduhapi – Maple Syrup Festival
Come out to camp for our Annual Maple Syrup Festival! We will have lots of fun activities including live music, evaporator demonstration, petting zoo, crafts, and more!! This is a FREE event (suggested $5 donation). Come for a little bit or stay for the whole thing!
The post Maple Syrup Events in Minnesota appeared first on Thrifty Minnesota.