Maple season: sugarhouses, pancake breakfasts and Maple Weekend

This guide is for anyone who wants to see maple syrup made, eat pancakes in a sugarhouse or stock up on syrup from the farm that boiled it. It explains how sugaring works, when New York’s Maple Weekend happens, which Central New York sugarhouses open to visitors and serve breakfast, and how to read a syrup label.

Maple is a late-winter crop. Sugarhouses do most of their public business from March into early April. By October the sugaring season is long over, though many producers sell syrup year-round from farm stores, at fall festivals and online. The dates below are the ones producers and organizers have posted; check again in late winter.

How sugaring works

Sugarmakers drill a tap into a maple, collect the sap and boil it down. According to the New York State Maple Producers Association, a tap yields 10 to 20 gallons of sap in a season, and most trees get one tap; only trees about 80 inches around or larger usually get two. It takes roughly 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. That ratio assumes sap that is 2 percent sugar, and the sugar content can range from 1 to 5 percent and drops as the season goes on.

Late-season sap can also turn syrup “buddy,” an off-flavor that the Maple Program at Cornell University says keeps the syrup from being sold as Grade A. That syrup goes into bulk processing grade instead. In Cazenovia, Critz Farms says the sap there usually runs from mid-March to early April.

The industry is large. The state Department of Agriculture and Markets said in a March 2, 2026 release that New York ranks second in the nation for maple production, made 829,000 gallons in 2025 and has more than 2,000 maple sugar makers and the largest supply of tappable maple trees in the country.

Maple Weekend

The New York State Maple Producers Association organizes Maple Weekend, funded by the association’s members and the state agriculture department. The event started in 1995 as a single “Maple Sunday” and now runs four days over two weekends in March. In 2026 it fell on March 21 and 22 and March 28 and 29. The association has posted the 2027 dates as March 13 and 14 and March 20 and 21, 2027, with most farms open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tours and samples are free at most sites; museums are the exception, and pancake breakfasts may carry a per-plate charge that varies by farm. The association’s advice on clothing is practical: it is March in New York, many sugarhouses are rustic and most are muddy, so dress in layers and wear closed-toe or insulated boots and wool socks. The association’s online producer map lists every participating farm and each farm’s plans for the weekend.

Sugarhouses in Madison and Onondaga counties

Critz Farms, Cazenovia

Back in Cazenovia, Critz Farms at 3232 Rippleton Road (State Route 13) opens the sugar house for tours during the farm’s spring Maple Syrup Celebration, with wagon rides out to the sugarbush. During Maple Weekend 2026 the farm served an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Critz Café and boiled sap on a wood-fired evaporator. The Tap Room pours a Maple Porter and Maple Moon hard cider in season. The sugar house is out of season now, but Critz sells syrup year-round, including a bourbon-barrel-aged syrup.

Dutch Hill Maple, Tully

South of Syracuse, Dutch Hill Maple at 1275 Woodmancy Road in Tully dates to 1968. The state agriculture commissioner scheduled the season’s first maple tapping there for March 1, 2024, along with a ribbon cutting for the farm’s new sugarhouse, completed in 2023. Dutch Hill is part of the NYS Grown & Certified program and took part in Maple Weekend 2026. The sugarhouse has no regular store hours, so outside Maple Weekend the way to buy is the online shop.

Smokey Hollow Maple Syrup, Jordan

In the northwest corner of Onondaga County, Smokey Hollow Maple Syrup at 8597 Pierce Road in Jordan opened the farm store from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on all four days of Maple Weekend 2026 and served a pancake breakfast on March 28 and 29 from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The farm sells maple popcorn, maple cotton candy and Maplechinos like the ones sold at the maple booth at The Great New York State Fair.

Oneida County and the Mohawk Valley

Shaw’s Maple Products, Clinton

In Clinton, Shaw’s Maple Products at 7945 Maxwell Road has made syrup since 2007 and has a licensed kitchen at the sugarhouse for candies, maple sugar and other products. The farm’s Maple Weekend pancake breakfast in 2026 ran from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with farm-fresh eggs, local sausage and bacon, and apple cider donuts with a maple sugar coating. The sugarhouse and store stayed open until 4 p.m., so visitors could watch the boil while they ate.

Collins Family Maple, Verona

In Verona, Collins Family Maple at 5756 Tilden Hill Road held an open house for Maple Weekend 2026 with sugarhouse tours, kids’ activities and the farm stand open.

Tibbitts Maple, New Hartford

In New Hartford, Tibbitts Maple at 8874 Tibbitts Road gives free tours and samples during Maple Weekend and runs rain, snow or shine, so dress for the weather.

Oswego and Lewis counties

Yardley Maple, Mexico

Joseph Yardley bought his first evaporator at 12. His family’s Yardley Maple at 524 County Route 64 in Mexico now taps 3,328 trees on a 135-acre farm and makes more than 1,100 gallons of syrup a year. The farm gave sugarhouse tours, tastings and boiling demonstrations during Maple Weekend 2026 and sells syrup, maple cream and maple sugar through an online store.

International Maple Museum Centre, Croghan

For the history, drive north to the International Maple Museum Centre at 9756 State Route 812 in Croghan, Lewis County. Founded in 1977, the museum traces sugaring from Native American methods to plastic tubing and stainless steel evaporators, with audio tours. Posted 2026 hours are Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. During Maple Weekend 2026 the museum served pancake breakfasts from 7 to 11 a.m. for $12 for adults, $7 for children 5 to 12 and free for children under 5.

Otsego, Madison and Cortland county extras

In West Edmeston, Ben & Judy’s Sugarhouse at 770 Beaver Creek Road sells organic New York maple syrup and dates the business to 1991. For Maple Weekend 2026 the sugarhouse served all-you-can-eat pancakes from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day, with tours and samples until 4 p.m.

Near Cooperstown, Cooperstown Maple Works is a family business run by Ralph and Debbie Morse in the hills above the village. The family’s story there began in 1971, when Ralph’s father bought 150 acres of forest and former dairy pasture. The business makes syrup and custom wood products and sells online and through retailers.

In Marathon, in Cortland County, the 55th CNY Maple Festival is set for April 3 and 4, 2027, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, with maple products, a pancake contest and arts and crafts in the village civic center and school gym.

Buying syrup: grades and labels

Federal grade standards that took effect March 2, 2015, sort pure maple syrup sold in consumer containers into four Grade A color classes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines them by color and taste:

• Golden Color, Delicate Taste: a mild maple flavor.
• Amber Color, Rich Taste: a full-bodied maple taste of medium intensity.
• Dark Color: a stronger maple taste than the lighter colors.
• Very Dark Color, Strong Taste: stronger still; the producers association suggests it for cooking.

Syrup that misses Grade A becomes processing grade and can only be packed in containers of 5 gallons or more. The maple producers association puts the rule of thumb simply: the darker the syrup, the stronger the flavor. Shaw’s and Dutch Hill both take part in the state’s NYS Grown & Certified program, which Agriculture and Markets describes as a program for farms that meet higher food safety and environmental standards.

Good to know

These dates were checked as of October 2, 2026:

• Maple Weekend 2027 is set for March 13 and 14 and March 20 and 21, 2027, according to the New York State Maple Producers Association. Individual farms set their own hours and breakfast plans, so check the producer map closer to the date.
• The CNY Maple Festival in Marathon is scheduled for April 3 and 4, 2027.
• Critz Farms’ sugar house is closed until spring, and Dutch Hill keeps no regular store hours at the sugarhouse. Both sell syrup online.
• Shaw’s Maple Products lists the Little Falls Cheese Festival on October 3, 2026, among upcoming events where the farm will sell in person.
• The International Maple Museum Centre’s posted 2026 hours are Thursday through Saturday; call ahead in winter.

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