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.

Stay in a rustic log cabin with your family or friends. Try maple syruping and other activities while exploring and relaxing on your own. Meals are cooked on your own at outdoor grill sites. Advice, firewood and cooking/eating utensils provided. Maximum one cabin per family. $199 plus tax per cabin (maximum eight people).

Last year's All Things Maple was such a hit, we are bringing it back again with new items and recipes using our award-winning syrup! Bring your family and friends for a unique dining experience. Cook and eat a sweet meal over the fire during this wilderness feast. We will make several items that all feature maple syrup in the ingredients. Toast maple-glazed grilled cheese, design your own sweet sausage jumble and practice the art of making maple sugar. Come give these dishes and more a try! $14 ages 16+; $10 ages 3-15; children under 3 free.

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.

Stop by and learn the process of turning maple syrup into sugar. Sample the final result.

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.

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.

Get ready for a series of maple syrup programs that take you from maple tree identification to tapping, collecting and sugaring. Each Sunday we will highlight a different part of the maple syrup process. This first session will focus on how to identify maple trees in winter for tapping before leaves emerge. Drop in anytime.

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. Drop in anytime between 1–2 p.m. to start the game.

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.

Minnesota has a long tradition of harvesting maple sap to produce sugar and syrup. Learn how the Dakota and Ojibwe have been harvesting maple sugar long before Europeans arrived. Tap trees, gather and boil sap, and see how to turn sap to syrup and even to sugar. Participants will leave with two bags, two bag holders (used) and two spiles to tap trees at home.

Your maple syrup is nearly done, what now? Learn about the techniques and tools for finishing off maple syrup and tips for making sure your syrup is done. Get hands-on experience filtering and bottling a batch of the nature center's syrup. See how you can substitute maple syrup for sugar in recipes and bake a special treat using syrup. To learn how to tap trees, collect sap and start the cooking process, register for the How to Make Maple Syrup: Starting Your Syrup Season class on March 5 or 7.

Do you want to make maple syrup at home? This class will cover maple tree identification, the tapping process, and the tools needed for tapping, collecting and storing the sap. You will leave knowing what equipment you need and with resources to help you start your own syrup season. We will review how to cook sap into syrup and you will be introduced to the tools that are used to finish off your maple syrup. For more in-depth instruction on cooking and finishing syrup, register for the How to Make Maple Syrup: Finishing Off and Cooking with Syrup class on March 28.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Join us for an evening of reading and making! We will read a book about maple syruping and make a colorful ceramic project inspired by our discoveries. $18/pair. Ages: 3–6 plus adult.

Watch a puppet show as our puppets have adventures in the woods and fields. After the show a head out on the trail for a short activity. $5/person. Ages: 3-6, plus adult.

Join our puppet friends. Explore activities before the show and hike on your own afterward. Maximum of three children per adult. Program is a combination of indoor and outdoor activities. Please dress for the weather. Bring a bag lunch and eat with other participants after the program. $6/person. Ages 2-6 plus adult. Under 2 are free but must register.

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. The program includes outdoor and indoor activities, please dress to be outside for 45 minutes.

Learn about the science and heritage behind the production of maple sugar and syrup. We will be inspired by what we learn and create nature-themed plates out of clay through pressing textures into the soft surface and decorating with colorful underglaze paints. Reservations required by two days prior. Participants will be contacted once their ceramic projects have been fired and are ready for pickup in the park within three weeks after the date of our program.

Interested in learning about the maple syruping process? Even more interested in trying out some maple syrup samples? Join us for a sweet time and participate in the syrup making process. Learn about the natural and human history behind maple syruping before heading into the sugarbush to collect sap. See the cooking process, enjoy free smells, then head back inside for a taste of what all that work is for!