The Mountsberg Maple Syrup Festival, Maple Town, is an annual event at Mountsberg Conservation Area. It might seem like the most stereotypically Canadian thing to do ever, but there's a reason why it's so popular. Visiting a maple syrup festival in Ontario is so much fun!
Mountsberg is home to the 150-year old Mountsberg Sugar Bush where maple sap is still collected and used to produce syrup using historical and modern methods. You'll get to learn all about the production process of maple syrup and even get to taste some for yourself.
How Maple Syrup is Made in Canada
Canada produces 80% of the world's maple syrup supply with 91% of that supply coming from our neighboring province, Quebec. Maple syrup is also harvested in Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. We are fortunate to live so close to such a unique harvest, especially when it is for something as sweet and tasty as maple syrup.
March is the ideal month for collecting maple syrup in our region. Maple trees depend on cold nights and warm days for the steady flow of maple sap. The ideal conditions for sap collection and syrup production are a few consecutive days with daytime highs of 5 degrees Celsius and nighttime lows of -5 C. Sap is not tapped at night because the temperature drop inhibits sap flow.
Visiting the Mountsberg Maple Syrup Festival
Justin and I wandered down a path through the Mounstberg Sugar Bush (a "sugar bush" is the term for a maple production farm). People collect sap from the trees by tapping them. You can only tap maple trees once they are 30 to 40 years old. The trees support anywhere from 1-3 taps depending on the diameter of the tree trunks. We saw many trees with two taps and buckets on them, and also many with just one.
The average maple tree produces 35-50 litres of sap per season. When Justin and I visited, we could easily see that the conditions were perfect for maple syrup production. The sun was shining and the temperature remained slightly above the freezing mark with snow still on the ground.
Witnessing Production Methods for Maple Syrup
The Mountsberg Maple Syrup Festival has great demonstrations for traditional and modern methods to make maple syrup. Inside the Sugar Shanty building, we saw a modern method for producing maple syrup.
This diagram shows the basic production methods of making maple syrup from sap. It takes 40 litres of raw sap to produce 1 litre of pure maple syrup. As you can probably imagine, it takes a LOT of sap to make syrup!
The production methods are little changed from colonial days, although some processes have been streamlined with modern equipment. Maple syrup is made by boiling the sap over an open fire. This must be properly monitored to ensure that the syrup contains an appropriate sugar content, without the sugar crystallizing or spoiling. With this modern piece of machinery, we could see maple syrup being produced before our eyes.
Back outdoors, you can watch the traditional methods for making maple syrup. This involves boiling the sap inside a giant cauldron over a burning fire. We didn't stick around for very long to see the outdoor method as it was quite smoky, but regardless, it was pretty neat!
Canadian maple syrup is exported to approximately 50 countries, including its primary importer, the USA. In 2007, Canada produced 67.6 million pounds of maple syrup yet exported 67.7 to the U.S. using reserve supply from previous years to support the growing exportation demand.
Eating Maple Syrup and Maple Products
Maple syrup is great to use as an all-natural sweetener as it is unrefined, and retains all of the natural nutritional value from the sap of the maple tree. It has one of the lowest amounts of calories when compared to other sweeteners.
It also contains several important vitamins and minerals, including manganese, riboflavin, calcium, zinc, and potassium. Maple syrup is very tasty to pour over your pancakes, and can also be used in place of sugar in some baking and cooking recipes.
The Mountsberg Maple Syrup Festival is a great place to eat maple syrup, too. They serve pancakes with their own maple syrup at the Pancake House. While we didn't eat any pancakes (we will prepare our own vegan pancakes at home with the maple syrup), lots of people were devouring a delicious breakfast of pancakes and syrup. We bought a bottle of maple syrup that was harvested right on site, and I got a maple candy lollipop made out of maple syrup. Yum!
Plan Your Visit
Maple Town is back at Mountsberg Conservation Area. You'll need to register ahead of time, and there's both a daytime and evening experience. It happens from March through to mid-April.
You will be able to participate in many of the activities that I outlined above. You can wander through the sugarbush, see methods for making maple syrup, and purchase maple products. There's also a maple maze, maple trivia, and you can visit the birds of prey at the Raptor Centre.
You can also warm up at the outdoor fireside lounges. Unfortunately, there won't be any guided tours of the sugarbush, and there aren't any on-site dining options right now. However, this is all subject to change and I'll try my best to update this page when I learn more details!
More Things to Do at Mountsberg Conservation Area
Mountsberg Conservation Area is a really fun place to visit all year long. You can get outdoors and hike the trails, see farm animals, go birdwatching, have a picnic, visit the Raptor Centre, or attend more events throughout each season. Here are more things to do at Mountsberg:
- Mountsberg Conservation Area: A Guide to Planning Your Day
- Winterlit at Mountsberg Conservation Area
More Blog Posts About Hamilton, Halton and Brant
Looking for more travel blog posts and articles from Hamilton, Halton and Brant region in Ontario, Canada? It isn't too far from home for me, so I have lots of great reads for you.
- The Best Things to Do in Halton Hills
- How to Spend the Perfect Day in Glen Williams
- Ultimate Guide for the Dundas Peak
- Mountsberg Conservation Area
- Mountsberg Maple Syrup Festival
- Winterlit at Mountsberg Conservation Area
- Tiffany Falls in the Winter
- Fun Things to Do in Brantford
- The Best Waterfalls in Hamilton
- Things to Do in Dundas, Ontario
- Pumpkins After Dark: Pumpkin Lantern Festival
- Dundas Cactus Festival
- Crawford Lake Conservation Area
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Anda @ Travel Notes & Beyond says
This is SO interesting! I never knew they collect the sap like that ...
Justin and Lauren says
We found it to be really interesting as well! It was cool to see the entire process and how it really hasn't changed after all of these years!
Taylor Hearts Travel says
Wow, I didn't even know this sort of festival existed! Looks fun and really interesting. There are a lot of foodie festivals in the UK, ranging from small village ones to big city events. This weekend I collected elderflower and started the process to make my own elderflower champagne. Perhaps not as sweet as maple syrup, but still fun!
Justin and Lauren says
That's so interesting - I would love to even taste elderflower champagne, nevermind make it! But that is totally right up my alley. I love making things from scratch! We have some great foodie festivals here, my favorite being the Vegetarian Food Fair in Toronto every September - the largest of its kind in North America! I've also attended a Garlic Festival in the past - that was quite fun! Lots of stinky breath though I bet :)
Taylor Hearts Travel says
Oh you should definitely try some. It's really refreshing. I'd post you a bottle but I don't think it would make it!
I would love to go to the Vegetarian Food Fair AND to Toronto! I think I might pass on the Garlic Festival though!
Justin and Lauren says
Haha thanks for suggesting that, I don't think it would make it either. I'll look forward to trying it someday though :) And yes you should come to Toronto! If you do come to Toronto, the veggie food fair is the first weekend in September. I blogged about it here a little while back. And if you ever do come to Toronto let me know and we can meet up!
Ming Lim says
For health reasons, I can only eat half a teaspoon of maple syrup at a time, or just use the sugar free kind (yes, yes, it's not the same.) But that wouldn't make checking out a maple syrup festival any less fun for me, and I'd definitely want a maple syrup lollipop as a souvenir.
Justin and Lauren says
I'm glad you'd still be into checking it out even though you couldn't eat too much of it at once! We still had fun at the festival despite not being able to eat the pancakes (we're both vegan) - but we can make pancakes at home, and we brought home some maple syrup from there :) The maple syrup lollipop was very yummy - I don't eat a lot of candy, but it was something I had to have!
Katrina says
We definitely consume Canadian maple syrup! And quite a bit of it, too! Going to a syrup festival might be a very stereotypical thing to do, but it makes for a great blog post!
Justin and Lauren says
It was great to see how maple syrup was made considering how we eat so much of it!
Mary {The World Is A Book} says
The whole maple syrup festival and extraction has always fascinated me. What a great way to spend the day and I love that you get pancakes at the end. It just looks like a fun activity no matter what age you are.
Justin and Lauren says
It was a really enjoyable day, coupled with the birds of prey show afterwards! Everyone was having so much fun!
Ashley Hubbard says
I've watched something on the Travel Channel or something about this. Very fascinating the way it's made! Thanks for linking up to the #SundayTRaveler :)
Justin and Lauren says
It is really fascinating and cool how the process hasn't changed that much over the years!
Adelina | Pack Me To says
I think I make a poor Canadian. I really dislike maple syrup. It's too sweet for me. That said, I did visit a maple syrup shack when I was in Quebec years ago and learned how it was all made and tried my hand at making some maple candy on ice. Lots of fun! It's not cold enough in Vancouver for this sort of thing. Thanks for linking up again guys :)
Justin and Lauren says
Aww it's okay, we all don't have to love maple syrup! :) That would be fun to make maple candy!
Rachel says
To see how a product is being made from scratch is quite fascinating, as always. Not to mention its harvesting procedure, simple but delicate. I think I need to see how it's done.
Justin and Lauren says
It is a very interesting process and it is pretty neat that it hasn't changed over time all that much! It was really cool to see everything in action!
Angela Anderson says
I grew up making maple syrup and tapping maple trees. We had a "sugar shack" in my back yard. Even though I am not from Canada, my hometown had a local maple festival, which was always very fun. Love maple candies and maple cotton candy!
Justin and Lauren says
Oh wow, you had one in your backyard! That is so amazing! Maple cotton candy - I've never had that but that sounds SO good! Would love to try it sometime!
slightly astray says
Yuuuummmm! I'm pretty hungry right now, so pancakes with real maple syrup sounds so heavenly!! That's something I'd love to do one day if I ever get to visit Canada!
Justin and Lauren says
You definitely should when you visit Canada someday! I'm hungry right now too and would love some pancakes right about now haha!
LILY LA says
I was thinking when I read the title of this post that it was the most Canadian festival ever! But such a great experience to see how it's made. I love maple syrup, every time I visit my family over there, I always bring a big bottle (in the shape of a maple leaf) back home with me to put on my pancakes :) thanks for sharing!
Justin and Lauren says
I think it is the most Canadian festival ever haha! Thanks for reading :) We love maple syrup too!!
Michele {Malaysian Meanders} says
Going to a Sugar Shack and seeing Maple Syrup produced from the tree to the plate is a bucket list item for me. In Malaysia, maple syrup is very much a luxury item, so I don't get to enjoy it very much.
Justin and Lauren says
I hope that you get the chance to do it someday, it was a lot of fun! And you get to eat lots of maple syrup :)
Agness says
Ok, I knew Canadians were obsessed with their maple syrup and they could not have their breakfast and lunch and dinner without it on top, but Maple Syrup Festival? That's so cool :)!!!
Justin and Lauren says
Oh yes, we are definitely known for our maple syrup :) Not to mention that there were actually several different festivals in the area that we could have attended. It was great to see the process of how it is made!
eemusings (NZMuse) says
Making pancakes this weekend all I could think about was all the great maple syrup I enjoyed in Canada and New England. Sigh.
Justin and Lauren says
Aww sorry !! Are you able to find it where you are, or is it quite expensive? I find that pure maple syrup can even be expensive here as well, but I can understand why....so much sap goes to make a little bit of syrup!
frankaboutcroatia says
There is nothing like a visit to the cabane à sucre in April. Love it and miss it here in Croatia now. Didn't they roll the hot syrup over the bed of ice for you to make your own lollipops?
Justin and Lauren says
I thought they were going to do this, but I didn't see it! So, either we missed it, or they didn't do it. That was one thing Justin asked about as he went to one when he was a kid where they did this. Oh well!
Brianna @ The Casual Travelist says
As far as I'm concerned most breakfast items merely serve as a delivery vehicle for maple syrup
Justin and Lauren says
This is true! If there weren't maple syrup around, I don't think I would eat pancakes!
Mrs Chasing the Donkey says
When we lived in Australia, we'd buy only Canadian syrup - NOTHING compares. Here in Croatia we just use locally made honey, and as nice as it is, it ain't the same.... Fab to have you with us for #SundayTraveler again.
Justin and Lauren says
Maple syrup is quite unique and really tasty. Locally made honey sounds really lovely though, too! We tend to keep a lot of maple syrup around in our household :)
Marysia @ My Travel Affairs says
That sounds like a festival i wouldn't miss! :)
Justin and Lauren says
A very delicious festival! :)
Phoebe Thomas says
I wouldn't care that it's a touristy thing to do, it sounds like a great place to visit being a huge maple syrup fan. I can't believe you say the best time for production is when the days are warm and the nights cold, with temps ranging from -5° to 5°c. Is 5°c considered warm in Canada???!!! That's almost as chiily as it gets where I am.
Justin and Lauren says
Well....the days are warm and nights cold for mid-winter! I should have specified. Where we are, those daytime temps are getting a bit warmer for winter. But, in the summer, we have temperatures into 30+ degrees C during the day and evening sometimes, too! So, it gets really hot and quite humid here in the summer.
Molly S says
I love maple syrup! So this would be my idea of a perfect day out :). And it sounds really interesting. I'd definitely be eating the pancakes, though.....
Justin and Lauren says
There were many people enjoying the pancakes! It was a little bit chilly outside, but nice and sunny, so it really was the perfect day! We were happy to bring home some maple syrup, too!