Correspondent photo / Amanda Smith Brian Kovach, an employee of the Geauga Park District construction department, ensures the maple syrup boiler stays at the proper temperature at the Swine Creek Reservation Sugar House. The park district is conducting its annual maple syrup festival through early March. People who visit the park have a chance to take part in gathering tree sap and learning about the technological evolution of maple syrup production, from Native American times to present day.

MIDDLEFIELD — Maple season is arriving earlier in Northeast Ohio and celebrations are already underway. While March has traditionally been “Maple Month,” producers said they are already seeing strong sap flow.

“We’re doing our programs a little earlier,” said Karie Wheaton, a naturalist with the Geauga Park District. “The seasons have been shifting earlier and earlier.”

The Geauga Park District moved its maple programs into February after finding that March events were missing peak sap flow in recent years. One season, Wheaton said, the district’s final weekend of March programming had no sap at all.

The park district began its “Sap’s A-Rising” weekends Feb. 20 and 21. Horse-drawn sledges pull vats through tapped trees to the sugar house, where sap is boiled down into this year’s supply of amber and dark maple syrup.

Maple syrup production depends on a narrow window of weather conditions. Trees require a cold winter with enough snowfall and fall rainfall to recharge the ground. In late winter and early spring, sap begins to flow only after the ground thaws and daytime temperatures rise above freezing. Nights must then drop back below freezing to reset the cycle for another day of sap flow.

“If the temperatures just warmed up in the spring and didn’t go back down, we wouldn’t have maple syrup,” Wheaton said.

Despite a stretch of cold temperatures in February, Wheaton said this year’s season appears strong. Producers at Swine Creek Reservation already have completed two boils and were boiling sap again Feb. 21. The season is expected to continue through at least mid-March.

The district’s maple programs run through Sunday and March 8 at Swine Creek Reservation. Activities include a sugaring trail tracing maple production from Native American methods to modern equipment. Visitors can try tapping a tree, carrying sap buckets with a shoulder yoke and watch sap being boiled into syrup in the park’s sugar house.

Inside the lodge, live music and maple treats are available, and the park’s nature store sells syrup produced on site.

Ohio continues to shine in the national maple syrup market, producing about 96,000 gallons in 2024 and ranking eighth among U.S. states in output.

“There’s a lot of pride tied up in maple season here,” Wheaton said. “It’s part of our history and part of our identity in Geauga County.”

Maple syrup remains especially popular in Geauga County, which has one of the highest concentrations of maple producers in the state, Wheaton said. According to the Ohio Maple Producers Association, Northeast Ohio has more producers than any other region in Ohio, largely due to dense stands of sugar maples.

Local syrup is described as some of the finest in the world, with flavor variations tied to geography, much like fine wine. Northern Ohio syrup typically tastes different from southern Ohio syrup because of soil and climate conditions, and it carries a distinct flavor profile from syrup produced in Canada or Vermont.

Pure maple syrup’s flavor is shaped by hundreds of compounds that develop during boiling, resulting in flavors that range from delicate and buttery to rich and robust.

Flavor varies by region, Wheaton said, because trees draw minerals and nutrients from the soil.

“Northeast Ohio, we’ve won some international awards for syrup produced in this area,” she said. “I think it’s the best.”

Maple Madness Tour

2026 Ohio Maple Madness Tour can be found at https://www.ohiomaple.org/maple-madness.html

Stone Maple Farm & Sap Run Distillery

4851 state Route 534

Rome

440-336-2707

Tour Dates: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 6-7 and March 13-14

Bissell Maple Farm

Ashtabula County Fairgrounds Expo Center

127 N. Elm St.

Jefferson

440-563-3263

bissellmaplefarm.com

Tour Dates: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 7-8

Pleasant Valley View Farm

8810 Madison Road

Montville

440-667-7363

pleasantvalleyviewfarm.com

Tour Dates: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 7-8 and 14-15

Seldom Seen Farm

10055 Madison Road

Montville

440-596-9717

seldomseenmaple.com

Tour Dates : 8 a.m. t0 5 p.m. March 7 and 14, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 8 and 15. A pancake breakfast takes place 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. March 7 and 14.

Salo Maple Products

16434 Leggett Road

Montville

440-759-9945

salomapleproducts.com

Tour Dates:10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 7-8 and 14-15

Goodell Family Farm

10310 Peck Road

Mantua

330-322-3725

www.goodellfamilyfarm.com

Tour Dates : 8 a.m. t0 5 p.m. March 7 and 14, noon to 5 p.m. March 8 and 15. A pancake breakfast takes place 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. March 7 and 14.

Messenger Century Farm

17098 Messenger Road

Auburn Township

440-785-6877

www.messengercenturyfarm.com

Tour Dates: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 7-8 and 14-15

Burton Log Cabin and Sugar Camp

14590 East Park Street

Burton

440-834-4204

www.burtonchamberofcommerce.com

Open Daily, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Geauga Park District’s Swine Creek Sugarhouse

16004 Hayes Road

Middlefield

440-286-9516

www.Geaugaparkdistrict.org

Tour Dates: Noon to 4 p.m. March 1 and 8

Horizons Christian Assembly

14920 White Road

Middlefield

440-834-4776

horizons4you.com

Pancake breakfast, 7 a.m. to noon every Saturday in March

Butternut Maple Farm

12911 Butternut Road

Burton

440-537-6995

butternutmaplefarm.com

Tour Dates: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 7-8 and 14-15

Richards Maple Products

545 Water St.

Chardon

440-286-4160

www.richardsmapleproducts.com

Tour Dates: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 7 and 14