Maple season in Ontario is here! Sample this Canadian and Indigenous classic at these sugar shacks near Toronto.
Maple syrup is a beloved delicacy that dates back hundreds of years to its Indigenous invention.
Bottled maple syrup is available year-round, but its source (maple sap) can only be harvested during the transition from winter and spring when daytime temperatures rise above freezing and nighttime temperatures dip below 0°C.
In southern Ontario, that typically occurs in March and April.
JUMP TO:
Visit a maple sugar shack
Eager to watch the maple syrup-making process up close? Many conservation areas within or just outside the Greater Toronto Area host maple syrup festivals and sugar shacks during the season.
Likewise, so do a few commercial maple syrup farms in southern Ontario. Typical activities include site tours (on foot or even horse-drawn carriage), maple syrup-making demonstrations and—of course—sampling.
The whole process begins with healthy, mature sugar maple trees. A thin auger is drilled into a tree’s trunk, a metal tap is hammered in, and then a bucket is attached by hook underneath.
Sap collects in the bucket over time, and eventually, each sap-filled bucket is taken for refining. Sap is strained to remove any debris, and then it’s boiled until it reaches the proper syrupy consistency.
If you’re visiting a sugar shack, dress for comfort, knowing you’ll be moving about outdoors (think: layers). Plan ahead, as some venues may offer sampling while others provide pancakes and heartier fare, too.
Pro Tip: Jump on any opportunity to try maple taffy, a special treat that’s made when hot syrup is poured onto cold snow to harden!
Read on for seven maple syrup festivals and sugar shacks in southern Ontario. They’re all within 90 minutes of downtown, making them ideal day trips from Toronto in spring.
Note: Most events operate on weekends and daily during March Break (March 10 to 14, 2025). See individual listings for more info. Some events may require advance ticketing.
Maple syrup festivals with an Indigenous focus
Maple syrup starts with Ninaatigwaaboo (sweet water in the Anishinaabemowin language), and Indigenous Peoples, including the Anishinaabe, Abenaki, Haudenosaunee and Mi’kmaq were the first experts in collecting and refining it.
Learn more at these maple syrup festivals that centre Indigenous stories and knowledge.
Sweet Water at Crawford Lake
March 1 to April 6, 2025 (weekends, holidays and March Break)
Located an hour and a half drive southwest from downtown Toronto, Milton’s Crawford Lake Conservation Area is a must-do day trip.
This conservation area is known for its mirror-like lake, stunning hiking trails, and an incredible replica of a 15th-century longhouse village.
Listen to the origins of Indigenous maple sugaring, join a guided maple and birch syrup tasting, watch a live sweet water demonstration, try maple taffy in the snow and more.
Maple Syrup in the Park at Terra Cotta
March 13 to 16 and 22 to 23, 2025
Just over an hour west of Toronto by car, Halton Hills’ Terra Cotta Conservation Area offers an unforgettable maple season with an emphasis on Indigenous storytelling, history and intergenerational activities.
Sit in on fireside chats with Oshkabewis (traditional helpers) and fire keepers, see a Madoodiswan (traditional sweat lodge), go on a wagon ride and have fun solving maple mysteries.
Visit on March 16, 2025, to listen to ancestral storytelling and Anishinaabe teachings from Traditional Grandmother Kim Wheatley.
Maple syrup festivals near other attractions
Pack more fun into your day by visiting a sugarbush short drive away from another family-friendly attraction.
Maple Syrup Festival at Bruce’s Mill
March 22 to April 6, 2025 (weekends and March Break)
Located in Stouffville, just a 55-minute drive from the core, Bruce’s Mill Conservation Park is a massive conservation area with a lot to see.
Come just for the maple syrup-making demonstrations and sugarbush snacks, or roll it into a day trip that includes hiking the trails plus a whirl through Treetop Trekking’s Uplå, a super-fun suspended net park.
Maple Syrup Festival at Kortright
March 22 to April 6, 2025 (weekends and March Break)
Located just north of Toronto in Vaughan, Kortright Centre for Conservation offers a wealth of enjoyment for outdoor lovers and Canadian art aficionados.
Visit the Maple Syrup Festival for Indigenous music, wagon rides, campfires and specialty maple meals (bring your appetite for pancakes or a maple BLT on a brioche bun!).
Stick around for a magical maple syrup evening trail walk, or take a break indoors at the nearby McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the largest public art gallery in Canada with an exclusive focus on Canadian, First Nations, Métis and Inuit art, both historical and contemporary.
Maple Town at Mountsberg
March 1 to April 7, 2025 (weekends, holidays and March Break)
Drive one and a half hours southwest of Toronto to explore the sugarbush at Campbellville’s Mountsberg Conservation Area.
This sprawling nature park and raptor rehabilitation centre is the perfect place to enjoy an early spring hike. It also offers self-guided tours, demonstrations and exhibits, as well as maple taffy and a pancake breakfast.
Active families will love Mountsberg, which boasts an animal barn to discover and a natural playground to go wild in. Raptor fans should book ahead for the Talons & Tailfeathers small-group experience or a private Raptor Encounter.
Maple syrup festivals in historical settings
History buffs will love immersing themselves in these interpretive parks that recreate the early Upper Canada settler experience.
Maple Days at the Village at Black Creek
March 10 to March 14, 2025
Less than an hour’s drive from downtown (and accessible by public transit), The Village at Black Creek has long been a favourite of families looking to experience a historical representation of life in early Canada.
During the Maple Days festival, visitors can practice backwoods skills with historically garbed interpreters, learn about Indigenous harvest and refinement of maple sap, and enjoy maple-flavoured foods straight from the wood-fired oven.
Maple Syrup Season at Westfield
Sundays: March 16 & 23, 2025
March Break days: March 12 & 13, 2025
Take a trip back in time to Westfield Heritage Village. Just over an hour’s drive from downtown, this historically accurate re-creation of a pioneer village comes complete with two sugar shacks for demonstrations, plus a maple trivia trail and a pancake feast in the Ironwood Hall.
Costumed interpreters set the scene for a tasty learning experience that steps back in time.
Maple syrup farms with sugar shacks
If you’d like to see how a commercial maple syrup farm operates, you’re in luck: these farms welcome guests to their real-life sugar shacks.
Elliott Tree Farm
Weekends: now through mid-April 2025
March Break days: March 10 & 14, 2025
Elliott Tree Farm, a circa-1890 Christmas tree and maple syrup farm (located about 75 minutes from downtown by car) hosts an immersive experience that starts with all-you-can-eat pancakes and maple syrup indoors in their Horse Barn Canteen.
Afterwards, you’ll go on a short hike along the maple trail to their sugar shack, where you can try maple taffy and maple sugar, and sample different types of maple syrup.
Bonus: there’s also a gift shop where you can load up on locally sourced foodie gifts, plus the farm’s award-winning maple syrup.
Brooks Farms
Weekends: now through April 6, 2025
March Break days: March 10 to 14, 2025
Just an hour north of the core in Uxbridge, the Maple Sugar Festival at Brooks Farms promises fun for all ages.
Start your tour with a mini train or wagon ride, watch syrup-making demos, roast marshmallows while you warm up by the bonfire and sample freshly made maple syrup.
The on-site farm market and bakery also offer an optional (indoor) pancake breakfast and plenty of maple syrup, maple products and other goodies.
Richardson’s Farm & Market
March 11 to 15 & 22, 2025
Just over an hour and a half away, you’ll find Richardson’s Farm & Market, a sugarbush that’s also a pick-your-own market during the growing season.
Their tour includes a wagon ride, a guided walk along the maple trail and demonstrations at the evaporator (where sap turns into syrup!). You can also sample maple taffy and visit the farm store for local goodies.
Looking to go all-in? Book the Sweetest Smell on Earth.
It's a hands-on experience where you will tap a tree, collect and boil sap in a hollowed-out log (a technique pioneered by Indigenous people), make maple taffy over a mound of snow, and then sit down to a hearty brunch of pancakes, baked beans, locally made sausages or bacon, all served up with generous servings of maple syrup.
