Where to go maple sugaring around Rochester: Tours and festivals

Maple season is here and many local organizations are celebrating the long-time tradition with festivals and tours all through March.

The Iroquois people were one of the first to discover New York’s sugar maple trees and used the sap as a sweetener, medicine and indicator of when spring was arriving. Later In the 1600s, European settlers adopted the natives' tradition of maple tapping.

New York State is now the second largest producer of maple syrup in the country and each year the New York Maple Producers' Association celebrates statewide with local vendors and museums. Visit mapleweekend.com to find a producer near you.

Here’s where you can celebrate the tradition locally:

Helmer Nature Center

Located in West Irondequoit at 154 Pinegrove Ave., the Helmer Nature Center will be hosting maple sugaring tours and an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast on March 9-10.

From 11 a.m.-1 p.m., families can go on a sugaring tour for $5 or free for members of the nature center and children 3 and under.

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., breakfast will be available at $10/person or $5 for children 3 & under. It includes all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage, coffee, juice and in-house maple syrup.

Shadow Hill

Each weekend this month, the Shadow Hill Maple Festival will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 7259 Lakeside Road. The festival is free and open to the public to sample local maple products, walk through the Sugarbush trails and learn how maple syrup is made.

All-you-can-eat pancakes will be available and guests can book private tours during the week by appointment only. Pancake tickets are $13 for adults and $7.50 for children under 12.

Learn more at shadowhillmaplesyrup.com

Genesee Country Village & Museum

This family-friendly festival will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on March 15-17 & March 22-24.

Visitors will be able to see the newly renovated nature center, sugar house, maple vendors and a historic tour of how the settlers used to collect sap and make maple sugar.

Tickets for the festival start at $11 for adult museum members and $8 for youth members. General guest tickets start at $13 for general for adults and $10 for children. Children 2 & under get free admission.

Breakfast will be available for those who buy limited combo tickets starting at $23 for museum members and $19 for youth members. General combo tickets start at $26 for adults and $22 for children. Buy tickets at shop.gcv.org/tickets/nature-center.html

ASL interpretation will be available for guests Friday, March 22 and Sunday, March 24.

RMSC Cumming Nature Center

This year, the Rochester Museum and Science Center will be celebrating its 46th annual Maple Sugaring Weekends at Cumming Nature Center. For the last two weekends of March, visitors can enjoy a locally sourced all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast and outdoor trail demonstrations that explore the history and science of tapping.

Tickets to the all-you-can-eat breakfast are free for children under 3, $14 for adults and $10 for children 12 & under. The pancake breakfast ticket includes the Maple Sugaring trail demonstrations.

Buy tickets at rmsc.org/events/maple-sugaring-weekends/#pancake

ASL interpretation will be available Sunday, March 17 at 11 a.m. & 1 p.m. Guests can register for services at rmsc.org/events/maple-sugaring-weekends/#asl

Kettle Ridge Farm

Maple weekend is back at Kettle Ridge Farm on March 16-17 & March 23-24 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visitors can stop by their sugarhouse for live demos and informative viewing of the sugarbush or sample products in their retail store.

The heated barn will have fire pits for guests to sit and enjoy food vendors and beer from by Noble Shepherd Craft Brewery. Guests must bring their chairs for the fire pits or reserve a private igloo for 75 minutes. Igloo rentals have room for up to six people and cost $100 per rental.

Visit kettleridgefarm.com/maple-weekend to rent an igloo or view their food menu.

Letchworth State Park

In celebration of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation’s 100th birthday, Letchworth’s mapling team will be using 100 taps on the park’s maple trees at Maple Weekends.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 16-17 & March 23-25, park visitors can enjoy pancake breakfasts, tours of the sugarbush, and maple syrup demos at the Humphrey Nature Center.

All syrup making activities are free and all tickets for the pancake breakfast tickets benefit the Friends of Letchworth’s preservation and improvement projects in the park.

For updates on ticket sales, follow @letchworthstatepark on Facebook and Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Where to go maple sugaring around Rochester NY: Tours and festivals