Maple Sugaring Weekends at Lake Metroparks Farmpark saw a welcome bounce-back from 2025’s season, despite mid-20s weather. In fact, Mother Nature’s fluctuating temperatures have helped the property’s production, unlike last year’s substantially uncooperative, pre-spring atmosphere. Just ask Farmpark Events Manager Andy McGovern. “Last season was horrible,” he said. “We thought the year was going to be great and then, all of a sudden, it went from warm to cold, to warm to cold, to 70 degrees. This has been more of a traditional Northeast Ohio winter. This is the winter I knew growing up, when it’s supposed to snow until the beginning of March.” Whether attendees agree with McGovern or not, the sweet science is on his side, as evidenced by opportunities over two days to discover the history of maple sugar production, step by step. Melissa Sanders, of Madison Township, and her granddaughter, Evelyn Miss Mae, take a break from maple sugaring to check out a collection of chickens at Lake Metroparks Farmpark on March 1. (Chad Felton — The News-Herald) Families happily hopped on wagons to the Woodland Center to witness how sap is collected, boiled and processed, using both traditional and modern methods, such as a vacuum tubing system. Tiny trips to the surrounding woods to explore the sugarbush, where adults and children alike collected sap from maple trees and delivered it to horse-drawn sleds, rounded out the sugar-specific, interactive fun. McGovern noted it takes about 40 gallons of sap to produce just one gallon of sweetness. “Again, sap is obtained in a very brief window between winter and spring,” he said. “It runs out of maple trees when the temperature is around 40 degrees following a night when the temperature drops below freezing. “With the warmth we recently had, the trees really ran, but they needed a break, which is when this cold snap came back in, basically shutting the trees down, and it has really helped us, because we need those warm days and cold nights. “So, would I rather have no more snow?” McGovern asked. “Of course not, but for maple sugaring, we need this weather. The season just started, and we know that people love Farmpark’s syrup….we’re flattered that it sells out quickly.” Additionally, attendees sampled freshly produced maple syrup, candy, stirrers and pancake breakfasts. For Declan Hyman-Lloyd of Madison Township the maple cotton candy and the sap bucket took top billing. And, of course, with Farmpark being Farmpark, opportunities to meet animals, including ewes, rams and kids, were ever-present, a reality no themed weekend can overshadow. “With the arrival of the baby animals, this is truly a multigenerational event,” McGovern said. “It’s why this event is a big draw.” Maple Sugaring Weekends continue from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 7-8. For more information and a full schedule of activities, visit lakemetroparks.com/maplesugaring. Farmpark maple sugarer Erik Dudinsky, right, aids Madison Township resident Declan Hyman-Lloyd during Maple Sugaring Weekends at Lake Metroparks Farmpark on March 1. (Chad Felton — The News-Herald) ...read more read less