NORTHVILLE, Mich. (WXYZ) — Maple syrup season is in full swing in Michigan, and Maybury Farm in Northville is inviting visitors to see exactly how it's made — from identifying the right trees in the woods to watching fresh sap drip into buckets.
Watch Jeffrey Lindblom's video report:
Weekend wagon rides beginning March 7 at the farm take guests out to the sugarbush, where educators walk them through the entire process.
Executive Director Diana Wallace said the experience is designed to be immersive.
"So that you can get the whole hour of education," Wallace said.
The ride out is a leisurely one. Tractor driver Bryan Craft said he keeps a relaxed pace on purpose.
"Saving just a little bit for the drive home," Craft said.
Once visitors reach the sugarbush, they trade the wagon for a walk through the snow and mud. Team Lead Educator Monica Nick leads the group in learning how to identify a maple tree — a task that's trickier than it sounds when the trees have no leaves.
"How do you figure out what a maple tree is out here?" Nick said.
Without the tree's signature red leaf, visitors have to look at the branch structure instead. Maple trees have what's called "opposite" branching — meaning branches grow directly across from one another, rather than staggered.
After identifying the right trees, the group learns how to tap them. A spile is pushed into the tree at a 45-degree angle, about 2 inches deep, to allow the sap to flow freely.
Barn Supervisor Nat Wootton said the farm taps sugar maples specifically because of their higher sugar content.
"We tap sugar maples, they're 2-3 percent sugar," Wootton said.
Wootton said sugar maples have 2 to 3 times more sugar than a typical maple tree. He also said the current weather conditions make this the ideal time of year for syrup production — with freezing temperatures overnight and a thaw each morning creating the right environment for a steady sap flow.
"If you have a nice steady flow, it means that the weather is cooperating with you," Wootton said.
The team checks the tapped trees to see how much sap has collected, dumps any contaminated contents, and lets visitors watch — and even taste — the fresh sap dripping from the spile.
From there, the sap heads into an evaporator, where it's heated and boiled down. Water is cooked off, leaving behind the syrup.
Nick said the season and the color of the syrup are closely connected.
"Typically, maple syrup season is end of February to the end of March. In the first part of the season, you'll get syrup that looks like very light," Nick said.
As the season progresses, the syrup grows darker.
Michigan ranks 5th in the country for maple syrup production, and Maybury Farm wants visitors to feel connected to that legacy.
"We want people to experience maple syrup from Michigan," Wallace said.
At the end of the tour, visitors get to sample a Michigan-sourced maple syrup.
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