Maple Sugaring in New Hampshire is a March Tradition

collecting maple sap

Sap Buckets in a Sugarbush in March

Celebrate March Maple Madness with a sweet getaway weekend in the White Mountains, March 21-23, 2014. This annual event is a self-guided tour on Saturday that includes visits to a sugarbush and sugar houses to see maple syrup being made, plus stops at eight country inns in the Mt. Washington Valley to sample maple treats both sweet and savory. You’ll end the day with recipes to remember your maple sugaring adventure all year long. To add to the fun, you can join in a wacky scavenger hunt for prizes.

Turning sap into the liquid gold of maple syrup is a centuries old tradition in New England, dating back centuries. It is an original North American food, which European settlers learned to produce from Native Americans. There are a number of legends about syrup’s origins including replacing water with sap to boil the venison served to a chief.  Native Americans knew maple syrup was a source of energy and nutrition, and celebrated the time of the Sugar Moon (first full moon of spring) with rituals centered around sugaring.

You’ll be “Mad as a March Hare” if you miss the special weekend vacation, because there is no better way to welcome spring in the mountains. We’ll feature maple goodies morning, noon and night at the Inn at Ellis River, Jackson, NH, plus tickets to the March Maple Madness Tour and trail passes for Great Glen Trails to work off those calories! Two night packages are $279-$519, but better yet, stay an extra day for $99-$149 depending on room selection.