Maple Syrup Festivals in Toronto and the GTA

By José Gonzalez

Nothing is quite so sweetly Canadian as fresh maple syrup. Anyone who has had to suffer bottled, or worse, synthetic maple syrup, can tell you that nothing quite matches up to maple syrup fresh from the tap. To celebrate one of our most popular national foods, conservation areas and farms across the GTA are hosting family-friendly festivals, letting us sample delicious maple syrup right from the source. [Photo credit: courtesy of the Sugar Shack]

Spread across four different locations this year, the Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival is hosted by Bruce's Mill in Stoufville, Island Lake in Orangeville, Kortright in Woodbridge and Terra Cotta in Halton Hills. Special attractions include pony rides at Terra Cotta, axe throwing at Island Lake, a tree walk village at Bruce's Mill and live musicians at Kortright. And of course, all locations include pancakes, maple syrup and wagon rides.

Tickets for each location are $8.85 for adults and $5.75 for children and seniors $5.75, plus HST. Bruce's Mill, Terra Cotta and Kortright are open every weekend from March 4 to April 2, and throughout March Break (March 11 to March 19). Operating Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Bruce's Mill and Terra Cotta daily, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends and 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays at Kortright. Island Lake is open the weekends of March 11 to 12 and March 17 to 19 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Take a guided tour through Brooks Farms' expansive sugar bush, or just settle down next to a camp fire with a sweet treat. This year also includes a new indoor pancake house offering pancakes (of course), maple muffins, butter tarts, sausage, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Guests are also reminded to bundle up and at the very least bring a thick pair of boots as the sugar bush is pretty muddy.

The festival runs every weekend starting March 4 to mid-April from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $9, and free for kids two and under.

The provincial park welcomes families for guided tours of Maple Park and demonstrations of how maple sap was harvested back in 1890. You can also learn how to make fresh maple sugar and enjoy a stick of maple taffy. There are barn yard animals you can visit to have the complete farm experience. You can also visit the Spruce Lane Farmhouse, a recreated farm house from 1899. This year includes a new family activity centre with games for young and old.

The festival is held on the weekends of March 4 to 5, 11 to 19 and 25 to 26, and runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is included in the park's daily parking permit of $17 for adults, $13.50 for seniors or $8.50 for those with an Ontario disability permit.

The Bradley Museum reprises its annual festival favourite, teaching kids how to tap a maple tree and giving them a glimpse of how maple-flavoured treats are made. On March 19, there's a special performance by Juno-nominated artist Mike Ford at 3 p.m. at the Sugar Shack.

Running from March 11to 19, each day of the festival operates from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $7.80 for adults, $6.24 for children, and family passes are available for $19.50.

At this festival, you can learn how maple syrup is harvested using methods both new and old, and then taste a few treats with syrup fresh from the tap. Tours and demonstrations run throughout the day, and there are free wagon rides to get you around the 35 historic buildings on site.

The festival is hosted on March 5, 12, 19 and 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission runs $11 for adults, $10 for seniors or disabled, $6.50 for youths (6 to 17 years old), and a family rate (two adults and two youths) is available at $30.

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Not only can you see how maple syrup is harvested at this festival, you can also watch the experts make maple candy, and get a free sample. Kids can enjoy fun and games in the Play Barn, birds of prey demonstrations, a Wildlife Walkway featuring bison, eagles, hawks and owls, and pancakes with fresh maple syrup.

Mountsberg’s Maple Town runs on weekends and holidays from February 25 to April 2, and during March Break. Operating hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festival is included with regular park admission: adults $7.50, seniors $6.50, children (five to 14) $5.25 and children four and under are free.

Explore the farm's log cabins, hiking trails and museum, either through self-guided tours, or tours with experts from the park. The guided tours offer lessons on how to tap a maple tree and you'll learn about the ecology of the surrounding area. Fresh maple syrup on pancakes along with hot drinks are also available.

Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, and $5 for children ages five to 12, and they only accept cash. The festival runs Saturdays and Sundays from March 11 to April 16, and Good Friday April 14, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call ahead for group tours: 905-888-1738.

Check out some of the modern methods of making maple syrup, and then taste a fresh batch yourself at this annual festival. You can also get a bit rustic checking out how maple syrup was made 400 years ago, and enjoying a ride on a horse-drawn wagon. A photo competition is being held for the best photos from the festival, with three CLOCA Conservation Area Parking Passes lasting one year (a $60 value) on the line. Details for the contest can be found here.

Purple Woods hosts this festival from March 11 to 19, and the weekends of March 25 to 26 and April 1 to 2. Admission is $5 per person and half price on March 25.

You can take a tour through the sugar bush aboard this farm's wagon, learning about how our sweetest sap becomes our nation's iconic syrup. Using old fashioned buckets and modern pipelines, there's a healthy mix of both traditional and modern methods of collecting sap, and you can enjoy a taste of both by enjoying a meal there, or taking a few treats home from the market.

This festival opens Monday, February 20 and then runs Saturdays from March 25 to April 1 and March Break March 13 to 17. Operating hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A tour of the sugar bush is $8 for ages 12 and up, $5.25 for ages four to 11, and free for anyone three and under.

The only maple syrup festival held in downtown Toronto, this weekend event includes ice sculptures, live entertainment and two sugar shacks with maple sugaring demonstrations and maple taffy from Pefferlaw Creek Farms. There are also animal encounters, a specialty bar and a winter marketplace.

Admission is free and the festival runs March 11 at 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and March 12 at 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.