At the Hopkins Demonstration Forest, bigleaf maple sugaring offers a unique learning experience during the winter months for educational youth programing, woodland owners, and the public at our very own Sugarbush.
Visitors can both observe and learn about the entire process of transforming bigleaf maple sap into syrup, from tapping the trees to the finishing boil and bottling after concentrating the saps’ sugar utilizing a reverse osmosis filtration system.
The sugaring season typically runs from early January through late February or whenever there is a significant freeze thaw event and nighttime temperature drops into the 20s with a significant warm-up into the mid to upper 40s or higher.
This coming 2024/25 sugaring season will be the 3rd year Hopkins has produced this relatively new PNW specialty product and is currently building a processing facility (aka Sugar Shack) that will not only help with the learning and demonstration efforts, but also potentially allow other hobbyists to bring their raw sap in for processing during a community engagement event.
Oregon State University’s Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Program supports the sugaring efforts at Hopkins and their educational events feature interactive demonstrations that explain the process, highlight the distinct qualities of bigleaf maple syrup, and provide insights into a sustainable forestry practice. It is an educational and flavorful way to connect with nature and learn about a newly emerging, local, forest product as well as the local ecosystem and other forestry management practices.
For details on event dates and activities, check out the Hopkins Demonstration Forest or Oregon State University’s Extension Forestry and Natural Resources website.
