I know this will be hard to imagine, but even after all these years of living in Maine, I have actually never gone to one of our many sugar shacks on Maine Maple Sunday. It has always been on my list, but every year something else seems to creep up and we just never make it to one of the area farms. This year was gearing up to be even less likely since Maine Maple Sunday fell on Easter, but it actually ended up working out perfectly since our family plans were later in the day.
Maine Maple Sunday is always held on the fourth Sunday in March. Sugarhouses throughout the state open up that day and host a variety of activities related to maple syrup production. The Maine Maple Producers Association posted a map listing all the locations that were planning events for the day. The list was pretty long but that’s not surprising. Maine is the third largest producer of maple syrup in the United States according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Merriam-Webster defines a sugarhouse as “a building where sugar is made or refined; specifically : one where maple sap is boiled and maple syrup and maple sugar are made“. I define it as a place to go and try some delicious maple syrup and other maple treats.
We decided to head to Coopers Royal Heritage Farm which, in addition to producing Coopers Maple Products, shows and breeds miniature horses. They were hosting a pancake breakfast as well as a tour of their sugarhouse. The farm was also open so that you could visit their other animals including cattle and peafowl. (I’m excited that I got to use the word peafowl in a blog post.)
We arrived around 9:00 AM and fortunately, while busy, the lines weren’t bad so we were able to get our pancake breakfast and find a place to sit. From everything I’ve read, and if the police that were directing traffic when we arrived are any indication, lines can get really crazy on Maine Maple Sunday, so we were happy to be able to grab breakfast without a wait. It’s a pretty basic meal with pancakes and a side of sausage or bacon. The real star of the show is the maple syrup which is always yummy.
After finishing our breakfast, we headed to the barn to see the miniature horses. They are so cute. It’s definitely easy to hang out in the barn just watching these adorable little horses. But, eventually we moved on. The rest of the animals are located up a long, circular dirt road. There was a little bit of mud but, for this time of year, it wasn’t too bad. It was worth the walk and we got to see an adorable newborn calf.
After visiting the rest of the animals, we toured the sugarhouse. The person running it was really pleasant and gave us a lot of information on how they produce their maple syrup. They’re a fairly small farm and still use wood to heat and boil the sap. It smelled so good in the sugarhouse. At the end of the tour, they also gave out samples of vanilla ice cream with maple syrup on top. If you’ve never tried this before, I highly recommend it. So good!
We left the sugarhouse but only after buying a half-gallon of maple syrup, maple cotton candy, maple lollipops, and a bottle of honey which is also produced on the farm. It was a sweet haul, and I especially love supporting our local farmers.
I enjoyed our morning trip to Coopers and am so glad that we finally went out for Maine Maple Sunday. It’s definitely something I’ll do again in the future. It’s really worth the trip.
| things to know | |
|---|---|
| Coopers Royal Heritage Farm | 81 Chute Road, Windham, ME 04062 |
| Phone | 207-892-7276 |
| Website | Coopers Maple Products |
| Maine Maple Sunday | Date: Fourth Sunday in March |
| Favorite ♥ | Vanilla Ice Cream with Maple Syrup |
I’m participating in a Blogging A-Z Challenge for April 2016, where I will be posting new content every day except Sundays. Each post is associated with a letter of the alphabet. There are over 1200 other bloggers participating in the challenge. Click HERE to learn more.
Weekends in Maine 
We always have maple syrup in the house, but I have to confess thatthe only time I use it is when making one of my Sunday favourites – Maple roast chicken with sweet potato, onion and mushrooms. Okay, the recipe didn’t call for mushrooms, but they certainly don’t hurt it.
Keith Channing A-Zing from http://keithkreates.com
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Sounds delicious! My husband is a big maple syrup guy so we use it quite a bit in my house.
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My waistline tells me not to use it too often. That makes it a special treat, too; and who doesn’t like specia treats?
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Now I want pancakes for breakfast 👍
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Pancakes with maple syrup is a Sunday morning ritual in our house. There’s nothing better!
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We used to go the sugarhouses on that Sunday. Until that one year my uncle was making his own syrup in our backyard. He was at the boiling phase, and my sister and I (probably 7 and 5 at the time) asked what he was doing, and he answered, “Boiling smurfs.” After which, we cried and cried a lot. My mother was not impressed with her brother.
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I know a few Uncles that would find this humorous. I am with your Mom on this one though. Not cool for a 7 and 5 year old. Maybe you can revisit sugarhouses in the future. It is such a fun thing to do. I really loved it.
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As a fellow New Englander (from Massachusetts), I’m enjoying your posts.
http://silverfoxlair.blogspot.com
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I am so glad. We were down in Massachusetts for a long time. There are many wonderful places down that way too!
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I would love to tour a sugar shack. Real maple syrup is such good stuff!
And I’m a sucker for miniature horses – they are nearly too cute for me to handle!
Thanks for visiting my blog & Happy A to Z to you! 😀
Tui Snider
@TuiSnider on Twitter, & sharing A to Z posts at:
Tui Snider’s Upbeat, Offbeat & Overlooked
#StoryDam (a friendly writing community)
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Gotta love maple syrup! And, the miniature horses really are just too cute. I’m having a lot of fun on my first a-z challenge.
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There is something extra decadent about real maple syrup. We have maple syrup farm visits here in Indiana but I know they are a small celebration compared to Maine. I found you through the A to Z Challenge and I really enjoyed reading several of your blogs. http://www.dianeweidenbenner.com
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Real maple syrup is just the best. Thank you for checking out my blog. I’m loving my first a-z challenge.
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YUMM… if we lived closer, I would definitely plan a day trip to visit Cooper’s Farm.
Molly @MyCozyBookNook
My Cozy Book Nook
Revising Life after 50
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It was such a fun morning. Visiting local farms is so inspiring. I could never live that lifestyle but appreciate those who do immensely.
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Makes me want maple syrup and pancakes NOW! Super post, visiting from A-Z challenge…
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It’s so good! Thanks for visiting.
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What a fun event! Can I confess that I just bought my very first bottle of real maple syrup this week for use in my A to Z Challenge? I don’t care for pancakes and waffles are okay and French toast is pretty good, but I’ve only ever used the maple flavored stuff. Since I made a maple glaze this week for part of an A to Z project, I found out REAL maple syrup is DELICIOUS! But terribly expensive, at least in these parts.
Dyanne from Backsies Is What There Is Not
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Sounds delicious. We’ve done maple glazed carrots which were really tasty. Did you already post the maple glaze one? I’ll have to check it out!
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