The sugar maple trees at McCloud Nature Park produce a sweet treasure throughout the winter months:  sap with a high sugar content. Once the daytime temperatures start rising, the sap starts flowing, and our park staff and volunteers begin collecting it. Pretty soon, we have bottles of 100% all-natural maple syrup!  

How do we know which trees to use? How do we collect the sap? Do the sugar maple trees die afterwards? How do we turn that natural sweetness into syrup? How is McCloud Maple Syrup different from the syrup you buy in plastic bottles at the grocery store? How has maple syrup been made in the past?