Tapping sugar maple trees is a tradition in the Upper Hudson River Valley since the 18th Century. The sugaring season lasts usually from late February to early April. Tapping does no permanent damage to the sugar maple tree.
It takes over 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Warm, sunny days and frosty nights are ideal for sap flow. The harvest season ends with the coming of spring’s warm nights and the first stages of bud development on the trees.
New York is the second largest maple-producing state in the nation, making more than 820,000 gallons in 2019.