Wissahickon Valley Park is Hosting a Maple Sugar Festival Featuring Syrup Tapping, Tastings, Pancakes, & More

Looking for something sweet to do? Well, if you’re a fan of maple syrup then you’ll be happy to know that there is a free Maple Sugar Festival taking place February 25th at Wissahickon Valley Park’s Environmental Center -Tree House (300 W Northwestern Ave.).

Believe it or not this free festival has been happening for 30 years features a variety of cool activities. The Maple Sugar Festival will take place from 11 am to 3 pm and will feature tree tapping, candy and syrup making demonstrations plus, sap and syrup tasting and information stations.

“We will show folks how to identify a sugar maple tree (when there are no leaves) and how we install a tap to collect sap. We will also have a wood fired sap evaporator boiling to concentrate the sap. There will be freshly made pancakes covered in the syrup we make. All of the activities are by Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and Friends of Wissahickon staff and volunteers. This takes place in gorgeous Wissahickon Valley Park with over 50 miles of trails to explore,” states event organizers.

So how did this festival come about? “There are sugar maple trees in this part of the park. Maple sugaring is a great way to get folks to visit the park for a program in the winter. This program was popular with visiting school groups so it was a natural outgrowth to provide this activity to the general public on a weekend, and it kept growing,” event organizers added.

In addition, Cedars House Cafe is located where the event takes place and they will be open and serving coffee, tea, soup, sandwiches and pastries.