The parking lot at Up Yonda Farm in Bolton Landing was nearly filled this Sunday as young and old came out this spring morning for the environmental education center’s annual pancake breakfast. Steaming stacks of pancakes, pans of fluffy scrambled eggs, home fried potatoes, piles of bacon and sausage all took second billing the star of the breakfast table — sweet maple syrup.
The Up Yonda sugar bush rises from a slope overlooking Lake George. The spring sun triggers the flow of sap, which is collected and evaporated in Up Yonda’s Lincoln Log sugarhouse. “On average,” says Up Yonda naturalist Maddy Wilson, “we produce about 40 gallons of syrup a season.” They began tapping the maples two weeks ago and will be running the evaporator for the next week to reduce the sap to syrup. According to Wilson, 40 gallons of sap will produce one gallon of the golden sweetner.
New York State is second only to Vermont in maple syrup production. In 2019, New York’s maple trees yielded 820,000 gallons. Sugarhouses across New York celebrate maple sugaring season with tours and tastings. One of the largest of these festivals is Thurman Maple Days, which kicks off next Saturday, March 14, with the 60th Annual Maple Jack Wax Party at the Thurman Town Hall. Maple Days continues each weekend through March with four maple farms, a goat farm and Llama farm offering tours, pancake breakfasts and open houses at other farms and artisan markets. Visit the Thurman Maple Days website for maps and information.
Up Yonda’s sugarhouse will remain open for tours each Saturday in March. Up Yonda Farm is owned by Warren County on land donated by the Scott family who once operated tourist cabins and an egg business on the property. Up Yonda is open year-round and offers educational programs specific to the seasons. The 72-acre property also features hiking trails and a nature museum.
Featured image: Up Yonda naturalist Maddy Wilson tends to the evaporator in the Up Yonda Sugarhouse.