Residents of Warren County might be the only people who look forward to mud season in the North Country — and it’s not because we are particularly fond of our muck boots.
Crisp nights and warm days bring melting snow and messy trails, but they also get maple sap running, and that means it’s time for Thurman Maple Days. The annual event begins this week, running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and continuing every weekend through March. The self-guided tour through Thurman includes five maple farms and four additional farms.
Each sugarhouse offers samples and a variety of maple products to purchase. Most also highlight special activities, including watching an operating sugar shack, tours through the forest, live music, llama kisses and more.
Visitors can download a map and directory of activities to use as a guide or a printed copy at any Thurman Maple Days site.
The annual Pancake and Maple Syrup breakfast will be served at The Lodge on Echo Lake in Warrensburg, 175 Hudson St.
Mud St. Maple is owned by Jeff and Robin Mahler, known as the “new kids on the block,’” as they have only been producing maple products for the past eight years. “With both our backgrounds in culinary, we have added lots of different products, which makes us unique from the other producers in the area,” Robin says. Mud St. Maple is known for its specialty products, especially Bourbon maple syrup, maple-glazed walnuts, raspberry maple cream and several infused maple syrups.
Toad Hill Maple Farm has been producing maple syrup for more than 50 years. Visitors can enjoy a new farm store, sample products and take a wagon ride over a covered bridge and out through the sugarbush to learn how the owners manage their forest, get sap from trees to sugarhouse, and how they process sap into pure maple syrup. Toad Hill Maple Farm owner Randy Galusha says, “We are excited to welcome visitors back to our farm as part of Thurman Maple Days after not having the event for the past two years. We’re really looking forward to seeing everyone again!”
Adirondack Maple Gold has been owned by the Kenyon family for generations. Owner Mark Kenyon, known as “Tapper,” will demonstrate how sap drips from trees to buckets, and will allow kids to help empty the buckets. Enjoy fun activities on the farm, as well as sweet maple products for sale in the sugarhouse.
Martin’s Lumber & Artisan Market is a sawmill, which is closed during winter, but offers activities during Maple Days in various workshops. The Martins host the Artisan Market in their home, featuring e handmade local products from a variety of artisans. Throughout the weekend, artists will give demonstrations and offer hands-on activities.
Nettle Meadow Farms is an animal sanctuary, an aging facility for cheese and a retail cheese shop. During Maple Days, the farm offers hourly tours (weather permitting) and cheese tastings, and sells cook booklets. See a restored historic barn loft and amazing animals, including goats, Highland cows, chickens, miniature donkeys, llamas, sheep and barn cats.
Valley Road Maple Farm offers maple syrup, cream, candy, sugar, maple-roasted nuts, maple peanut brittle and maple cotton candy. During Maple Days, the farm offers tours to visitors showcasing the sugaring process from start to finished product.Tour participants can taste raw sap, RO (reverse osmosis) sap and fresh maple syrup. Visitors are welcome to walk or snowshoe through the woods and watch the sap work its way through tubing on its way to the sugarhouse. Coloring books with maple facts and history will be given to young visitors.
Hidden Hollow Maple Farm has produced maple syrup for the past three generations. The Wallace family makes specialty products including maple jelly, maple pepper, cinnamon maple sugar, maple cream, maple candies and more.
Rustic Maple Farm raises its own non-GMO-fed beef, pork and chicken, and offers farm-fresh eggs. During Maple Days, owners Todd and Flo demonstrate farm life with vintage homesteading items and let participants try them..
Blackberry Hill Farm offers vegetables and herbs in spring and summer. During Maple Days, visitors can stop by the farm stand for whole chickens, bacon, sausage and other locally sourced items, including Upper Hudson coffee, honey, granola from Toganola, and more. Due to the icy and muddy conditions, Blackberry Hill Farm will not offer personal tours during Thurman Maple Days.
A few pro tips: Wear boots; dress in layers; and fill your gas tank before driving into Thurman.
Maple Weekends is a statewide celebration throughout March. For more information, visit www.visitthurman.com/maple-days/
2022 Participating Farms
- Mud Street Maple, 269 Mud St., Athol, NY 12801 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
- Blackberry Hill Farm, 15 Mud St., Athol, NY 12801 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
- Toad Hill Maple Farm, 137 Charles Olds Road, Athol, NY 12801 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
- Nettle Meadow Farm, 484 South Johnsburg Road, Warrensburg, NY 12885 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
- Martin’s Lumber & Artisans Market, 280 Valley Road, Warrensburg, NY 12885 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
- Valley Road Maple Farm, 190 Valley Road, Warrensburg, NY 12885 (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
- Hidden Hollow Maple Farm, 312 Dippikill Road, Warrensburg, NY 12885 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
