Maple Syrup Festivals And Events In Durham Region
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Each year, as winter winds down, the longer days and rising temperatures welcome to start of the maple syrup harvest! Events kick off in March and run through May—giving families and friends ample time to get a sweet taste of the maple season, and a chance to enjoy fresh, local maple syrup, pancake breakfasts, and syrup demonstrations. To help you make the most of maple season in Durham Region, check out our list of upcoming festivals and events in 2025!
Pefferlaw Creek Farms Maple Syrup Festival
12300 Concession Road 6, Uxbridge | Dates: Saturdays and Sundays from March 8 to April 19
Soak in the sights, sounds, and sweet smells of fresh maple syrup at Pefferlaw Creek Farms Maple Syrup Festival! Visit the sugar bush to enjoy a tapping tour, a sugar shack tour, hiking, taffy, live music (on select dates), and a delicious pancake meal—made with a beloved family recipe, whole ingredients, local farmers' sausages from Willowtree Farm, and fresh maple syrup in abundance! The festival runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is a cash only event. Tickets are $10 per person upon arrival. Pancake breakfast is additional. Kids 12 and under are free.
Meet Chef Alex Page for a special culinary demonstration and sampling at the opening event on March 8 from 1 to 3 p.m. Watch Chef Alex prepare a maple themed dish, sample it, and take the recipe home to try it yourself and wow your friends and family.
Purple Woods Maple Syrup Festival
38 Coates Road East, Oshawa | Dates: Saturdays and Sundays from March 8 to 30, and March Break
Take a self-guided tour to visit a modern evaporator, enjoy games, activities, horse-drawn wagon rides, and watch as sap is collected from the sugar maple trees and boiled into delicious maple syrup at the Purple Woods Maple Syrup Festival. Enjoy all-day breakfast pancakes with Halenda's sausages and Purple Woods Maple Syrup! Gluten free pancakes are also available. Plus, don't forget to stop by their Heritage Store before you go and take some sweet maple treats home! Tickets are $8 per person online or $11 per person upon arrival. Children two and under are free. Entries are from 9:30 a.m. to noon, or noon to 2:30 p.m.
Brooks Farms Maplefest
122 Ashworth Road, Uxbridge | Dates: Saturdays and Sundays from March 8 to April 6, and March Break
Visit Brooks Farms Maplefest for a festival so sweet, you’ll want to come back year after year! Enjoy a train or wagon ride, self-guided and guided educational tours, evaporator demonstrations, maple syrup tastings, and a campfire in the sugar bush with marshmallows. The barnyard playland is also opened (weather permitting) with animals, a pirate ship and more. Tours take place from 10 a.m. with the last tour of the day starting at 2 p.m. You can purchase a ticket to Maplefest for $12.99 + HST, or bundle your ticket with a Pancake Breakfast for $21.99 to $25.99 + HST. Children under two are free. Maple sugar products are also available for an additional cost.
Purple Woods Sugarbush Lantern Walk
38 Coates Road East, Oshawa | Date: April 4
For one night only, Purple Woods Conservation Area is hosting a beautiful nighttime lantern walk from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Enjoy a tasty treat made with real maple syrup, then head out for a self-guided hike and explore the illuminated sugarbush. The history of this liquid gold will be told by firelight. Tickets are $12 per person.
Sunderland Maple Syrup Festival
1 River Street, Sunderland | Dates: April 5 to 6
Each year, people travel near and far to experience the Sunderland Maple Syrup Festival! This well-loved event offers a great opportunity to discover the many things that make Sunderland special, while celebrating the Canadian tradition of making maple syrup. Enjoy the local sugar shack tour, a historical bus tour, live entertainment, air bounce adventures, bathtub races, and—of course—a delicious pancake breakfast! Explore Sunderland's local shops and wander through the vendor market to shop everything from syrup to toys, hand-crafted items, clothing and other great finds. Admission and parking are free.
Maple Sips and Savouries
38 Coates Road East, Oshawa | Date: April 12
Join Purple Woods Conversation Area in celebrating 50 years of maple syrup production with a delightful evening featuring maple-inspired tapas by Stuttering John’s Smokehouse, and the Spring Thaw—a maple cream ale brewed by Whitby’s Town Brewery in collaboration using Purple Woods maple syrup! Enjoy live acoustic tunes in the Heritage Hall. Afterward, take a scenic stroll through the illuminated sugarbush to the fragrant sugar shack, make your own s’mores, and warm up with specialty coffee, tea, or hot chocolate from Tall Pines Coffee. Don’t forget to bring your guitars for a relaxed jam session by the campfire. Tickets are $60 per person. This exclusive 19+ event is a perfect night for maple lovers!
Bowmanville Maplefest
King Street East, from Scugog Street to George Street, Bowmanville | Date: May 3
The highly anticipated Bowmanville Maplefest showcases local syrup producers who offer up the best of the region. You’ll be delighted to find maple treats including doughnuts, cheese, candy, nuts, fudge and much more. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., stroll along the four city blocks to explore unique items from craft and food vendors, and browse the many independent shops and restaurants in historic Bowmanville. There will be plenty of kid-friendly activities to enjoy too. Admission and parking are free. New this year, guests can park for free at Clarington Fields (2375 Baseline Road, Bowmanville) and a shuttle bus will drop you off at the festival and return you to the parking when you're done. Shuttles run approximately every 15 minutes.
Maple Syrup's Sweet History
Did you know that Indigenous Peoples living in northeastern North America were the first to produce maple syrup? Zhiiwaagamizigan is the Anishinaabe word for maple syrup, and it’s prized for both its medicinal properties and sweet taste. The earliest method of sap collection was done by cutting a ‘v’ shape into the bark of a maple tree, then placing a wedge at the bottom of the cut and letting the sap flow into a bucket at the base of the tree. Today, the collection process has changed, yet the result is that same sweet liquid gold. You can discover this original method of processing maple syrup by visiting Harlaine Maple Products during the Sunderland Maple Festival.
While you're there, capture and share your photos with us by tagging @DurhamTourism on social media!
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