The New Hampshire Maple Experience museum: A journey through the history of sugaring

When did people first make maple syrup and sugar? How was the sap collected from sugar maple trees 300 years ago? What has changed in the modern era of sugaring?

Visitors to the New Hampshire Maple Experience will discover the answers to these intriguing questions – and many more! The long history of maple sugaring is on display in our interactive museum. Housed in one of the many historic buildings restored for modern use at The Rocks Estate, the museum offers visitors a centuries-long tour through the springtime tradition of sugaring.

(See a panoramic view of the inside of the museum here.)

In our museum, visitors will learn the legends of how the native people of the Northeast discovered the sweet sap of sugar maples and learned to cook that sap down to a syrupy sugar. They’ll see the evolution of sugaring as European settlers adopted and adapted the tradition. And they’ll discover how maple syrup is made today and see the process unfolding in the working sugar house adjacent to the museum.

While modern day sugaring involves the same basics of collecting sap and boiling it into syrup and sugar, the tools and equipment involved look considerably different now than they did when settlers first arrived. From wooden spiles and hollowed out logs, to metal taps and buckets, to plastic tubing, the evolution of sugaring is on display in our museum. 

Wooden spiles, metal taps, and plastic tubing on display.

One place this evolution is easily seen is in the type of taps – or spiles – and spouts used to extract sap from the trees. Early sugar makers used whittled wooden spiles and spouts to allow the sap to flow from the tree into buckets placed below. During the 19^th Century, sugar makers replaced the wooden spires with metal taps. These taps included hooks for hanging buckets to collect sap. In the mid-20^th Century, some sugar makers incorporated plastic taps and plastic tubing into their sugaring operations, allowing them to eliminate some of the tedious work of transporting sap from the tree to the sugar house via bucket and barrel. 

(Here's a video of the different taps and spiles used through the years.)

While many sugar makers continue to use traditional metal taps and buckets, blue lines of plastic tubing weaving through the forest are common in today’s sugar making operations.

When you visit the New Hampshire Maple Experience at The Rocks, you’ll experience first-hand the traditions and innovations of maple sugaring! Read more about the Maple Experience here.

Spring brings return of NH Maple Experience to The Rocks

Maple syrup lovers, rejoice! The New Hampshire Maple Experience returns to The Rocks Estate March 15 and will run weekends through April 5.

Tapping a sugar maple at the NH Maple Experience

Anyone who’s visited during the Maple Experience in past years knows the event is a feast of the senses, with spectacular views, the heavenly sent of sap boiling into syrup, and – to top it all off – a syrup tasting, complete with fresh donuts and the requisite sour pickles.

Maple Experience visitors learn about the history of maple sugaring and are invited to jump right into the process by helping identify sugar maple trees, drill and tap them to collect sap, and fill a New Hampshire Maple Experience commemorative mason jar with warm syrup at our own sugar house.

While at the sugar house, guests will see fourth-generation sugar maker Brad Presby at work. Brad loves to spin a good yarn, and he’ll happily answer questions about his springtime work of making maple syrup and sugar.

Maple Experience tours also include a horse-drawn wagon ride through the Estate, with an interpretive guide on board each wagon to share information about sugaring and the history of The Rocks.

The New Hampshire Maple Experience runs March 15, 22-23, 29-30 and April 5, with tours scheduled throughout the day. Reservations are recommended and may be made by e-mailing info@therocks.org or calling 603-444-6228.

For more information about the Maple Experience, please check out the New Hampshire Maple Experience website.

Sugarhouse magic: from sap to maple syrup

Sugar maker Brad Presby in his element.

Watching the watery sap of sugar maple trees morph into sweet maple syrup is nothing short of magic. This magic show takes place each spring in sugarhouses nestled into forests throughout New England, including our own sugarhouse here at The Rocks Estate.

Rocks manager Nigel Manley explains how the maple magic happens, complete with fire and billowing steam:

The basics of maple sugaring include boiling sap for a long time until you are left with syrup. Of course, the process is a bit more complicated, and there are a lot of details that have to fit together just right to make sugaring successful.  

When I first came to The Rocks Estate, I watched syrup being made on an old arch (the part of the sugarhouse where the fire is) and evaporator (where the sap cooks down) in the original Electric Plant. As an avid photographer, I captured the equipment on camera. That turned out to be lucky for me, as the following season I had to assemble the arch and was able to use the photographs as a guide.

I had arrived from the UK not knowing what maple syrup was, never mind how to make it. I managed to get the sap lines up and tap the correct trees, but then was tasked with properly assembling the equipment of the sugarhouse. I had a friend help pick up the large back pan of the evaporator and set it in place. The front pan, or finishing pan, was lighter and could be placed easily. The float was a different story: I had to have the sap coming in quickly enough to keep the pans from burning, but not so quick as to be boiled off too slowly, which would create only dark syrup, rather than the more precious light maple syrup.

I managed to get the arch and pans working and actually made syrup, all while explaining to guests what I was doing! Still, something didn’t seem quite right. I finally realized it was my British accent; how can you possibly explain a northern New Hampshire tradition with a strong British accent?

A local sugarer, whose family has been making maple syrup for several generations, came to my rescue. Now, visitors to the New Hampshire Maple Experience tours learn the art of sugaring from Brad Presby, who is secure both in his Yankee ways and his good North Country vernacular.

Visit the New Hampshire Maple Experience this spring, and you’ll meet Brad at our sugarhouse, where he’ll show you the magic that is making maple syrup.

Celebrating Wildflowers at The Rocks Estate

With maple sugaring season a sweet, distant memory, we’re diving into summer this weekend with the celebration of the 32^nd Annual Wildflower Festival at The Rocks Estate June 2. The event also kicks off the annual Fields of Lupine Festival, celebrated throughout the region.

Pink Lady's Slipper at The Rocks Estate

If you’d love to learn more about botany, are wondering which wild flowers and plants are edible, or just enjoy roaming the woods to explore nature’s beauty, the Wildflower Festival has something you’ll love!

The Maple Museum will also be open, of course, on Saturday and throughout the summer to self-guided tours of the New Hampshire MapleExperience. Self-guided maple tours are open June 1-Columbus Day weekend.

The Rocks boasts a diverse trails system meandering the Estate, and visitors are free to explore. Our Mobile Tour of the property provides information about the history and current conservation efforts at The Rocks – just use your smart phone to scan QR Codes at more than a dozen places and you’ll have additional information at your fingertips!

Several workshops and tours are planned for Saturday’s Wildflower Festival to entertain and educate visitors throughout the day, including birding walks through the historic Rocks Estate, a discussion on identifying various wildflowers, and the Floral Edibles workshop, where participants will learn which local native plants are edible – from fiddleheads and rhubarb to wild leeks and Johnnie Jump-Ups – and how to incorporate them into delicious meals at home.

Walks along the Mile Path, which is open only to guided tours, will also be offered during the Festival. The Mile Path meanders through the Estate, where the Glessner family, original owners of The Rocks, collected and planted an array of flowers. Guides will highlight the rich history of the Glessner family, who summered here beginning in the late 1880s, and the natural world they loved so much. The Mile Path walks are limited to 15 people per tour and fill quickly, so reservations are strongly advised. 

The Wildflower Festival runs this Saturday, June 2, from 10 a.m. through 4 p.m. The cost for the day-long Wildflower Festival is $15 and includes lunch and all programs. A $5 discount is given with each lupine festival book presented. For more information or to make reservations, please email us at info@therocks.org or give us a call at (603) 444-6228.

Fall Wonders at The New Hampshire Maple Experience

Maple trees provide us with many gifts through the year: sweet maple syrup in the spring, cool leafy shade in summer, and an array of brilliant colors in autumn. Fall foliage season is a beautiful time to visit the New Hampshire Maple Experience, located at the historic Rocks Estate. Wander the wooded trails, filled with a kaleidoscope of color, en route to the Maple Museum, where you'll enjoy a virtual tour of the sugar making process in the sugar house, learn some of the intriguing history of sugaring, and examine some of the tools of the trade.

Also well known as a Christmas tree farm, The Rocks Estate will be open for tag-your-own Christmas tree on weekends from Sept. 24 through Oct. 16. Visitors may wander the neat rows of fir trees and select one to harvest for holiday trimming. Tagged trees may be cut from Nov. 19 through Dec. 24.

During tag-your-own weekends, the Marketplace at The Rocks and The Rocks farm store will be open for early holiday shopping. The Marketplace features a variety of items from local artisans, as well as several Fair Trade gifts. The farm store is brimming with jams and jellies, Rocks Estate t-shirts and mugs, holiday ornaments and decorations, and – of course – maple syrup made produced from our own sugar maple trees!

New Hampshire Maple Experience Returns in June!

Thanks to the hundreds of visitors who enjoyed our Maple Tours during the sugaring season! If you missed out, not to worry – the New Hampshire Maple Experience will return in June with tours for school groups, bus tours, and individuals.

While the sap only flows in the early days of spring, and maple syrup production generally ends in April, the New Hampshire Maple Experience allows visitors to enjoy and learn about sugaring from June through Columbus Day. Beyond the museum, where generations of sugaring tools are on view, along with descriptions of the history of maple sugaring, visitors during the summer and fall are treated to a virtual tour of the sugaring process in the sugar house.

The sugar house and the museum are snugged into one of many historic buildings on The Rocks Estate, owned by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. The turn-of-the-20^th Century Sawmill/Pigpen building was restored and remodeled specifically to house the New Hampshire Maple Experience.

For more about the summer and fall tours, please visit our website  and maple tours page.

One More Weekend of Maple Tours

The cold days of mid-March are warming to April, and the sap is flowing! We expect a beautiful weekend to close out our Maple Tours at The Rocks Estate. 

More than 600 folks have enjoyed the tours so far this season… make sure you get in on the fun by joining us this weekend. Tree tapping, horse-drawn wagon rides, a tour of a working sugar house, and samples of the good stuff – pure maple syrup – are all part of the New Hampshire Maple Experience. 

“This may be the most pleasant weekend to be at the farm for the program and to see the sap flow,” says Rocks manager Nigel Manley.

Come see for yourself!

A Tasty Tradition

Steam billowing from sugar houses tucked into the woods is a sure sign of spring in New Hampshire, where boiling the sap of sugar maple trees down to maple syrup and sugar has been a tradition in for centuries.

The New Hampshire Maple Experience takes visitors on a tour through time and taste, sharing the history and sweet secrets of making maple syrup.

There are two weekends of Maple Tours left this spring at The Rocks Estate. From tapping a tree to tasting the finished product, the tour is a sweet experience!

The famous Polly’s Pancake Parlor is also on hand, serving up piping hot pancakes, and our shop features New Hampshire made crafts and edibles.

A Maple Experience for Everyone

At the New Hampshire Maple Experience, there’s more to maple sugaring than tapping trees and boiling sap. Maple Tours here run weekends through April 3^rd. With a dash of history, a slice of how to, and a taste of sweetness, the tours offer fun and facts for all ages.

Kids love to help tap a tree and pat Mac and Duke – the huge Shire draft horses that pull wagons full of visitors around the historic and picturesque Rocks Estate. Prospective sugar makers learn the ins and outs of making maple syrup, from how to identify and properly tap sugar maples, to what it takes to boil sap into syrup. The interactive tour illustrates the centuries-old tradition of making maple syrup, and visitors see first-hand how the process has evolved with a walk through the Maple Museum. Of course, everyone loves the fresh donuts dipped in maple syrup, with a sour pickle on the side to counter the sweetness – all part of the tour!

The tour takes about two hours to complete, and you’ll want to spend some time browsing the small shop of New Hampshire-made crafts and maple goods – and to try some yummy pancakes made by the folks from the famous Polly’s Pancake Parlor in nearby Sugar Hill. This is one Experience you won’t want to miss!

The Fleeting Sweetness of Spring

Most folks love the sweet taste of maple syrup. So why is it only produced during the short period when winter turns to spring? There are a few reasons:

·         Sugar makers rely on a combination of warm, sunny days and below-freezing nights to collect sap from sugar maple trees. The warmer days create pressure within the trees, causing sap to flow. If you tap a hole correctly into a tree, that sap will flow out the hole and into the metal bucket or plastic tubing sugarers use to collect it. Cool nights create suction within the trees, drawing water up through the roots and into the tree, thus replenishing the sap, so the whole process can be repeated.

·         While sugaring season typically lasts about six weeks, the sap doesn’t flow every day – the weather has to be just right. A quick rise in temperature during the day will enhance sap flow, but a cool day can slow it to a stop.

·         Once the leaves on the maples bud, the sap turns from sweet to bitter, and the sugar making season comes to a close.

Sugaring season is fleeting, but that makes it all the sweeter! To learn more about how maple syrup is made, check out the season’s maple tours at the New Hampshire Maple Experience. 



Maple Tours Start March 12th!

With the combination of cool nights and warm days, the sap is flowing here in the North Country of New Hampshire – and that means it’s maple sugaring time! Sugarers are looking to tap their sugar maple trees soon to start gathering the sweet sap to boil into maple syrup and sugar.

At the New Hampshire Maple Experience, we invite visitors from near and far to experience the joys of sugaring – and sample the finished product – during our Maple Tours. Participants will enjoy a horse-drawn wagon ride around the picturesque and historic Rocks Estate in Bethlehem, learn how to identify trees, help tap sugar maples, and visit the interactive New Hampshire Maple Experience museum and sugar house to see the process in action.

Tours run weekends through March, and the first weekend of April. To learn more about the New Hampshire Maple Experience and to reserve your Maple Experience Tour, please visit us online.

To see a video on how to tap a sugar maple, visit our YouTube page.

Sugaring Season Starts Soon!

Here in the North Country of New Hampshire, we’re still buried in several feet of snow and enjoying all the beauty of the mountains in winter. But the days are getting longer, and soon the daytime temperatures should be warm enough to get the sap flowing through the sugar maples. That means maple sugaring season is just around the corner!

At the New Hampshire Maple Experience, we’re gearing up for another busy spring of showcasing the sugaring process, from sap collection to the delectable finished product. Our Maple Tours start March 12 and run weekends through April 2 at the historic Rocks Estate.

To see the historic building that is home to the Maple Experience museum and sugar house, view our latest YouTube video.

Maple Syrup – It’s Not Just for Pancakes Anymore

Maple syrup is most often associated with breakfast, and it’s delicious poured over piping hot, right-off-the-griddle pancakes.

But since early New England settlers started collecting sap and boiling it down, maple syrup and sugar have been used in a plethora of recipes. Home bakers use it to sweeten bread, cookies, pies, and muffins. New Englanders have been known add maple syrup to the pot as they’re simmering baked beans. Maple syrup is used in marinades for meat, or baked into fresh vegetables. It’s even been used to flavor coffee and whiskey.

If you have a maple recipe that’s merits sharing – or want to see how others use maple syrup in their cooking – visit our recipe page.
Everyone who shares a recipe will be entered into a drawing to win a quart of delicious New Hampshire maple syrup on April 1!