Hi everyone and welcome to my first post of 2023! I’m still catching up on my last few posts from 2022, but I wanted to write this post as soon as possible so that you would still have time to enjoy the amazing festival we went to this past weekend! Every year, late winter / early spring, Oregon Ridge Nature Center hosts a festival dedicated to maple sugar! The festival is held over the course of two weekends, with the weekend of the 25th / 26th being the final weekend. The last time we went to this festival was back in 2019, and we had a great time, then, too.
Oregon Ridge Nature Center is located in Cockeysville, MD at 13555 Beaver Dam Road. After you make the turn onto Beaver Dam Road from Shawan Road, you make the first right, which is behind a restaurant called the Oregon Grille. You will see signage on a big barn directing you where to go. Follow the road back until you come to a lot, and there will be plenty of signs for the festival! The hours for the festival are 11am to 4pm. Please note, the Nature Center is open regular hours during the week for people to visit, and they have a ton of trails to hike. The park hours are different from the center’s hours, more extensive. Check out their website for more information on hours, trail maps, programs, and more!
https://www.oregonridgenaturecenter.org
We arrived at Oregon Ridge in the early afternoon. It wasn’t a warm day, and most festival activities are outdoors so check the weather in advance. We dressed for outside time with long Johns, pants, winter jackets, hats and mittens. After parking, we finished bundling up, and walked up to the Center. We arrived just in time to take in a 15 minute video on the history of maple sugar / syrup. After watching the video, we all had a chance to try maple sugar cotton candy, and pancakes with three grades of maple syrup. Stormy loved the cotton candy, while Pebble was digging happily into her pancakes and syrup. Rainbow tried a little of everything! The syrups were delish, and you could def taste a difference between them.
When we finished sampling, we bought a jug of maple syrup, and explored the Nature Center. Admittance to the park and Nature Center is free, but they do ask you for donations. The Nature Center is home to a variety of animals from snakes to toads to turtles, even a beehive. Stormy noticed a wood turtle would open his mouth, and snap at her if her fingers were next to the glass. Reading his info, it turns out wood turtles are excellent worm hunters! It thought Stormy’s finger was a worm. Oops, she didn’t mean to tease him!
In addition to the animals, there are exhibits on the mining once done in the area, different types of birds and their nests, animal skeletons, and more. There are also restrooms here, the only ones I saw that day. I don’t remember if there were port-a-potties….
When we had explored every square inch of the center, we headed outside and down to the area surrounding the Sugar Shack. Here was a demonstration of three different methods of making syrup. There was a table where an employee taught kids how to make spiles, something Stormy really got into. Ducks, geese and turkeys were in an enclosure, and there was a natural play area, which was a huge hit! The kids loved clambering over the logs laid out in an obstacle course. The swing was also a popular choice. Be warned, though, that when temps rise above freezing, there is a lot of mud!
I finally coaxed the kids into the Sugar Shack itself. There we learned all about the process of making maple syrup. I had no idea it takes 40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup! At the door of the Shack, employees staffed a small table with more goodies for us to try. There was sap, along with 3 types of syrup, and maple sugar. Stormy and I were not fans of black walnut syrup. It had more of a molasses taste, and was a little bitter. The sap, though, was delicious, with just a hint of the maple flavoring. Pebble and Rainbow loved the sap, but the maple sugar was the big hit with these too. Pebble wouldn’t toss her cup until she’d licked every bit of sugar out of it! Our sweet tooth’s were happy campers!
When we finished nibbling, we joined a group of people gathering for a guided hike into the sugar bush to learn how to tap a tree. These hikes were offered at the top of every hour. We didn’t do this back in 2019 because Pebble was in a stroller, bad choice on my part, not a stroller friendly festival! Rainbow wanted to go back to the play area, but I pushed for the hike. It wasn’t a long hike or a strenuous one, and our guide was amazing! We learned about the different types of trees that could be tapped and how to identify them. All three girls got a chance to help drill a small hole in a tree, and they got to taste sap straight from a spile. Stormy walked up front of our group peppering our guide with questions. She was fascinated!
When the hike ended back at the Sugar Shack, the final event of the day was just starting, sugar on the snow. Syrup was heated, then dribbled on fresh snow. Popsicle sticks were then used to roll the freezing syrup around the stick. It was the cherry on the day! Oh my goodness was the candy so good, and so sticky! Pebble was not a fan, nor was my husband after trying Pebble’s, but Stormy, Rainbow and I loved it! Rainbow asked if she could get more, but it was one sample per customer.
As it was getting close to 4pm, festival ending time, we walked back and past our car to explore two other small play areas, one that had monkey bars to Stormy’s delight. We also walked a boardwalk out to a small island in the lake. It was a wonderful family outing, our first adventure of the new year. I highly recommend visiting Oregon Ridge for this festival, or just to go exploring! Happy trails!
