The “New Hampshire Maple Experience” Begins Anew At The Rocks.
North Country residents and seasonal tourists alike associate The Rocks Estate in Bethlehem with Christmas. Once a self-sustaining, turn-of-the-century gentleman’s farm, The Rocks is a working Christmas tree farm with 52,000 balsams growing in fields with views to the famed Presidential Range in the White Mountains.
When the scent of balsam fades with holiday memories, The Rocks is redolent of sweet maple steam wafting from a burbling sap pan boiling over a wood-fired arch. The March maple sugaring season marks the end of the long New Hampshire winter so get your sweet tooth ready!
The “New Hampshire Maple Experience” kicks off on March 13th and runs to April 3rd. According to Nigel Manley, manager at The Rocks for 23 years, the maple season tours unveil the sweet mysteries of New Hampshire’s delectable maple syrup and provide hands-on learning. “The idea of the Maple Experience is to collaborate with area businesses to provide late winter fun and education for families and visitors of all ages.”
Fourth-generation sugar-maker Brad Presby demonstrates modern techniques for sugaring in the newly restored 1906 “Sawmill/Pigpen” building renovated to serve as a sugar house and a year-round maple education center featuring maple sugaring artifacts from the extensive collection of the late Charlie Stewart, a legendary sugar maker from nearby Sugar Hill.
The Maple Experience is becoming a popular program. Participants learn how to identify sugar maple trees which produce sap for making syrup, learn the history and lore of maple sugaring, learn how sap is boiled to produce syrup and see the process firsthand. Hands-on learning includes an opportunity to tap a tree, enjoy a horse-drawn wagon ride and sample tasty treats including a traditional donut, sour pickle and maple syrup combo.
The Maple Experience is a friendly family-oriented unique learning opportunity where the only silly questions are those not asked. I asked Nigel to share some common misconceptions about sugaring. Nigel related honestly how some think “light” syrup means “Lite” as in “low calorie” rather than the color grade “light amber” also known as “Fancy.” Another common question is “when you tap a tree, how much syrup comes out?” If only it were just that easy!
Nigel says people are surprised to discover the clear maple sap tastes like water and ask “what do you add to make sap taste like syrup?” People think it’s easy to identify sugar maples to tap until they realize there are no leaves to help! Visitors ask if tapping hurts the tree. Sincere questions provide teachable opportunities. Staff explain how tap holes drilled into maples remain but trees seal-off wounds through production of lignin to prevent disease from entering. Every answer may prompt another question. Why are blue plastic tubes used to collect sap some places and buckets used in others? And why does pure NH syrup cost what it does?
Last year 550 people visited The Rocks during the three Saturdays of the Maple Experience. This year, the experience will be offered over six days. The Rocks will again team up with the famous Polly’s Pancake Parlor in nearby Sugar Hill to offer a tasty twist to the popular sugaring program. The Parlor will offer an abbreviated menu at The Rocks from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. each day of The New Hampshire Maple Experience. “We are so pleased to be able to team up with the Rocks again this season,” said Kathie Cote, co-owner of Polly’s. “This is a natural fit that will add to the visitors’ experience at this years’ maple program.” Polly’s waffle and pancake mixes are available for sale again this season.
The New Hampshire Maple Experience is scheduled for March 13, 20, 21, 27, 28 and April 3 with tours throughout each day. Reservations for the tours are advised. Walk-ins are welcomed on a space available basis. The cost is $10 for adults; $7 for children. For those looking to turn the Maple Experience into a weekend-long North Country visit, The Rocks collaborates with local inns to offer maple weekend vacation packages. For more information, please visit The Rocks website www.therocks.org or call 603-444-6228.
Nestled in the heart of the White Mountains, The Rocks is a 1,400-acre forest reservation, working Tree Farm and North Country Conservation and Education Center for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. The Forest Society is non-profit membership organization founded in 1901 to protect the state’s most important landscapes and promote wise use of its natural resources.
Naturalist Dave Anderson is Director of Education and Volunteer Services for The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. His column appears every other week in the New Hampshire Sunday News. E-mail him at danderson@forestsociety.org or through the Forest Society's Web site: forestsociety.org.