Every maple season starts golden.
From the first freeze-thaw run to the last dark boil: know when the sap will run, when your state opens, and how much syrup to expect.
Try St. Albans, Lindsay or Le Granit.
LuckySap for iPhone and Android: your season log and sap outlook, free.
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Rich taste
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Live · St. Albans, VT
Will the sap run this week?
Off-season
Vermont's season opens in about 143 days
Typical opening: March 2.
What to do now
- 1
Hold the drill
Fall sap is low in sugar, and a November hole on buckets is spent by January.
- 2
Find and mark your trees
Easiest while the leaves are on. Tapping starts at 12 inches across, about 38 inches around.
- 3
Gather your gear
A drill with a clean 5/16-inch bit, one spout per taphole, covered food-grade buckets.
Show this week’s forecast anywayHide the forecast
- SunOct 11
43° → 64°
No refreeze forecast - MonOct 12
51° → 64°
No refreeze forecast - TueOct 13
49° → 52°
No refreeze forecast - WedOct 14
49° → 55°
No refreeze forecast - ThuOct 15
41° → 54°
No refreeze forecast - FriOct 16
40° → 54°
No refreeze forecast
Live · St. Albans, VT · National Weather Service · Oct 10, 2:19 PM EDT
How the outlook works
A sap day, by the numbers
1 · The freeze
< 30.2°F
−1 °C overnight
A night below freezing reloads the tree, drawing water up into the wood.
2 · The thaw
> 37.4°F
+3 °C the next day
A day above freezing builds pressure in the trunk and pushes sap out of the taphole.
3 · The call
- Classic sap dayNight in the 20s, day in the 40s
- Sap likelyA real freeze-thaw, outside the classic range
- Maybe a light runCrosses 32 °F, but barely
- Run taperingNo refreeze after a run
- No run expectedNo thaw, or no freeze
Thresholds from maple field research (runs over 1 L per tap came on freeze-thaw days 94% of the time) and the classic 20s/40s rule from UNH Extension. The six-step flow scale matches the LuckySap app.
Season calendar · USDA records
When does your season open?
Feb 4
West Virginia
in 117 days
Feb 18
Ohio
in 131 days
Feb 25
Pennsylvania
in 138 days
Feb 28
New York
in 141 days
Mar 2
Vermont
in 143 days
Mar 5
Michigan
in 146 days
Mar 4
Maine
in 145 days
Mar 14
Quebec
in 155 days
County maple atlas · US + Canada
Where, and when, the sap runs
Prices & production · USDA 2025
What a gallon of syrup brings
- Retail
- $56.70
- a gallon
- Wholesale
- $48.70
- a gallon
- Bulk
- $31.00
- a gallon · $2.80/lb
- All sales
- $35.60
- average a gallon
Vermont made 52.6% of US maple syrup in 2026, and Canada made 79.9% of all US and Canadian syrup in 2025.
Production by state →Canada’s side →Guides
Sugaring, step by step
8 min readHow to make maple syrup at home, from first tap to last jar
The whole season in order, from finding trees to bottling.≈ 1 quart of syrup per bucket tap
6 min readHow to tap a maple tree
Tree size, drill bit, depth, angle and spacing, the research way.5/16 in · about 1.5 in deep
5 min readWhat temperature makes maple sap run?
The freeze-thaw numbers, why they work, and how long a run lasts.below 30.2 °F → above 37.4 °F
Tree ID
Which of my trees can I tap?
Sugar, red, silver and Norway maple, boxelder, birch and walnut, each rated for tapping, with the bark, buds and branching to tell them apart in winter.
8 species, ranked →
Selling syrup
Can I sell my maple syrup?
Licenses, labels, grading and density rules for 21 states and provinces, built from the official rules.
21 jurisdictions →
First season?
The questions every new tapper asks
When should I tap my maple trees?
Tap when days start climbing above freezing — around 40°F — while nights still drop below it. For most of the maple belt that's February or early March; USDA's state-by-state averages run from early February in West Virginia to about March 10 in Wisconsin, and the date can swing three to four weeks from one year to the next. Watch the 10-day forecast for a stretch of freeze-thaw days rather than a calendar date.
Can I tap too early?
Yes. Tapholes slowly dry up and seal over — usually within 6 to 10 weeks — so tapping weeks before the real season can cost you the late runs. Tap when a run of freeze-thaw days is actually in the forecast.
What temperatures make sap run — and why did it stop?
Sap flows when wood temperature swings across 32°F: a freeze reloads the tree, a thaw pushes sap out. Field research counts a freeze-thaw day as a low under 30°F and a high over 37°F; the classic sap day is a night in the 20s followed by a day in the 40s. Without a new freeze, flow keeps going for 30 to 72 hours and then fades.
Calculators
Sugarhouse math
- Sap to syrup calculator
Gallons of sap in, syrup out — using the updated Rule of 86.
86 ÷ sugar % - Taps per tree
Measure the trunk, get a safe tap count.
≥ 12 in - Evaporator size calculator
From tap count to gallons per hour, pan size, storage and cords of wood.
taps × gal ÷ hours - Finishing temperature
Water's boiling point + 7.1°F — worked out for today.
+7.1 °F - Hydrometer correction
Correct any reading to 60°F and check your density.
→ 60 °F - Sugaring kit builder
Your shopping list with quantities, from extension rules.
1 spout per tap
The LuckySap app
Your whole season, in your pocket.
- 1A sap-flow outlook for your treesToday's call and the days ahead, from your local forecast.
- 2Log a collection in secondsGallons, sugar and taps. It can remember your last taps and sugar.
- 3Every boil, every totalSap in, syrup out, hours and grade, plus season stats you can compare year to year.
- 4Sugaring 101, built inTapping, weather, boiling and grading guides for when you're standing at the tree.
