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Michigan · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Benzie County, Michigan

Benzie County had 9 maple operations and 5,201 taps in the 2022 Census. Around Beulah, sap usually runs from March 7 to April 9. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 152 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Mar 7
typical year
Season ends
Apr 9
about 5 weeks
Sap days / season
35.6
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
5,201
#34 of 66 in MI

Sap-flow outlook at Beulah right now

Full Michigan forecast →

Forecast for Beulah, MI

Updated Oct 6, 10:42 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Benzie County's season usually opens around March 7, which is 152 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    54° / 67°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    50° / 61°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    43° / 62°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    45° / 70°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    55° / 74°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    52° / 66°
    No refreeze forecast

Data: National Weather Service. Verdicts use freeze-thaw thresholds from maple field research; your woods may run a little differently.

When the sap runs

The sugaring calendar at Beulah

Freeze-thaw weather at Beulah peaks in the weeks of Mar 2 to Apr 6, which hold about 45% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Mar 7 – Apr 90246Week of Dec 1: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 1.5 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 1.0 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 0.6 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 0.6 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 0.6 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 1.0 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 1.7 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 2.2 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 2.4 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 2.7 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 3.2 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 2.5 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 0.5 sap days on averageWeek of May 11: 0.3 sap days on averageWeek of May 18: 0.1 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.1 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Mar 7
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Beulah, 1991–2026. A sap day is an overnight low under 30.2 °F followed by an afternoon high over 37.4 °F. The shaded band is the typical season.

Year-to-year spread

Opening signal
Median Mar 11; the middle half of seasons fell between Mar 3 and Mar 17. Earliest Feb 13 (2012), latest Mar 27 (2018).
Closing signal
Median Apr 12; middle half between Apr 3 and Apr 18. Earliest Mar 12 (2012), latest Apr 30 (2018).
Sap days by month
Dec15%Jan9%Feb16%Mar33%Apr24%May3%

36 seasons of sap weather

Benzie County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Beulah was 2020 with 50 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2011 with 23. Seasons that start early tend to end early too: the trees run on the swing between freezing nights and mild days, and heat ends it.
JanFebMarAprMaysap days20262026: Mar 7 – Apr 11, 34 sap days3420252025: Mar 14 – Apr 17, 40 sap days4020242024: Feb 20 – Mar 26, 38 sap days3820232023: Mar 9 – Apr 8, 46 sap days4620222022: Mar 20 – Apr 22, 29 sap days2920212021: Mar 2 – Apr 4, 38 sap days3820202020: Mar 15 – Apr 19, 50 sap days5020192019: Mar 17 – Apr 12, 35 sap days3520182018: Mar 27 – Apr 30, 48 sap days4820172017: Feb 28 – Apr 2, 28 sap days2820162016: Feb 26 – Mar 31, 34 sap days3420152015: Mar 11 – Apr 5, 27 sap days2720142014: Mar 24 – Apr 23, 29 sap days2920132013: Mar 24 – Apr 22, 39 sap days3920122012: Feb 13 – Mar 12, 45 sap days4520112011: Mar 18 – Apr 21, 23 sap days2320102010: Mar 3 – Mar 30, 29 sap days2920092009: Mar 11 – Apr 13, 37 sap days3720082008: Mar 15 – Apr 16, 25 sap days2520072007: Feb 24 – Mar 23, 33 sap days3320062006: Mar 7 – Apr 10, 32 sap days3220052005: Mar 5 – Apr 8, 33 sap days3320042004: Mar 12 – Apr 15, 47 sap days4720032003: Mar 14 – Apr 14, 28 sap days2820022002: Mar 11 – Apr 10, 46 sap days4620012001: Mar 13 – Apr 17, 27 sap days2720002000: Feb 16 – Mar 20, 39 sap days3919991999: Mar 3 – Mar 30, 38 sap days3819981998: Feb 23 – Mar 25, 29 sap days2919971997: Mar 19 – Apr 21, 31 sap days3119961996: Mar 19 – Apr 18, 37 sap days3719951995: Mar 8 – Apr 10, 35 sap days3519941994: Mar 15 – Apr 18, 41 sap days4119931993: Mar 20 – Apr 23, 36 sap days3619921992: Mar 17 – Apr 15, 40 sap days4019911991: Mar 2 – Apr 3, 34 sap days34
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Beulah. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Benzie County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Benzie County the 2022 Census found 9 farms making syrup (-25% since 2017), with taps +410% and syrup output +1104% over the same five years. That works out to about 0.21 gallons of syrup per tap in 2022 (0.09 in 2017). Among the 385 counties in this atlas, Benzie County ranks 188 by taps.

Benzie County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
202295,2011,1200.21
2017121,020930.09

Nearby

Neighboring maple counties

Distances are between reference towns; typical dates are each county's own estimate.

About these numbers

The season dates are estimated from 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures for the PRISM 4-km grid cell at Beulah (692ft), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast: a sap day is an overnight low under 30.2 °F followed by an afternoon high over 37.4 °F. Each season's closing signal is the last sap day before accumulated warmth reaches a threshold, and the opening signal sits five weeks before that, never earlier than the first real freeze-thaw week. Tested against 117 state-seasons of USDA-reported dates, the rule lands within 5.5 days of the reported close and 6.6 days of the reported opening on average, and the typical dates shown here are scaled to Michigan's USDA record (12 years). Production figures are copied from the Census as published. Full method, calibration tables and the downloadable dataset →

Sources · 6

  1. 1.2022 Census of Agriculture, County Level Data — Michigan, Table 37: Maple Syrup, 2022 and 2017 · USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
  2. 2.PRISM daily temperature grids (AN81d, 4 km), accessed 2026-10-05 · PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu
  3. 3.Applied Climate Information System (ACIS) web services · NOAA Regional Climate Centers
  4. 4.USDA NASS maple syrup reports — approximate average season opened and closed dates, 2011–2022 · USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (mirrored by the University of Vermont)
  5. 5.Sap flow in sugar maple: timing and weather drivers (Frontiers in Agronomy, 2025) · de Lima Santos et al.
  6. 6.GeoNames gazetteer (cities500), CC BY 4.0 · GeoNames

FAQ

Benzie County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Benzie County, Michigan?
In a typical year the sap starts running around March 7 near Beulah and the season winds down around April 9. Have your taps in a day or two before the first forecast string of freezing nights and 40 °F days. In the past 36 seasons the weather signal came as early as Feb 13 and as late as Mar 27.
How much maple syrup does Benzie County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 9 maple operations in Benzie County with 5,201 taps producing 1,120 gallons of syrup, ranking 34 of 66 Michigan's counties with published tap counts.
How many sap days does Benzie County get in a season?
On average 35.6 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Beulah, of which about 13.4 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 2020 (50 sap days); the leanest was 2011 (23).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Beulah (PRISM 4-km grid), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast, then calibrated against USDA's reported season dates for Michigan. They describe a typical year at one point in the county; your sugarbush, slope and elevation can shift them by days.

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