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Michigan · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Kalkaska County, Michigan

Kalkaska County had 14 maple operations and 14,716 taps in the 2022 Census. Around Kalkaska, sap usually runs from March 13 to April 16. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 158 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Mar 13
typical year
Season ends
Apr 16
about 5 weeks
Sap days / season
41.3
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
14,716
#12 of 66 in MI

Sap-flow outlook at Kalkaska right now

Full Michigan forecast →

Forecast for Kalkaska, MI

Updated Oct 6, 10:42 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Kalkaska County's season usually opens around March 13, which is 158 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    53° / 67°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    45° / 59°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    38° / 62°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    41° / 70°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    54° / 75°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    49° / 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 Kalkaska

Freeze-thaw weather at Kalkaska peaks in the weeks of Mar 2 to Apr 27, which hold about 64% of a season's sap days. April is the busiest month.
Typical season: Mar 13 – Apr 160246Week of Dec 1: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 1.0 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 0.5 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 0.4 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 0.4 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 1.0 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 1.4 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 1.4 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 2.2 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 3.4 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 3.5 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 3.6 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 3.1 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 3.2 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 2.2 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of May 11: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of May 18: 0.4 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.3 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Mar 13
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Kalkaska, 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 17; the middle half of seasons fell between Mar 9 and Mar 25. Earliest Feb 15 (2012), latest Mar 31 (1996).
Closing signal
Median Apr 19; middle half between Apr 10 and Apr 25. Earliest Mar 16 (2012), latest May 3 (1996).
Sap days by month
Dec11%Jan6%Feb11%Mar30%Apr34%May9%

36 seasons of sap weather

Kalkaska County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Kalkaska was 2020 with 56 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2008 with 28. 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 11 – Apr 12, 41 sap days4120252025: Mar 20 – Apr 21, 49 sap days4920242024: Mar 6 – Apr 9, 48 sap days4820232023: Mar 11 – Apr 10, 49 sap days4920222022: Mar 28 – Apr 29, 37 sap days3720212021: Mar 4 – Apr 5, 48 sap days4820202020: Mar 25 – Apr 28, 56 sap days5620192019: Mar 22 – Apr 25, 45 sap days4520182018: Mar 30 – Apr 30, 46 sap days4620172017: Mar 7 – Apr 9, 35 sap days3520162016: Mar 14 – Apr 17, 42 sap days4220152015: Mar 21 – Apr 25, 37 sap days3720142014: Mar 29 – Apr 27, 35 sap days3520132013: Mar 27 – Apr 26, 39 sap days3920122012: Feb 15 – Mar 16, 49 sap days4920112011: Mar 25 – Apr 24, 36 sap days3620102010: Mar 3 – Mar 31, 41 sap days4120092009: Mar 21 – Apr 24, 45 sap days4520082008: Mar 17 – Apr 17, 28 sap days2820072007: Mar 16 – Apr 20, 32 sap days3220062006: Mar 10 – Apr 10, 37 sap days3720052005: Mar 9 – Apr 13, 39 sap days3920042004: Mar 15 – Apr 16, 46 sap days4620032003: Mar 16 – Apr 18, 43 sap days4320022002: Mar 14 – Apr 14, 53 sap days5320012001: Mar 18 – Apr 20, 30 sap days3020002000: Feb 18 – Mar 20, 40 sap days4019991999: Mar 9 – Apr 13, 43 sap days4319981998: Mar 5 – Apr 7, 43 sap days4319971997: Mar 25 – Apr 26, 37 sap days3719961996: Mar 31 – May 3, 35 sap days3519951995: Mar 18 – Apr 21, 49 sap days4919941994: Mar 20 – Apr 23, 46 sap days4619931993: Mar 25 – Apr 27, 39 sap days3919921992: Mar 27 – Apr 30, 35 sap days3519911991: Mar 4 – Apr 3, 33 sap days33
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Kalkaska. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Kalkaska County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Kalkaska County the 2022 Census found 14 farms making syrup (0% since 2017), with taps +45% and syrup output +180% over the same five years. That works out to about 0.37 gallons of syrup per tap in 2022 (0.19 in 2017). Among the 385 counties in this atlas, Kalkaska County ranks 110 by taps.

Kalkaska County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
20221414,7165,3790.37
20171410,1261,9190.19

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 Kalkaska (1,043ft), 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

Kalkaska County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Kalkaska County, Michigan?
In a typical year the sap starts running around March 13 near Kalkaska and the season winds down around April 16. 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 15 and as late as Mar 31.
How much maple syrup does Kalkaska County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 14 maple operations in Kalkaska County with 14,716 taps producing 5,379 gallons of syrup, ranking 12 of 66 Michigan's counties with published tap counts.
How many sap days does Kalkaska County get in a season?
On average 41.3 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Kalkaska, of which about 11.1 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 2020 (56 sap days); the leanest was 2008 (28).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Kalkaska (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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