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Michigan · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Mecosta County, Michigan

Mecosta County had 21 maple operations and 8,511 taps in the 2022 Census. Around Big Rapids, sap usually runs from March 6 to April 9. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 151 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Mar 6
typical year
Season ends
Apr 9
about 5 weeks
Sap days / season
44.1
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
8,511
#25 of 66 in MI

Sap-flow outlook at Big Rapids right now

Full Michigan forecast →

Forecast for Big Rapids, MI

Updated Oct 6, 11:03 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Mecosta County's season usually opens around March 6, which is 151 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    51° / 70°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    43° / 62°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    36° / 65°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    40° / 71°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    51° / 75°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    50° / 68°
    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 Big Rapids

Freeze-thaw weather at Big Rapids peaks in the weeks of Mar 2 to Apr 13, which hold about 52% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Mar 6 – Apr 90246Week of Dec 1: 1.5 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 1.7 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 1.3 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: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 0.5 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 0.8 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 1.9 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 2.0 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 2.6 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 2.8 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 3.8 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 3.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 3.9 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 3.6 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 2.4 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 1.5 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of May 11: 0.4 sap days on averageWeek of May 18: 0.2 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.1 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Mar 6
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Big Rapids, 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 10; the middle half of seasons fell between Mar 2 and Mar 16. Earliest Feb 14 (2012), latest Mar 25 (2018).
Closing signal
Median Apr 12; middle half between Apr 3 and Apr 17. Earliest Mar 15 (2012), latest Apr 29 (2018).
Sap days by month
Dec14%Jan8%Feb14%Mar33%Apr27%May4%

36 seasons of sap weather

Mecosta County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Big Rapids was 1999 with 58 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2011 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: Feb 28 – Apr 2, 43 sap days4320252025: Mar 10 – Apr 13, 45 sap days4520242024: Feb 20 – Mar 26, 39 sap days3920232023: Mar 8 – Apr 9, 48 sap days4820222022: Mar 19 – Apr 21, 40 sap days4020212021: Mar 3 – Apr 4, 43 sap days4320202020: Mar 6 – Apr 8, 50 sap days5020192019: Mar 15 – Apr 16, 40 sap days4020182018: Mar 25 – Apr 29, 55 sap days5520172017: Feb 26 – Apr 2, 34 sap days3420162016: Feb 25 – Mar 31, 37 sap days3720152015: Mar 13 – Apr 15, 36 sap days3620142014: Mar 20 – Apr 23, 37 sap days3720132013: Mar 23 – Apr 26, 42 sap days4220122012: Feb 14 – Mar 15, 53 sap days5320112011: Mar 18 – Apr 19, 28 sap days2820102010: Feb 26 – Mar 31, 45 sap days4520092009: Mar 14 – Apr 17, 51 sap days5120082008: Mar 15 – Apr 17, 39 sap days3920072007: Feb 24 – Mar 23, 32 sap days3220062006: Mar 9 – Apr 11, 39 sap days3920052005: Mar 8 – Apr 10, 45 sap days4520042004: Mar 12 – Apr 16, 56 sap days5620032003: Mar 11 – Apr 14, 38 sap days3820022002: Mar 8 – Apr 10, 53 sap days5320012001: Mar 11 – Apr 14, 39 sap days3920002000: Feb 28 – Mar 20, 50 sap days5019991999: Mar 4 – Apr 7, 58 sap days5819981998: Feb 24 – Mar 25, 41 sap days4119971997: Mar 17 – Apr 20, 39 sap days3919961996: Mar 18 – Apr 19, 51 sap days5119951995: Mar 7 – Apr 10, 48 sap days4819941994: Mar 14 – Apr 18, 48 sap days4819931993: Mar 19 – Apr 23, 42 sap days4219921992: Mar 18 – Apr 15, 54 sap days5419911991: Mar 2 – Apr 3, 50 sap days50
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Big Rapids. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Mecosta County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Mecosta County the 2022 Census found 21 farms making syrup (-32% since 2017), with taps -69% and syrup output -49% over the same five years. That works out to about 0.25 gallons of syrup per tap in 2022 (0.15 in 2017). Among the 385 counties in this atlas, Mecosta County ranks 150 by taps.

Mecosta County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
2022218,5112,1590.25
20173127,7324,2390.15

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 Big Rapids (958ft), 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

Mecosta County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Mecosta County, Michigan?
In a typical year the sap starts running around March 6 near Big Rapids 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 14 and as late as Mar 25.
How much maple syrup does Mecosta County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 21 maple operations in Mecosta County with 8,511 taps producing 2,159 gallons of syrup, ranking 25 of 66 Michigan's counties with published tap counts.
How many sap days does Mecosta County get in a season?
On average 44.1 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Big Rapids, of which about 11.7 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 1999 (58 sap days); the leanest was 2011 (28).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Big Rapids (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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