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Michigan · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Van Buren County, Michigan

Van Buren County had 8 maple operations in the 2022 Census (tap totals withheld). Around Paw Paw, sap usually runs from February 19 to March 26. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 136 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Feb 19
typical year
Season ends
Mar 26
about 5 weeks
Sap days / season
44.1
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
withheld
8 farms

Sap-flow outlook at Paw Paw right now

Full Michigan forecast →

Forecast for Paw Paw, MI

Updated Oct 6, 11:03 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Van Buren County's season usually opens around February 19, which is 136 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    54° / 71°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    50° / 64°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    43° / 67°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    47° / 74°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    54° / 76°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    54° / 73°
    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 Paw Paw

Freeze-thaw weather at Paw Paw peaks in the weeks of Feb 16 to Apr 6, which hold about 51% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Feb 19 – Mar 260246Week of Dec 1: 2.1 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 1.9 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 1.4 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 1.4 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 2.8 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 3.0 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 3.6 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: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 1.7 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 0.6 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 0.3 sap days on averageWeek of May 11: 0.2 sap days on averageWeek of May 18: 0.1 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.0 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Feb 19
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Paw Paw, 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 Feb 23; the middle half of seasons fell between Feb 20 and Mar 3. Earliest Jan 30 (2017), latest Mar 13 (2014).
Closing signal
Median Mar 29; middle half between Mar 24 and Apr 4. Earliest Mar 2 (2024), latest Apr 17 (2014).
Sap days by month
Dec20%Jan12%Feb18%Mar31%Apr17%May2%

36 seasons of sap weather

Van Buren County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Paw Paw was 2018 with 64 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2011 with 32. 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 9 – Mar 5, 37 sap days3720252025: Feb 20 – Mar 27, 35 sap days3520242024: Feb 3 – Mar 2, 35 sap days3520232023: Feb 19 – Mar 26, 50 sap days5020222022: Feb 28 – Apr 3, 49 sap days4920212021: Feb 22 – Mar 21, 46 sap days4620202020: Feb 22 – Mar 26, 50 sap days5020192019: Mar 3 – Apr 2, 41 sap days4120182018: Mar 8 – Apr 11, 64 sap days6420172017: Jan 30 – Mar 6, 43 sap days4320162016: Feb 18 – Mar 13, 45 sap days4520152015: Mar 7 – Apr 5, 33 sap days3320142014: Mar 13 – Apr 17, 33 sap days3320132013: Mar 10 – Apr 14, 47 sap days4720122012: Feb 10 – Mar 12, 50 sap days5020112011: Mar 4 – Apr 2, 32 sap days3220102010: Feb 24 – Mar 30, 39 sap days3920092009: Feb 20 – Mar 24, 44 sap days4420082008: Mar 12 – Apr 4, 37 sap days3720072007: Feb 20 – Mar 22, 37 sap days3720062006: Feb 22 – Mar 27, 42 sap days4220052005: Mar 1 – Apr 4, 38 sap days3820042004: Feb 22 – Mar 25, 48 sap days4820032003: Mar 8 – Apr 1, 34 sap days3420022002: Feb 26 – Apr 2, 58 sap days5820012001: Mar 5 – Apr 5, 39 sap days3920002000: Feb 2 – Mar 7, 47 sap days4719991999: Feb 26 – Mar 30, 60 sap days6019981998: Feb 20 – Mar 25, 46 sap days4619971997: Feb 26 – Apr 2, 52 sap days5219961996: Feb 28 – Apr 4, 48 sap days4819951995: Feb 14 – Mar 18, 47 sap days4719941994: Mar 1 – Apr 4, 43 sap days4319931993: Mar 9 – Apr 13, 41 sap days4119921992: Feb 21 – Mar 26, 50 sap days5019911991: Feb 19 – Mar 26, 47 sap days47
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Paw Paw. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Van Buren County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Van Buren County the 2022 Census found 8 farms making syrup (-38% since 2017).

Van Buren County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
20228withheldwithheld—
2017131,1071480.13

“Withheld” means USDA suppressed the figure to avoid disclosing data for individual operations; the farm count is still published.

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 Paw Paw (755ft), 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

Van Buren County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Van Buren County, Michigan?
In a typical year the sap starts running around February 19 near Paw Paw and the season winds down around March 26. 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 Jan 30 and as late as Mar 13.
How much maple syrup does Van Buren County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 8 maple operations in Van Buren County; USDA withheld the county's tap and gallon totals to avoid disclosing individual farms.
How many sap days does Van Buren County get in a season?
On average 44.1 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Paw Paw, of which about 14.6 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 2018 (64 sap days); the leanest was 2011 (32).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Paw Paw (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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