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Minnesota · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Aitkin County, Minnesota

Aitkin County had 12 maple operations in the 2022 Census (tap totals withheld). Around Aitkin, sap usually runs from March 9 to April 12. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 154 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Mar 9
typical year
Season ends
Apr 12
about 5 weeks
Sap days / season
37.3
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
withheld
12 farms

Sap-flow outlook at Aitkin right now

Full Minnesota forecast →

Forecast for Aitkin, MN

Updated Oct 6, 10:51 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Aitkin County's season usually opens around March 9, which is 154 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    43° / 67°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    38° / 63°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    40° / 65°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    51° / 74°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    55° / 65°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    44° / 53°
    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 Aitkin

Freeze-thaw weather at Aitkin peaks in the weeks of Mar 9 to Apr 27, which hold about 65% of a season's sap days. April is the busiest month.
Typical season: Mar 9 – Apr 120246Week of Dec 1: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 1.0 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 0.6 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 0.6 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 0.3 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 0.4 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 0.3 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 0.2 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 1.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 2.4 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 3.2 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 3.5 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 3.5 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 3.5 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 3.1 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 3.0 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 2.2 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 0.9 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 9
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Aitkin, 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 19; the middle half of seasons fell between Mar 11 and Mar 27. Earliest Feb 17 (2012), latest Apr 6 (2013).
Closing signal
Median Apr 21; middle half between Apr 12 and Apr 28. Earliest Mar 17 (2012), latest May 10 (2013).
Sap days by month
Dec9%Jan4%Feb12%Mar33%Apr37%May6%

36 seasons of sap weather

Aitkin County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Aitkin was 2021 with 54 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2001 with 21. 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 17 – Apr 21, 48 sap days4820252025: Mar 17 – Apr 20, 38 sap days3820242024: Mar 11 – Apr 14, 45 sap days4520232023: Mar 30 – Apr 26, 25 sap days2520222022: Apr 3 – May 4, 32 sap days3220212021: Mar 7 – Apr 2, 54 sap days5420202020: Mar 27 – May 1, 42 sap days4220192019: Mar 30 – May 3, 36 sap days3620182018: Apr 1 – Apr 29, 42 sap days4220172017: Mar 3 – Apr 7, 40 sap days4020162016: Mar 13 – Apr 14, 37 sap days3720152015: Mar 9 – Apr 12, 35 sap days3520142014: Mar 28 – Apr 26, 25 sap days2520132013: Apr 6 – May 10, 31 sap days3120122012: Feb 17 – Mar 17, 37 sap days3720112011: Mar 24 – Apr 22, 36 sap days3620102010: Feb 28 – Mar 29, 36 sap days3620092009: Mar 19 – Apr 15, 25 sap days2520082008: Mar 31 – May 1, 34 sap days3420072007: Mar 16 – Apr 19, 37 sap days3720062006: Mar 11 – Apr 9, 28 sap days2820052005: Mar 7 – Apr 8, 37 sap days3720042004: Mar 19 – Apr 23, 43 sap days4320032003: Mar 26 – Apr 11, 31 sap days3120022002: Mar 26 – Apr 30, 52 sap days5220012001: Mar 24 – Apr 19, 21 sap days2120002000: Mar 10 – Apr 14, 49 sap days4919991999: Mar 16 – Apr 20, 48 sap days4819981998: Mar 8 – Apr 11, 39 sap days3919971997: Mar 24 – Apr 28, 34 sap days3419961996: Apr 3 – May 7, 39 sap days3919951995: Mar 26 – Apr 28, 44 sap days4419941994: Mar 19 – Apr 22, 36 sap days3619931993: Mar 24 – Apr 26, 34 sap days3419921992: Mar 27 – Apr 29, 33 sap days3319911991: Mar 5 – Apr 2, 39 sap days39
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Aitkin. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Aitkin County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Aitkin County the 2022 Census found 12 farms making syrup (+20% since 2017).

Aitkin County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
202212withheldwithheld—
2017106,216withheld—

“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 Aitkin (1,207ft), 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 Minnesota's USDA record (3 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 — Minnesota, 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

Aitkin County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Aitkin County, Minnesota?
In a typical year the sap starts running around March 9 near Aitkin and the season winds down around April 12. 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 17 and as late as Apr 6.
How much maple syrup does Aitkin County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 12 maple operations in Aitkin County; USDA withheld the county's tap and gallon totals to avoid disclosing individual farms.
How many sap days does Aitkin County get in a season?
On average 37.3 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Aitkin, of which about 8.4 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 2021 (54 sap days); the leanest was 2001 (21).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Aitkin (PRISM 4-km grid), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast, then calibrated against USDA's reported season dates for Minnesota. 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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