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Minnesota · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Cass County, Minnesota

Cass County had 5 maple operations in the 2022 Census (tap totals withheld). Around Walker, sap usually runs from March 11 to April 13. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 156 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Mar 11
typical year
Season ends
Apr 13
about 5 weeks
Sap days / season
33.5
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
withheld
5 farms

Sap-flow outlook at Walker right now

Full Minnesota forecast →

Forecast for Walker, MN

Updated Oct 6, 10:51 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Cass County's season usually opens around March 11, which is 156 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    45° / 63°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    40° / 61°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    41° / 63°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    51° / 72°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    53° / 62°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    43° / 51°
    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 Walker

Freeze-thaw weather at Walker peaks in the weeks of Mar 9 to Apr 20, which hold about 59% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Mar 11 – Apr 130246Week of Dec 1: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 0.5 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 0.5 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: 0.1 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: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 3.3 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 3.0 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 3.1 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 1.7 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 0.8 sap days on averageWeek of May 11: 0.3 sap days on averageWeek of May 18: 0.2 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.0 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Mar 11
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Walker, 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 21; the middle half of seasons fell between Mar 14 and Mar 28. Earliest Feb 18 (2012), latest Apr 8 (2013).
Closing signal
Median Apr 22; middle half between Apr 12 and Apr 28. Earliest Mar 17 (2012), latest May 12 (2013).
Sap days by month
Dec9%Jan5%Feb13%Mar34%Apr34%May5%

36 seasons of sap weather

Cass County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Walker was 2002 with 48 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2001 with 20. 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 19 – Apr 21, 43 sap days4320252025: Mar 19 – Apr 20, 37 sap days3720242024: Mar 13 – Apr 7, 38 sap days3820232023: Apr 1 – May 3, 31 sap days3120222022: Apr 4 – Apr 29, 26 sap days2620212021: Mar 12 – Apr 2, 44 sap days4420202020: Mar 28 – Apr 24, 37 sap days3720192019: Mar 24 – Apr 28, 32 sap days3220182018: Mar 30 – Apr 28, 36 sap days3620172017: Mar 6 – Apr 8, 29 sap days2920162016: Mar 14 – Apr 14, 35 sap days3520152015: Mar 11 – Apr 14, 31 sap days3120142014: Apr 1 – May 4, 26 sap days2620132013: Apr 8 – May 12, 20 sap days2020122012: Feb 18 – Mar 17, 31 sap days3120112011: Mar 24 – Apr 22, 28 sap days2820102010: Mar 2 – Mar 29, 21 sap days2120092009: Mar 23 – Apr 22, 23 sap days2320082008: Apr 1 – May 6, 35 sap days3520072007: Mar 17 – Apr 18, 33 sap days3320062006: Mar 12 – Apr 9, 20 sap days2020052005: Mar 8 – Apr 8, 35 sap days3520042004: Mar 22 – Apr 25, 42 sap days4220032003: Mar 20 – Apr 12, 28 sap days2820022002: Mar 29 – May 3, 48 sap days4820012001: Mar 25 – Apr 19, 20 sap days2020002000: Mar 15 – Apr 19, 45 sap days4519991999: Mar 18 – Apr 19, 40 sap days4019981998: Mar 17 – Apr 11, 29 sap days2919971997: Mar 25 – Apr 28, 29 sap days2919961996: Apr 6 – May 7, 35 sap days3519951995: Mar 27 – Apr 27, 43 sap days4319941994: Mar 19 – Apr 22, 40 sap days4019931993: Mar 24 – Apr 26, 38 sap days3819921992: Mar 28 – Apr 28, 37 sap days3719911991: Mar 9 – Apr 11, 41 sap days41
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Walker. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Cass County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Cass County the 2022 Census found 5 farms making syrup (+25% since 2017).

Cass County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
20225withheldwithheld—
2017410,2198260.08

“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 Walker (1,342ft), 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

Cass County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Cass County, Minnesota?
In a typical year the sap starts running around March 11 near Walker and the season winds down around April 13. 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 18 and as late as Apr 8.
How much maple syrup does Cass County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 5 maple operations in Cass County; USDA withheld the county's tap and gallon totals to avoid disclosing individual farms.
How many sap days does Cass County get in a season?
On average 33.5 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Walker, of which about 8.9 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 2002 (48 sap days); the leanest was 2001 (20).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Walker (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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