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New York · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Saratoga County, New York

Saratoga County had 10 maple operations and 2,480 taps in the 2022 Census. Around Ballston Spa, sap usually runs from February 23 to March 30. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 140 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Feb 23
typical year
Season ends
Mar 30
about 5 weeks
Sap days / season
40.5
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
2,480
#45 of 50 in NY

Sap-flow outlook at Ballston Spa right now

Full New York forecast →

Forecast for Ballston Spa, NY

Updated Oct 6, 8:37 AM EDT

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    33° / 65°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    48° / 67°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    45° / 62°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    43° / 64°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    43° / 67°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    50° / 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 Ballston Spa

Freeze-thaw weather at Ballston Spa peaks in the weeks of Mar 2 to Apr 6, which hold about 41% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Feb 23 – Mar 300246Week of Dec 1: 2.2 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 2.2 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 1.7 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 1.7 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 1.4 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 1.4 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 0.8 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 1.4 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 1.7 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 2.5 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 1.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 2.8 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 3.0 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 3.4 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 2.2 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 0.2 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 0.0 sap days on averageWeek of May 11: 0.1 sap days on averageWeek of May 18: 0.1 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.0 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Feb 23
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Ballston Spa, 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 27; the middle half of seasons fell between Feb 20 and Mar 6. Earliest Feb 7 (2020), latest Mar 13 (2015).
Closing signal
Median Mar 30; middle half between Mar 25 and Apr 7. Earliest Mar 9 (2020), latest Apr 14 (2003).
Sap days by month
Dec21%Jan14%Feb20%Mar32%Apr13%May0%

36 seasons of sap weather

Saratoga County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Ballston Spa was 2002 with 58 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2010 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: Feb 26 – Mar 30, 34 sap days3420252025: Feb 23 – Mar 28, 37 sap days3720242024: Feb 8 – Mar 14, 39 sap days3920232023: Feb 19 – Mar 25, 55 sap days5520222022: Feb 20 – Mar 23, 36 sap days3620212021: Feb 24 – Mar 30, 40 sap days4020202020: Feb 7 – Mar 9, 45 sap days4520192019: Mar 2 – Apr 5, 44 sap days4420182018: Mar 3 – Apr 7, 54 sap days5420172017: Feb 21 – Mar 27, 41 sap days4120162016: Feb 10 – Mar 13, 43 sap days4320152015: Mar 13 – Apr 12, 24 sap days2420142014: Mar 9 – Apr 10, 45 sap days4520132013: Mar 5 – Apr 7, 49 sap days4920122012: Feb 14 – Mar 13, 54 sap days5420112011: Mar 8 – Apr 9, 28 sap days2820102010: Feb 15 – Mar 17, 20 sap days2020092009: Feb 27 – Mar 26, 34 sap days3420082008: Mar 7 – Apr 5, 43 sap days4320072007: Feb 27 – Apr 1, 43 sap days4320062006: Feb 20 – Mar 27, 43 sap days4320052005: Mar 4 – Mar 30, 44 sap days4420042004: Mar 1 – Mar 26, 36 sap days3620032003: Mar 10 – Apr 14, 32 sap days3220022002: Feb 24 – Mar 29, 58 sap days5820012001: Mar 12 – Apr 5, 34 sap days3420002000: Feb 17 – Mar 24, 40 sap days4019991999: Feb 27 – Mar 27, 46 sap days4619981998: Feb 22 – Mar 26, 40 sap days4019971997: Mar 3 – Apr 3, 37 sap days3719961996: Mar 4 – Apr 7, 35 sap days3519951995: Feb 13 – Mar 14, 45 sap days4519941994: Mar 10 – Apr 9, 37 sap days3719931993: Mar 8 – Apr 8, 33 sap days3319921992: Mar 9 – Apr 10, 47 sap days4719911991: Feb 21 – Mar 21, 44 sap days44
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Ballston Spa. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Saratoga County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Saratoga County the 2022 Census found 10 farms making syrup (-47% since 2017), with taps -74% and syrup output -71% over the same five years. That works out to about 0.23 gallons of syrup per tap in 2022 (0.20 in 2017). Among the 385 counties in this atlas, Saratoga County ranks 239 by taps.

Saratoga County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
2022102,4805650.23
2017199,7171,9760.20

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 Ballston Spa (276ft), 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 New York'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 — New York, 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

Saratoga County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Saratoga County, New York?
In a typical year the sap starts running around February 23 near Ballston Spa and the season winds down around March 30. 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 7 and as late as Mar 13.
How much maple syrup does Saratoga County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 10 maple operations in Saratoga County with 2,480 taps producing 565 gallons of syrup, ranking 45 of 50 New York's counties with published tap counts.
How many sap days does Saratoga County get in a season?
On average 40.5 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Ballston Spa, of which about 12.5 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 2002 (58 sap days); the leanest was 2010 (20).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Ballston Spa (PRISM 4-km grid), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast, then calibrated against USDA's reported season dates for New York. 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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