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Ontario · maple atlas

Maple sugaring in York, Ontario

York is a regional municipality in Ontario. Ontario's census divisions are its counties, districts and regional municipalities. Statistics Canada's 2021 Census of Agriculture counted 21 farms reporting maple taps and 6,247 taps here. Around Markham, sap usually runs from March 6 to April 6. Here's the long-run pattern, 35 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 150 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Mar 6
weather estimate
Season ends
Apr 6
about 4 weeks
Sap days / season
27.8
1991–2025 average
Taps, 2021
6,247
#29 of 29 in ON

Sap-flow outlook at Markham right now

Full Ontario forecast →

Forecast for Markham, ON

Updated Oct 7, 11:00 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. York's season usually opens around March 6, which is 150 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 0 °C

  1. ThuOct 8
    10° / 19°
    No refreeze forecast
  2. FriOct 9
    4° / 18°
    No refreeze forecast
  3. SatOct 10
    3° / 19°
    No refreeze forecast
  4. SunOct 11
    14° / 25°
    No refreeze forecast
  5. MonOct 12
    12° / 19°
    No refreeze forecast
  6. TueOct 13
    12° / 15°
    No refreeze forecast

Data: Environment and Climate Change Canada. Verdicts use freeze-thaw thresholds from maple field research; your woods may run a little differently.

When the sap runs

The sugaring calendar at Markham

Freeze-thaw weather at Markham peaks in the weeks of Feb 16 to Apr 6, which hold about 54% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month. Typical dates are a weather estimate (no official season record for this province): the median of this division's own weather signals.
Typical season: Mar 6 – Apr 60246Week of Dec 1: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 0.8 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 0.5 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 1.5 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 1.4 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 1.7 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 2.1 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 2.4 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 2.2 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 2.2 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 0.4 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 0.1 sap days on averageWeek of May 11: 0.1 sap days on averageWeek of May 18: 0.0 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.0 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Mar 6
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Markham, 1991–2025 (Daymet temperatures). A sap day is an overnight low under −1 °C (30.2 °F) followed by an afternoon high over +3 °C (37.4 °F). The shaded band is the typical season.

Year-to-year spread

Opening signal
Median Mar 6; the middle half of seasons fell between Feb 26 and Mar 13. Earliest Feb 8 (2024), latest Apr 10 (1997).
Closing signal
Median Apr 6; middle half between Mar 29 and Apr 12. Earliest Mar 12 (2012), latest Apr 22 (2018).
Sap days by month
Dec18%Jan10%Feb18%Mar34%Apr19%May1%

35 seasons of sap weather

York seasons, 1991–2025

The best sap year at Markham was 2020 with 42 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2008 with 17. 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 days20252025: Mar 10 – Apr 10, 27 sap days2720242024: Feb 8 – Mar 13, 27 sap days2720232023: Mar 5 – Apr 9, 35 sap days3520222022: Mar 7 – Apr 4, 33 sap days3320212021: Feb 24 – Mar 21, 31 sap days3120202020: Feb 25 – Mar 21, 42 sap days4220192019: Mar 13 – Apr 17, 34 sap days3420182018: Mar 19 – Apr 22, 39 sap days3920172017: Feb 21 – Mar 21, 21 sap days2120162016: Feb 23 – Mar 30, 34 sap days3420152015: Mar 13 – Apr 6, 22 sap days2220142014: Mar 16 – Apr 17, 18 sap days1820132013: Mar 30 – Apr 6, 30 sap days3020122012: Feb 11 – Mar 12, 37 sap days3720112011: Mar 9 – Apr 9, 19 sap days1920102010: Feb 27 – Mar 31, 24 sap days2420092009: Mar 6 – Apr 10, 33 sap days3320082008: Mar 28 – Apr 4, 17 sap days1720072007: Feb 28 – Mar 30, 22 sap days2220062006: Feb 26 – Mar 29, 28 sap days2820052005: Mar 9 – Mar 27, 25 sap days2520042004: Mar 6 – Apr 9, 29 sap days2920032003: Mar 14 – Apr 17, 24 sap days2420022002: Mar 5 – Apr 7, 32 sap days3220012001: Mar 11 – Apr 14, 22 sap days2220002000: Feb 17 – Mar 20, 25 sap days2519991999: Mar 2 – Apr 5, 35 sap days3519981998: Feb 23 – Mar 25, 21 sap days2119971997: Apr 10 – Apr 15, 22 sap days2219961996: Mar 17 – Apr 19, 27 sap days2719951995: Feb 22 – Mar 29, 31 sap days3119941994: Mar 13 – Apr 8, 25 sap days2519931993: Mar 11 – Apr 14, 24 sap days2419921992: Mar 18 – Apr 16, 26 sap days2619911991: Mar 1 – Apr 4, 31 sap days31
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily Daymet temperatures at Markham. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

York in the Census of Agriculture

Statistics Canada counts the farms that report maple taps in its Census of Agriculture every five years. In 2021 it counted 21 in York, with 6,247 taps; in 2016, 25 farms and 3,207 taps. Among Ontario's 29 census divisions with a published tap count, York ranks 29th, and 94th of the 94 in this atlas.

Over the five years the farm count changed −16% and taps +95%. Statistics Canada cautions that 2021 and 2016 are not strictly comparable: the census-farm definition changed in 2021, and farms were assigned to their main location more strictly.

Statistics Canada doesn't publish syrup volume by census division, so the Canadian pages show farms and taps, not gallons or litres.

York maple production, 2016 and 2021 (Statistics Canada, Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarms reporting tapsTaps
2021216,247E
2016253,207
  • E Statistics Canada quality grade: use with caution.

Nearby

Neighboring maple divisions

Distances are between reference towns; typical dates are each division's own estimate.

About these numbers

The season dates are estimated from 35 seasons of daily high and low temperatures for the Daymet 1-km grid cell at Markham, the division's most populous municipality in the 2021 Census; the cell sits at 174 m (571 ft). Each day is scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast: a sap day is an overnight low under −1 °C (30.2 °F) followed by an afternoon high over +3 °C (37.4 °F). A season's closing signal is the last sap day before accumulated warmth reaches a threshold, and the opening signal sits 35 days before that, never earlier than the first real freeze-thaw week. The rule was calibrated on 117 state-seasons of USDA-reported dates in the US and is applied here unchanged. Ontario has no official season record, so the typical dates are a weather estimate. Production figures are copied from Statistics Canada as published. Full method, the Daymet checks and the Quebec validation → Run a sugarhouse here? Put this sap forecast on your own website →

Sources · 7

  1. 1.Maple taps, Census of Agriculture, 2021 (Table 32-10-0362-01) · Statistics Canada
  2. 2.Maple taps, Census of Agriculture, 2011 and 2016 (Table 32-10-0423-01) · Statistics Canada
  3. 3.Daymet: Daily Surface Weather Data on a 1-km Grid for North America, Version 4 R1 · ORNL DAAC
  4. 4.Sap flow in sugar maple: timing and weather drivers (Frontiers in Agronomy, 2025) · de Lima Santos et al.
  5. 5.2021 Census cartographic boundary files (census divisions, population centres) · Statistics Canada
  6. 6.Population and dwelling counts, 2021 Census (Tables 98-10-0002-01 and 98-10-0011-01) · Statistics Canada
Show 1 more
  1. 7.GeoNames geographical database (CA) · GeoNames

Licences and attribution

  • Adapted from Statistics Canada, Census of Agriculture 2021 and 2016 (Tables 32-10-0362-01 and 32-10-0423-01), 2021 Census population and dwelling counts (Tables 98-10-0002-01 and 98-10-0011-01) and 2021 Census cartographic boundary files. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
  • Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
  • Thornton, M.M., R. Shrestha, Y. Wei, P.E. Thornton, S-C. Kao, and B.E. Wilson. 2022. Daymet: Daily Surface Weather Data on a 1-km Grid for North America, Version 4 R1. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/2129
  • Place coordinates: GeoNames (geonames.org), CC BY 4.0.

FAQ

York sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in York, Ontario?
In a typical year the sap starts running around March 6 near Markham and the season winds down around April 6. Have your taps in a day or two before the first forecast string of nights below −1 °C and days above +3 °C. In the past 35 seasons the weather signal came as early as Feb 8 and as late as Apr 10.
How much maple syrup does York produce?
Statistics Canada doesn't publish syrup volume by census division. Its 2021 Census of Agriculture counted 21 farms reporting 6,247 maple taps in York, number 29 of 29 Ontario divisions with a published count.
How many sap days does York get in a season?
On average 27.8 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Markham, of which about 13.5 are textbook days with a night between about −7 and −2 °C and a day between 4 and 9 °C. The best season since 1991 was 2020 (42 sap days); the leanest was 2008 (17).
Where do these dates come from?
From 35 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Markham (Daymet 1-km grid), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast. Ontario has no official season record, so they are a weather estimate. They describe a typical year at one point in the division; your sugarbush, slope and elevation can shift them by days.

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