Skip to content
LuckySap
Get the app
Pennsylvania · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Franklin County, Pennsylvania

Franklin County had 7 maple operations and 1,309 taps in the 2022 Census. Around Chambersburg, sap usually runs from February 8 to March 10. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 125 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Feb 8
typical year
Season ends
Mar 10
about 4 weeks
Sap days / season
46
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
1,309
#26 of 45 in PA

Sap-flow outlook at Chambersburg right now

Full Pennsylvania forecast →

Forecast for Chambersburg, PA

Updated Oct 6, 8:31 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Franklin County's season usually opens around February 8, which is 125 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    44° / 73°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    52° / 77°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    48° / 71°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    48° / 72°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    51° / 70°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    56° / 72°
    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 Chambersburg

Freeze-thaw weather at Chambersburg peaks in the weeks of Dec 1 to Mar 23, which hold about 95% of a season's sap days. February is the busiest month.
Typical season: Feb 8 – Mar 100246Week of Dec 1: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 2.6 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 2.6 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 2.2 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 2.0 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 2.0 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 2.4 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 2.8 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 3.2 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 2.8 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 3.1 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 0.2 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 0.1 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 0.0 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 0.0 sap days on averageWeek of May 11: 0.0 sap days on averageWeek of May 18: 0.0 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.0 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Feb 8
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Chambersburg, 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 3; the middle half of seasons fell between Jan 23 and Feb 9. Earliest Jan 8 (2023), latest Feb 27 (2015).
Closing signal
Median Mar 7; middle half between Feb 22 and Mar 14. Earliest Feb 8 (2023), latest Apr 1 (2015).
Sap days by month
Dec25%Jan20%Feb26%Mar25%Apr4%May0%

36 seasons of sap weather

Franklin County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Chambersburg was 1991 with 59 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2010 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 2 – Mar 3, 44 sap days4420252025: Feb 5 – Mar 10, 41 sap days4120242024: Jan 10 – Feb 9, 47 sap days4720232023: Jan 8 – Feb 8, 50 sap days5020222022: Feb 1 – Mar 6, 47 sap days4720212021: Feb 6 – Mar 9, 47 sap days4720202020: Jan 18 – Feb 10, 36 sap days3620192019: Feb 8 – Mar 14, 49 sap days4920182018: Jan 19 – Feb 18, 54 sap days5420172017: Jan 14 – Feb 18, 39 sap days3920162016: Feb 3 – Mar 8, 44 sap days4420152015: Feb 27 – Apr 1, 44 sap days4420142014: Feb 24 – Mar 28, 46 sap days4620132013: Feb 5 – Mar 10, 53 sap days5320122012: Jan 20 – Feb 22, 54 sap days5420112011: Feb 9 – Mar 16, 44 sap days4420102010: Feb 8 – Mar 7, 32 sap days3220092009: Feb 10 – Mar 14, 47 sap days4720082008: Jan 31 – Mar 7, 55 sap days5520072007: Feb 5 – Mar 12, 47 sap days4720062006: Jan 16 – Feb 15, 46 sap days4620052005: Jan 26 – Feb 21, 41 sap days4120042004: Feb 9 – Mar 13, 43 sap days4320032003: Feb 18 – Mar 15, 33 sap days3320022002: Jan 9 – Feb 10, 52 sap days5220012001: Feb 13 – Mar 20, 53 sap days5320002000: Jan 25 – Mar 1, 40 sap days4019991999: Jan 26 – Feb 28, 46 sap days4619981998: Jan 11 – Feb 11, 46 sap days4619971997: Jan 24 – Feb 27, 57 sap days5719961996: Feb 9 – Mar 15, 39 sap days3919951995: Feb 6 – Mar 12, 44 sap days4419941994: Feb 22 – Mar 26, 42 sap days4219931993: Feb 22 – Mar 26, 41 sap days4119921992: Jan 28 – Mar 2, 54 sap days5419911991: Jan 27 – Mar 1, 59 sap days59
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Chambersburg. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Franklin County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Franklin County the 2022 Census found 7 farms making syrup (+17% since 2017), with taps -53% and syrup output -79% over the same five years. That works out to about 0.10 gallons of syrup per tap in 2022 (0.21 in 2017). Among the 385 counties in this atlas, Franklin County ranks 268 by taps.

Franklin County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
202271,3091260.10
201762,7705930.21

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 Chambersburg (669ft), 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 Pennsylvania'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 — Pennsylvania, 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

Franklin County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Franklin County, Pennsylvania?
In a typical year the sap starts running around February 8 near Chambersburg and the season winds down around March 10. 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 8 and as late as Feb 27.
How much maple syrup does Franklin County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 7 maple operations in Franklin County with 1,309 taps producing 126 gallons of syrup, ranking 26 of 45 Pennsylvania's counties with published tap counts.
How many sap days does Franklin County get in a season?
On average 46 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Chambersburg, of which about 19 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 1991 (59 sap days); the leanest was 2010 (32).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Chambersburg (PRISM 4-km grid), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast, then calibrated against USDA's reported season dates for Pennsylvania. They describe a typical year at one point in the county; your sugarbush, slope and elevation can shift them by days.

LuckySap · free on iPhone & Android

Get a heads-up when the sap will run in Franklin County

LuckySap watches the forecast for your trees and can ping you the night before a strong sap day, then keeps every collection and boil in one season log. Free on iPhone and Android.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play