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Vermont · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Washington County, Vermont

Washington County had 96 maple operations in the 2022 Census (tap totals withheld). Around Barre, sap usually runs from March 4 to April 14. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 149 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Mar 4
typical year
Season ends
Apr 14
about 6 weeks
Sap days / season
42.1
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
withheld
96 farms

Sap-flow outlook at Barre right now

Full Vermont forecast →

Forecast for Barre, VT

Updated Oct 6, 2:25 AM EDT

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    32° / 65°

    0h below · 22h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    46° / 66°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    40° / 58°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    38° / 58°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    39° / 68°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    48° / 68°
    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 Barre

Freeze-thaw weather at Barre peaks in the weeks of Mar 2 to Apr 13, which hold about 52% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Mar 4 – Apr 140246Week of Dec 1: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 1.4 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 0.8 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 1.0 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 2.1 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 1.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 2.4 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 2.8 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 3.6 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 3.9 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 3.3 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 1.9 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 1.4 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of May 11: 0.3 sap days on averageWeek of May 18: 0.1 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.0 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Mar 4
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Barre, 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 15; the middle half of seasons fell between Mar 10 and Mar 19. Earliest Feb 17 (2012), latest Mar 26 (2001).
Closing signal
Median Apr 17; middle half between Apr 11 and Apr 20. Earliest Mar 13 (2012), latest Apr 30 (2001).
Sap days by month
Dec14%Jan9%Feb14%Mar31%Apr28%May3%

36 seasons of sap weather

Washington County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Barre was 1999 with 56 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2015 with 26. 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 10 – Apr 12, 33 sap days3320252025: Mar 14 – Apr 18, 33 sap days3320242024: Mar 9 – Apr 9, 45 sap days4520232023: Mar 11 – Apr 10, 52 sap days5220222022: Mar 7 – Apr 11, 49 sap days4920212021: Mar 6 – Apr 5, 35 sap days3520202020: Mar 16 – Apr 20, 53 sap days5320192019: Mar 18 – Apr 18, 35 sap days3520182018: Mar 25 – Apr 24, 48 sap days4820172017: Mar 12 – Apr 15, 34 sap days3420162016: Mar 11 – Apr 15, 51 sap days5120152015: Mar 26 – Apr 16, 26 sap days2620142014: Mar 22 – Apr 25, 36 sap days3620132013: Mar 20 – Apr 24, 45 sap days4520122012: Feb 17 – Mar 13, 54 sap days5420112011: Mar 22 – Apr 22, 32 sap days3220102010: Feb 27 – Mar 29, 43 sap days4320092009: Mar 13 – Apr 17, 42 sap days4220082008: Mar 17 – Apr 18, 42 sap days4220072007: Mar 19 – Apr 21, 42 sap days4220062006: Mar 7 – Apr 11, 46 sap days4620052005: Mar 15 – Apr 19, 47 sap days4720042004: Mar 16 – Apr 18, 40 sap days4020032003: Mar 17 – Apr 19, 29 sap days2920022002: Mar 12 – Apr 11, 53 sap days5320012001: Mar 26 – Apr 30, 42 sap days4220002000: Mar 7 – Apr 11, 47 sap days4719991999: Mar 16 – Apr 16, 56 sap days5619981998: Mar 5 – Apr 8, 45 sap days4519971997: Mar 23 – Apr 27, 42 sap days4219961996: Mar 19 – Apr 20, 37 sap days3719951995: Mar 10 – Apr 12, 45 sap days4519941994: Mar 20 – Apr 23, 39 sap days3919931993: Mar 13 – Apr 15, 37 sap days3719921992: Mar 24 – Apr 28, 37 sap days3719911991: Mar 5 – Apr 4, 45 sap days45
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Barre. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Washington County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Washington County the 2022 Census found 96 farms making syrup (-14% since 2017).

Washington County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
202296withheldwithheld—
2017112219,24969,7260.32

“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 Barre (787ft), 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 Vermont'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 — Vermont, 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

Washington County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Washington County, Vermont?
In a typical year the sap starts running around March 4 near Barre and the season winds down around April 14. 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 Mar 26.
How much maple syrup does Washington County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 96 maple operations in Washington County; USDA withheld the county's tap and gallon totals to avoid disclosing individual farms.
How many sap days does Washington County get in a season?
On average 42.1 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Barre, of which about 11.6 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 1999 (56 sap days); the leanest was 2015 (26).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Barre (PRISM 4-km grid), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast, then calibrated against USDA's reported season dates for Vermont. 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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