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Wisconsin · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin

Manitowoc County had 18 maple operations and 4,402 taps in the 2022 Census. Around Manitowoc, sap usually runs from March 18 to April 6. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 163 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Mar 18
typical year
Season ends
Apr 6
about 3 weeks
Sap days / season
26.6
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
4,402
#31 of 60 in WI

Sap-flow outlook at Manitowoc right now

Full Wisconsin forecast →

Forecast for Manitowoc, WI

Updated Oct 6, 9:36 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Manitowoc County's season usually opens around March 18, which is 163 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    53° / 69°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    45° / 63°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    43° / 64°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    53° / 68°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    58° / 70°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    55° / 62°
    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 Manitowoc

Freeze-thaw weather at Manitowoc peaks in the weeks of Mar 2 to Apr 6, which hold about 42% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Mar 18 – Apr 60246Week of Dec 1: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 0.8 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 1.0 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 0.6 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 0.5 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 0.8 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 1.0 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 1.7 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 1.7 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 2.0 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 1.9 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 1.6 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: 0.3 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 18
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Manitowoc, 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 6 and Mar 20. Earliest Feb 13 (2012), latest Mar 28 (2018).
Closing signal
Median Apr 9; middle half between Apr 2 and Apr 15. Earliest Mar 11 (2012), latest Apr 29 (2018).
Sap days by month
Dec20%Jan12%Feb17%Mar32%Apr17%May1%

36 seasons of sap weather

Manitowoc County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Manitowoc was 2012 with 44 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2011 with 13. 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 2 – Apr 2, 32 sap days3220252025: Mar 9 – Apr 9, 33 sap days3320242024: Feb 25 – Mar 31, 34 sap days3420232023: Mar 9 – Apr 9, 40 sap days4020222022: Mar 20 – Apr 10, 23 sap days2320212021: Mar 4 – Apr 3, 37 sap days3720202020: Mar 17 – Apr 21, 42 sap days4220192019: Mar 17 – Apr 15, 28 sap days2820182018: Mar 28 – Apr 29, 35 sap days3520172017: Feb 28 – Apr 1, 18 sap days1820162016: Mar 21 – Apr 13, 25 sap days2520152015: Mar 10 – Apr 5, 18 sap days1820142014: Mar 24 – Apr 16, 19 sap days1920132013: Mar 26 – Apr 21, 29 sap days2920122012: Feb 13 – Mar 11, 44 sap days4420112011: Mar 21 – Apr 21, 13 sap days1320102010: Mar 6 – Mar 30, 18 sap days1820092009: Mar 15 – Apr 13, 29 sap days2920082008: Mar 24 – Apr 15, 17 sap days1720072007: Feb 23 – Mar 21, 23 sap days2320062006: Mar 9 – Apr 9, 20 sap days2020052005: Mar 9 – Mar 28, 19 sap days1920042004: Mar 14 – Apr 15, 33 sap days3320032003: Mar 15 – Apr 13, 21 sap days2120022002: Mar 12 – Apr 7, 40 sap days4020012001: Mar 16 – Apr 18, 22 sap days2220002000: Feb 19 – Mar 14, 30 sap days3019991999: Mar 3 – Mar 28, 31 sap days3119981998: Mar 22 – Mar 25, 18 sap days1819971997: Mar 18 – Apr 18, 27 sap days2719961996: Mar 22 – Apr 18, 22 sap days2219951995: Mar 14 – Apr 10, 23 sap days2319941994: Mar 15 – Apr 8, 24 sap days2419931993: Mar 21 – Apr 17, 25 sap days2519921992: Mar 18 – Apr 7, 26 sap days2619911991: Mar 3 – Apr 2, 19 sap days19
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Manitowoc. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Manitowoc County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Manitowoc County the 2022 Census found 18 farms making syrup (-5% since 2017), with taps -36% and syrup output -20% over the same five years. That works out to about 0.30 gallons of syrup per tap in 2022 (0.24 in 2017). Among the 385 counties in this atlas, Manitowoc County ranks 201 by taps.

Manitowoc County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
2022184,4021,3040.30
2017196,8831,6330.24

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 Manitowoc (607ft), 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 Wisconsin'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 — Wisconsin, 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

Manitowoc County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin?
In a typical year the sap starts running around March 18 near Manitowoc and the season winds down around April 6. 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 13 and as late as Mar 28.
How much maple syrup does Manitowoc County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 18 maple operations in Manitowoc County with 4,402 taps producing 1,304 gallons of syrup, ranking 31 of 60 Wisconsin's counties with published tap counts.
How many sap days does Manitowoc County get in a season?
On average 26.6 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Manitowoc, of which about 11 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 2012 (44 sap days); the leanest was 2011 (13).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Manitowoc (PRISM 4-km grid), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast, then calibrated against USDA's reported season dates for Wisconsin. 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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