When to tap maple trees in Indiana
- Opens
- Feb 10
- typical
- Closes
- Mar 12
- typical
- Typical length
- 31days
- Seasons on record
- 3
- 2016–2018
County by county
When the sap runs across Indiana
Loading the map…
Typical opening date of the sap season, week by week across this state’s range
- Jan 14–25
- Jan 26–Feb 1
- Feb 2–8
- Feb 9–15
- Feb 16
- fewer than 5 maple farms
17 places with an atlas page. Typical season opening, earliest: Harrison County, IN, Jan 14; Jefferson County, IN, Jan 23; Lawrence County, IN, Jan 23; latest: St. Joseph County, IN, Feb 16; LaGrange County, IN, Feb 16; Noble County, IN, Feb 15. Most sap days a season: Lawrence County, IN, 47; Harrison County, IN, 44; Jefferson County, IN, 44. Maple taps in the 2022 Census of Agriculture, on a five-step scale fitted to Indiana: under 650, 650–870, 870–3,600, 3,600–11,000, 11,000+; the most: LaGrange County, IN (19,869), Elkhart County, IN (15,301), Marshall County, IN (14,484), Kosciusko County, IN (11,265), Madison County, IN (4,128). Maple farms in the same census, in five steps: under 10, 10–20, 20–50, 50–100, 100+; the most: Elkhart County, IN (43), LaGrange County, IN (38), Marshall County, IN (26). Syrup made, in US gallons: LaGrange County, IN (4,101 gal), Marshall County, IN (3,846 gal), Elkhart County, IN (3,557 gal). Tappable maples (FIA estimates of sugar maples 10 in and up on forest land, US counties only): under 1 million, 1–2 million, 2–5 million, 5–10 million, 10 million+; the most: Harrison County, IN (about 1.3 million ± 33%), Parke County, IN (about 1.1 million ± 39%), Allen County, IN (about 720,000 ± 47%). 11 counties' estimates are too uncertain to show (sampling error over 50%). 3 counties have none tallied on the inventory plots (not a zero). Each shaded place links to its page; every state and province page lists its places in a table.
| Harrison | Jan 14 – Feb 13 | 44 | 530 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson | Jan 23 – Feb 21 | 44 | 154 |
| Lawrence | Jan 23 – Feb 24 | 47 | 2,874 |
| Parke | Jan 31 – Mar 3 | 42 | 4,064 |
| Tippecanoe | Feb 5 – Mar 7 | 40 | 648 |
| Carroll | Feb 7 – Mar 9 | 40 | 1,590 |
| Delaware | Feb 7 – Mar 8 | 38 | 1,228 |
| Madison | Feb 7 – Mar 7 | 40 | 4,128 |
| Cass | Feb 12 – Mar 11 | 39 | 870 |
| Allen | Feb 13 – Mar 13 | 38 | 723 |
| DeKalb | Feb 14 – Mar 17 | 40 | 492 |
| Kosciusko | Feb 14 – Mar 14 | 37 | 11,265 |
| Marshall | Feb 14 – Mar 16 | 38 | 14,484 |
| Elkhart | Feb 15 – Mar 18 | 36 | 15,301 |
| Noble | Feb 15 – Mar 16 | 38 | 3,645 |
| LaGrange | Feb 16 – Mar 20 | 38 | 19,869 |
| St. Joseph | Feb 16 – Mar 18 | 37 | 850 |
Sap-flow outlook right now
Full Indiana forecast →Forecast for LaGrange
Updated Nov 10, 12:30 AM EST
1 sap day in the next 6
freeze thaw 32°F
- TueNov 1043° / 61°No refreeze forecast
- WedNov 1138° / 55°
0h below · 24h above
No refreeze forecast - ThuNov 1239° / 45°
0h below · 24h above
No refreeze forecast - FriNov 1331° / 40°
4h below · 17h above
Maybe a light run - SatNov 1428° / 43°
9h below · 14h above
Classic sap day - SunNov 1532° / 47°
0h below · 21h above
Run tapering
Data: National Weather Service. Verdicts use freeze-thaw thresholds from maple field research; your woods may run a little differently.
Season history
Indiana maple seasons, 2016–2018
| Year | Opened | Closed | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Feb 10 | Mar 19 | 37 |
| 2017 | Feb 9 | Mar 12 | 31 |
| 2016 | Feb 18 | Mar 12 | 23 |
Timing your taps
How to know it's time in Indiana
Sap runs on a temperature swing, not a date. A night below freezing loads the tree; a day above freezing pushes sap out of the taphole. Field research treats a low under about 30°F followed by a high over about 37°F as a real freeze-thaw day, and big runs almost always come on days like that.
So watch the 10-day forecast. When you see a string of nights in the 20s and afternoons in the 40s, get your taps in a day or two ahead. South-facing slopes warm first and usually run earlier.
Only three NASS seasons exist for Indiana (estimates ran 2016–2018), so treat the median as indicative rather than a long-term normal. Dates are NASS approximate state averages.
Indiana made 22,000 gallons of maple syrup in 2026, 0.4% of the US crop (USDA NASS). See every state’s crop.
Seasons are shifting. Cornell researchers found that start dates for tapping maples in the Northeast are about a week earlier than in 1970, and projected they could arrive about a month earlier by 2100 — e.g., around Feb 1 instead of Mar 1 in Montpelier, Vermont (Skinner, DeGaetano & Chabot, Climatic Change, 2010).
Where Indiana's sugaring happens
- LaGrangeLaGrange County has the most taps in Indiana (19,869 of 107,234); with Elkhart, Marshall and Kosciusko counties, northern Indiana holds 57% of the state's taps (2022 Census of Agriculture).
FAQ
Indiana tapping questions
- When is maple syrup season in Indiana?
- Usually from early February to mid-March, about 4 weeks. The exact start moves by weeks from year to year with the weather.
- When should I tap my trees in Indiana?
- Tap just before the first good run: when the forecast shows nights below freezing and days climbing to around 40°F. In a typical year that's around February 10. Tapholes dry up within 6 to 10 weeks, so tapping far too early can cost you the late runs.
- What's the earliest maple season has started in Indiana?
- In USDA records for 2016–2018, the earliest average opening was February 9 (2017) and the latest was February 18 (2016), a spread of 9 days.
LuckySap · free on iPhone & Android
Get a heads-up when Indiana's sap will run
LuckySap checks 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.
