When is maple syrup season in Kentucky?

Usually from late December to early January to late February. The exact start moves by weeks from year to year with the weather.

When should I tap my trees in Kentucky?

Tap just before the first good run: when the forecast shows nights below freezing and days climbing to around 40°F. Tapholes dry up within 6 to 10 weeks, so tapping far too early can cost you the late runs.

Kentucky · maple season dates

When to tap maple trees in Kentucky

Maple season in Kentucky usually opens late December to early January and winds down late February. Here's the long-run pattern, the year-by-year record, and what the forecast says right now.

Watch the forecastThe season usually opens late December to early January.

Opens: —; late December to early January
Closes: —; late February

County by county

When the sap runs across Kentucky

Typical season dates for 6 Kentucky counties, from 36 seasons of daily temperatures at each county seat and scaled to USDA’s reported Kentucky dates. Hover or tap a county for its season; sort the table by any column.

Kentucky county atlas →

Loading the map…

Typical opening date of the sap season, week by week across this state’s range

Jan 15–18
Jan 19–25
Jan 26–29
fewer than 5 maple farms

Typical maple season, sap days a season and taps for 6 Kentucky counties

Crittenden	Jan 15 – Feb 9	35	2,930
Hardin	Jan 17 – Feb 17	46	606
Scott	Jan 20 – Feb 21	44	236
Henry	Jan 22 – Feb 25	50	360
Kenton	Jan 24 – Feb 24	42	760
Boone	Jan 29 – Feb 27	38	185

Sap-flow outlook right now

Full Kentucky forecast →

Forecast for Marion

Updated Nov 10, 4:41 AM EST

2 sap days in the next 7

freeze thaw 32°F

TueNov 10
44° / 69°
No refreeze forecast
WedNov 11
44° / 69°
0h below · 24h above
No refreeze forecast
ThuNov 12
44° / 52°
0h below · 24h above
No refreeze forecast
FriNov 13
32° / 45°
0h below · 22h above
No refreeze forecast
SatNov 14
27° / 48°
9h below · 14h above
Classic sap day
SunNov 15
29° / 52°
7h below · 17h above
Sap likely
MonNov 16
33° / 54°
Run tapering

Data: National Weather Service. Verdicts use freeze-thaw thresholds from maple field research; your woods may run a little differently.

Timing your taps

How to know it's time in Kentucky

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.

No NASS season data for Kentucky. Current guidance from the Kentucky Maple Syrup Association, the University of Kentucky and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture is to tap in late December or early January; the association says the season typically ends in late February, depending on weather. An older UK Extension bulletin (FOR-118, 2010) instead advised northern Kentucky to tap between Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day, earlier farther south.

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 Kentucky's sugaring happens

MarionCrittenden County reports 2,930 of Kentucky's 12,206 taps (24%), the most of any county with published figures (2022 Census of Agriculture).
ShelbyvilleCentral Kentucky reference point: Shelby County's Blues End Farm hosts Kentucky Maple Day (Kentucky Department of Agriculture, 2026).

FAQ

Kentucky tapping questions

When is maple syrup season in Kentucky?: Usually from late December to early January to late February. The exact start moves by weeks from year to year with the weather.
When should I tap my trees in Kentucky?: Tap just before the first good run: when the forecast shows nights below freezing and days climbing to around 40°F. Tapholes dry up within 6 to 10 weeks, so tapping far too early can cost you the late runs.

Kentucky

More for Kentucky sugarmakers

Nearby

When to tap in other states

LuckySap · free on iPhone & Android

Get a heads-up when Kentucky'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.