When to tap maple trees in Minnesota
- Opens
- Mar 6
- typical
- Closes
- Apr 6
- typical
- Typical length
- 31days
- Seasons on record
- 3
- 2016–2018
County by county
When the sap runs across Minnesota
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Typical opening date of the sap season, week by week across this state’s range
- Feb 25–Mar 1
- Mar 2–8
- Mar 9–15
- Mar 16–19
- fewer than 5 maple farms
29 places with an atlas page. Typical season opening, earliest: Hennepin County, MN, Feb 25; Carver County, MN, Feb 26; Fillmore County, MN, Feb 26; latest: St. Louis County, MN, Mar 19; Carlton County, MN, Mar 13; Beltrami County, MN, Mar 13. Most sap days a season: Fillmore County, MN, 39; Chisago County, MN, 38; Aitkin County, MN, 37. Maple taps in the 2022 Census of Agriculture, on a five-step scale fitted to Minnesota: under 560, 560–910, 910–1,900, 1,900–4,100, 4,100+; the most: Chisago County, MN (10,667), Hennepin County, MN (7,200), St. Louis County, MN (7,080), Itasca County, MN (5,146), Carlton County, MN (4,706). Maple farms in the same census, in five steps: under 6, 6–7, 7–10, 10–14, 14+; the most: St. Louis County, MN (34), Chisago County, MN (29), Itasca County, MN (18). Syrup made, in US gallons: St. Louis County, MN (1,405 gal), Itasca County, MN (1,215 gal), Chisago County, MN (1,160 gal). Tappable maples (FIA estimates of sugar maples 10 in and up on forest land, US counties only): under 390,000, 390,000–700,000, 700,000–1.1 million, 1.1–1.7 million, 1.7 million+; the most: Aitkin County, MN (about 2.4 million ± 20%), Becker County, MN (about 1.8 million ± 24%), Itasca County, MN (about 1.7 million ± 25%). 12 counties' estimates are too uncertain to show (sampling error over 50%). 3 counties have none tallied on the inventory plots (not a zero). 3 places show an earlier census figure (dotted) because the latest was withheld; those figures don’t set the bins. Each shaded place links to its page; every state and province page lists its places in a table.
| Hennepin | Feb 25 – Mar 29 | 29 | 7,200 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carver | Feb 26 – Mar 28 | 31 | 908 |
| Fillmore | Feb 26 – Mar 29 | 39 | 163 |
| Goodhue | Feb 27 – Mar 31 | 34 | 200 |
| Olmsted | Feb 28 – Apr 1 | 32 | 164 |
| Rice | Feb 28 – Mar 31 | 32 | 1,545 |
| Washington | Feb 28 – Mar 30 | 33 | 2,588 |
| Dakota | Mar 1 – Mar 29 | 32 | 288 |
| Anoka | Mar 2 – Apr 1 | 35 | 556 |
| Chisago | Mar 2 – Apr 2 | 38 | 10,667 |
| McLeod | Mar 3 – Apr 1 | 29 | 94 |
| Wright | Mar 3 – Apr 1 | 31 | 700 |
| Isanti | Mar 5 – Apr 4 | 35 | 585 |
| Kanabec | Mar 5 – Apr 6 | 36 | 1,030 |
| Stearns | Mar 5 – Apr 5 | 33 | 3,398 |
| Mille Lacs | Mar 6 – Apr 5 | 35 | 1,863 |
| Morrison | Mar 6 – Apr 6 | 35 | 764 |
| Pine | Mar 6 – Apr 6 | 36 | 2,525 |
| Douglas | Mar 7 – Apr 6 | 26 | 3,910 |
| Otter Tail | Mar 7 – Apr 6 | 27 | 4,132 |
| Todd | Mar 7 – Apr 6 | 32 | 2,183 (2017) |
| Crow Wing | Mar 8 – Apr 11 | 37 | 995 |
| Aitkin | Mar 9 – Apr 12 | 37 | 6,216 (2017) |
| Becker | Mar 9 – Apr 11 | 30 | 1,757 |
| Cass | Mar 11 – Apr 13 | 34 | 10,219 (2017) |
| Itasca | Mar 11 – Apr 13 | 36 | 5,146 |
| Beltrami | Mar 13 – Apr 15 | 36 | 646 |
| Carlton | Mar 13 – Apr 16 | 36 | 4,706 |
| St. Louis | Mar 19 – Apr 15 | 26 | 7,080 |
Taps with a year in brackets are that earlier census’s count, shown where the latest was withheld; they sort after the published counts.
Sap-flow outlook right now
Full Minnesota forecast →Forecast for North Branch
Updated Nov 10, 3:06 AM EST
4 sap days in the next 7
freeze thaw 32°F
- TueNov 1033° / 57°No refreeze forecast
- WedNov 1139° / 47°
2h below · 21h above
No refreeze forecast - ThuNov 1227° / 39°
14h below · 9h above
Sap likely - FriNov 1321° / 38°
17h below · 7h above
Sap likely - SatNov 1422° / 42°
15h below · 8h above
Classic sap day - SunNov 1528° / 44°
9h below · 15h above
Classic sap day - MonNov 1634° / 50°Run tapering
Data: National Weather Service. Verdicts use freeze-thaw thresholds from maple field research; your woods may run a little differently.
Season history
Minnesota maple seasons, 2016–2018
| Year | Opened | Closed | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Mar 21 | Apr 22 | 32 |
| 2017 | Mar 4 | Apr 3 | 30 |
| 2016 | Mar 6 | Apr 6 | 31 |
Timing your taps
How to know it's time in Minnesota
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 (2016–2018). Minnesota DNR agrees: sap weather typically comes in March, though trees can sometimes be tapped as early as mid-February or as late as April; the season ends when temperatures stay above freezing and buds appear.
Minnesota made 24,000 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 Minnesota's sugaring happens
- North BranchChisago County has the most taps in Minnesota, 10,667 of 97,822 (2022 Census of Agriculture).
- Grand RapidsThe northeastern forest counties of St. Louis, Itasca and Carlton hold 17% of Minnesota's taps, and St. Louis County has the most maple farms (2022 Census of Agriculture).
FAQ
Minnesota tapping questions
- When is maple syrup season in Minnesota?
- Usually from early March to early April, about 4 weeks. The exact start moves by weeks from year to year with the weather.
- When should I tap my trees in Minnesota?
- 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 March 6. 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 Minnesota?
- In USDA records for 2016–2018, the earliest average opening was March 4 (2017) and the latest was March 21 (2018), a spread of 17 days.
LuckySap · free on iPhone & Android
Get a heads-up when Minnesota'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.
