When to tap maple trees in New Brunswick
- Opens
- Mar 27
- weather estimate
- Closes
- Apr 27
- weather estimate
Division by division
When the sap runs across New Brunswick
Loading the map…
Typical opening date of the sap season, week by week across this province’s range
- Mar 18–22
- Mar 23–29
- Mar 30–Apr 2
- fewer than 5 maple farms
10 places with an atlas page. Typical season opening, earliest: Kings, NB, Mar 18; Albert, NB, Mar 20; Westmorland, NB, Mar 20; latest: Restigouche, NB, Apr 2; Gloucester, NB, Apr 1; Madawaska, NB, Mar 30. Most sap days a season: Kings, NB, 41; Carleton, NB, 39; Queens, NB, 38. Maple taps in the 2021 Census of Agriculture, on a five-step scale shared by both countries: under 1,000, 1,000–5,000, 5,000–20,000, 20,000–100,000, 100,000+; the most: Restigouche, NB (2,102,766), Madawaska, NB (635,532), Carleton, NB (472,400), Victoria, NB (127,212). Maple farms in the same census, in five steps: under 7, 7–13, 13–18, 18–29, 29+; the most: Restigouche, NB (54), Madawaska, NB (29), Carleton, NB (24). Canadian divisions have no official count. 6 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.
| Kings | Mar 18 – Apr 18 | 41 | 15,679 (2016) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albert | Mar 20 – Apr 21 | 37 | 64,958 (2016) |
| Westmorland | Mar 20 – Apr 21 | 37 | 21,364 (2016) |
| York | Mar 20 – Apr 21 | 37 | 10,885 (2016) |
| Queens | Mar 21 – Apr 21 | 38 | 2,173 (2016) |
| Carleton | Mar 21 – Apr 23 | 39 | 472,400 |
| Victoria | Mar 28 – Apr 30 | 36 | 127,212 |
| Madawaska | Mar 30 – May 1 | 34 | 635,532 |
| Gloucester | Apr 1 – Apr 30 | 31 | 47,195 (2011) |
| Restigouche | Apr 2 – May 2 | 30 | 2,102,766 |
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 New Brunswick forecast →Forecast for Saint-Quentin
Updated Nov 9, 10:00 AM EST
Off-season
New Brunswick's opening window starts in about 104 days
Typically late February to March (south first).
What to do now
- 1
Hold the drill
Fall sap is low in sugar, and a November hole on buckets is spent by January.
- 2
Find and mark your trees
Easiest while the leaves are on. Tapping starts at 12 inches across, about 38 inches around.
- 3
Gather your gear
A drill with a clean 5/16-inch bit, one spout per taphole, covered food-grade buckets.
Show this week’s forecast anywayHide the forecast
Only marginal days ahead
freeze thaw 0 °C
- TueNov 10-1° / 4°Maybe a light run
- WedNov 11-5° / 3°Maybe a light run
- ThuNov 12-7° / 3°Maybe a light run
- FriNov 13-6° / 3°Maybe a light run
- SatNov 14-1° / 3°Maybe a light run
- SunNov 150° / 3°No refreeze forecast
Data: Environment and Climate Change Canada. Verdicts use freeze-thaw thresholds from maple field research; your woods may run a little differently.
Weather estimate
Estimated from 35 seasons of weather
No official season record exists for New Brunswick. Our weather signal, weighted by farms across its 10 atlas divisions, puts the typical opening around Mar 27 and the closing around Apr 27. It's an estimate from daily temperatures (Daymet, 1991–2025), not a producer survey.
- Opens
- Mar 27
- weather estimate
- Closes
- Apr 27
- weather estimate
- Earliest opening
- Mar 8
- 2010
- Latest opening
- Apr 6
- 2020
Timing your taps
How to know it's time in New Brunswick
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 multi-year published dates were found. The New Brunswick Maple Syrup Association says start dates run earlier in the south and later in the north; in 2025 the season began at the end of February and early March, and the south was expected to finish by late April (CBC, 2025). In 2023 the south was winding down in early April while the north ran well behind (Radio-Canada).
Seasons are shifting. In Québec, the sap season is projected to start and end 9–13 days earlier by 2046–2065 and 15–19 days earlier by 2081–2100 than in 1971–2000; season onset advances about four days for each degree Celsius of warming (Houle et al., PLoS ONE, 2015).
Where New Brunswick's sugaring happens
- Saint-QuentinRecognized as the 'Maple Capital of the Atlantic' (Town of Saint-Quentin), in northwestern New Brunswick, home to operations as large as 115,000 taps (ACOA, 2026).
FAQ
New Brunswick tapping questions
- When is maple syrup season in New Brunswick?
- Usually from late February to March (south first) to April (later in the north). The exact start moves by weeks from year to year with the weather.
- When should I tap my trees in New Brunswick?
- 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.
New Brunswick
More for New Brunswick sugarmakers
Nearby
When to tap in other provinces
LuckySap · free on iPhone & Android
Get a heads-up when New Brunswick'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.
