When to tap maple trees in Ohio
- Opens
- Feb 18
- median, USDA
- Closes
- Mar 27
- median, USDA
- Typical length
- 30days
- Seasons on record
- 8
- 2011–2018
County by county
When the sap runs across Ohio
Loading the map…
Typical opening date of the sap season, week by week across this state’s range
- Jan 31–Feb 1
- Feb 2–8
- Feb 9–15
- Feb 16–22
- Feb 23–26
- fewer than 5 maple farms
49 places with an atlas page. Typical season opening, earliest: Hamilton County, OH, Jan 31; Meigs County, OH, Feb 2; Pike County, OH, Feb 2; latest: Geauga County, OH, Feb 26; Ashtabula County, OH, Feb 24; Williams County, OH, Feb 23. Most sap days a season: Hocking County, OH, 53; Athens County, OH, 52; Meigs County, OH, 52. Maple taps in the 2022 Census of Agriculture, on a five-step scale fitted to Ohio: under 470, 470–1,700, 1,700–4,500, 4,500–10,000, 10,000+; the most: Geauga County, OH (144,446), Ashtabula County, OH (40,187), Holmes County, OH (36,336), Trumbull County, OH (30,591), Portage County, OH (29,767). Maple farms in the same census, in five steps: under 6, 6–8, 8–12, 12–20, 20+; the most: Geauga County, OH (183), Holmes County, OH (53), Ashland County, OH (34). Syrup made, in US gallons: Geauga County, OH (35,230 gal), Holmes County, OH (11,157 gal), Ashtabula County, OH (10,199 gal). Tappable maples (FIA estimates of sugar maples 10 in and up on forest land, US counties only): under 620,000, 620,000–1 million, 1–1.5 million, 1.5–1.9 million, 1.9 million+; the most: Ross County, OH (about 2.9 million ± 25%), Pike County, OH (about 2.6 million ± 24%), Athens County, OH (about 2.2 million ± 25%). 27 counties' estimates are too uncertain to show (sampling error over 50%). 2 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.
| Hamilton | Jan 31 – Mar 9 | 40 | 310 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meigs | Feb 2 – Mar 12 | 52 | 484 |
| Pike | Feb 2 – Mar 13 | 50 | 1,200 |
| Washington | Feb 2 – Mar 12 | 48 | 292 |
| Athens | Feb 4 – Mar 14 | 52 | 4,745 |
| Ross | Feb 5 – Mar 13 | 44 | 980 |
| Highland | Feb 6 – Mar 16 | 44 | 5,882 |
| Warren | Feb 6 – Mar 14 | 43 | 8,960 |
| Pickaway | Feb 7 – Mar 13 | 42 | 472 |
| Monroe | Feb 8 – Mar 17 | 44 | 1,970 |
| Montgomery | Feb 8 – Mar 14 | 38 | 253 |
| Hocking | Feb 9 – Mar 18 | 53 | 140 |
| Greene | Feb 10 – Mar 18 | 39 | 305 |
| Morgan | Feb 10 – Mar 18 | 49 | 740 |
| Muskingum | Feb 10 – Mar 19 | 47 | 596 |
| Clinton | Feb 11 – Mar 19 | 40 | 2,180 |
| Jefferson | Feb 11 – Mar 19 | 42 | 1,210 |
| Coshocton | Feb 12 – Mar 20 | 45 | 2,366 |
| Guernsey | Feb 12 – Mar 21 | 47 | 467 |
| Miami | Feb 12 – Mar 18 | 39 | 4,317 |
| Licking | Feb 14 – Mar 24 | 45 | 4,895 |
| Darke | Feb 16 – Mar 25 | 39 | 154 |
| Tuscarawas | Feb 16 – Mar 24 | 45 | 4,168 |
| Delaware | Feb 17 – Mar 25 | 38 | 460 |
| Champaign | Feb 18 – Mar 25 | 40 | 1,724 |
| Holmes | Feb 18 – Mar 28 | 48 | 36,336 |
| Stark | Feb 18 – Mar 23 | 36 | 1,248 |
| Crawford | Feb 19 – Mar 28 | 39 | 8,131 |
| Summit | Feb 19 – Mar 27 | 35 | 775 |
| Wayne | Feb 19 – Mar 28 | 43 | 11,070 |
| Ashland | Feb 20 – Mar 27 | 41 | 22,759 |
| Columbiana | Feb 20 – Mar 28 | 47 | 2,214 |
| Huron | Feb 20 – Mar 28 | 38 | 3,595 |
| Knox | Feb 20 – Mar 25 | 45 | 22,325 |
| Logan | Feb 20 – Mar 26 | 40 | 6,157 |
| Lorain | Feb 20 – Mar 26 | 32 | 10,340 |
| Mahoning | Feb 20 – Mar 29 | 47 | 2,424 |
| Medina | Feb 20 – Mar 28 | 39 | 12,435 |
| Morrow | Feb 20 – Mar 25 | 41 | 6,000 |
| Richland | Feb 20 – Mar 26 | 38 | 6,483 |
| Seneca | Feb 20 – Mar 26 | 37 | 6,100 |
| Trumbull | Feb 20 – Mar 30 | 48 | 30,591 |
| Portage | Feb 21 – Mar 29 | 39 | 29,767 |
| Defiance | Feb 22 – Mar 31 | 38 | 464 |
| Lake | Feb 22 – Mar 30 | 32 | 2,675 |
| Wood | Feb 22 – Mar 29 | 37 | 15 |
| Williams | Feb 23 – Apr 3 | 42 | 4,500 |
| Ashtabula | Feb 24 – Mar 31 | 38 | 40,187 |
| Geauga | Feb 26 – Apr 4 | 43 | 144,446 |
Sap-flow outlook right now
Full Ohio forecast →Forecast for Chardon
Updated Nov 10, 3:02 AM EST
Off-season
Ohio's season opens in about 100 days
Typical opening: February 18.
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
No freeze-thaw days in the forecast
freeze thaw 32°F
- WedNov 1138° / 55°
0h below · 24h above
No refreeze forecast - ThuNov 1240° / 46°
0h below · 24h above
No refreeze forecast - FriNov 1335° / 41°
0h below · 24h above
No refreeze forecast - SatNov 1432° / 41°
0h below · 19h above
No refreeze forecast - SunNov 1532° / 44°
0h below · 21h above
No refreeze forecast - MonNov 1632° / 47°No refreeze forecast
Data: National Weather Service. Verdicts use freeze-thaw thresholds from maple field research; your woods may run a little differently.
Season history
Ohio maple seasons, 2011–2018
| Year | Opened | Closed | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Feb 14 | Mar 27 | 41 |
| 2017 | Feb 11 | Mar 16 | 33 |
| 2016 | Feb 16 | Mar 13 | 26 |
| 2015 | Mar 7 | Apr 3 | 27 |
| 2014 | Mar 4 | Apr 2 | 29 |
| 2013 | Feb 20 | Mar 29 | 37 |
| 2012 | Feb 15 | Mar 12 | 26 |
| 2011 | Feb 24 | Mar 27 | 31 |
Timing your taps
How to know it's time in Ohio
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.
Dates are USDA NASS approximate state averages. NASS dropped Ohio from its maple program after 2018, so there is no newer per-year data.
Ohio made 96,000 gallons of maple syrup in 2026, 1.6% 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 Ohio's sugaring happens
- ChardonGeauga County has 144,446 of Ohio's 468,579 taps (30.8%), the most in the state (2022 Census of Agriculture); Chardon is the county seat.
FAQ
Ohio tapping questions
- When is maple syrup season in Ohio?
- Usually from mid-February to late March, about 4 weeks. The exact start moves by weeks from year to year with the weather.
- When should I tap my trees in Ohio?
- 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 18. 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 Ohio?
- In USDA records for 2011–2018, the earliest average opening was February 11 (2017) and the latest was March 7 (2015), a spread of 24 days.
LuckySap · free on iPhone & Android
Get a heads-up when Ohio'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.
